Vanessa Kirby

Vanessa Kirby (born 1988) is an English stage, TV and film actress. She starred as Estella in the BBC's adaptation of Great Expectations, alongside Ray Winstone.

Career

Kirby was raised in Wimbledon, London; her father was a prostate surgeon while her mother was a founder of Country Living.^[1] She was educated at the exclusive The Lady Eleanor Holles School.^[2] Vanessa Redgrave and Corin Redgrave were family friends.^[3] She was turned down by Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and took a gap year travelling^[4] before studying English at Exeter University.^[5] She then turned down her place at LAMDA in London after she was signed up to an agency and met the theatre director David Thacker, who gave her three starring roles over 2009 at the Octagon Theatre Bolton,^[6] in All My Sons by Arthur Miller, Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen and A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. For All My Sons she won the BIZA Rising Star Award at the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards, worth £5,000.

She then went on to star at the National Theatre as Isabella in Women Beware Women by Thomas Middleton, directed by Marianne Elliott, alongside Harriet Walter and Harry Potter's Harry Melling.^[7] She then starred as Rosalind in As You Like It by William Shakespeare at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, with Alfred Hickling of The Guardian describing her as a "significant new talent". In 2011, she was in the première of The Acid Test by Anya Reiss at the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Simon Godwin, earning praise for her performance from Paul Taylor of The Independent who described her as "a star if ever I saw one".^[8]

In 2011, Kirby made her TV début in the BBC's The Hour,^[9] alongside Ben Whishaw, Dominic West, and Romola Garai. She played Estella in the BBC's adaptation of Great Expectations^[10] alongside Ray Winstone, Gillian Anderson, and Douglas Booth.

She played the lead role of Alice in Ridley Scott's mini-series adaptation of Kate Mosse's novel Labyrinth. In late 2012, she filmedThe Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman with Shia Leboeuf and Mads Mikkelson.^[11]

Kirby appeared in Richard Curtis's film About Time with Rachel McAdams.^[12]

She played Masha in Three Sisters at the Young Vic in September 2012.^[13]

She filmed Wasteland in early 2012 alongside Matthew Lewis and Timothy Spall. The film premiered at the Toronto and London Film Festivals to positive reviews.

In 2013, Kirby is set to appear in Kill Command opposite Thure Lindhardt, the Wachowskis' Jupiter Ascending with Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum, and Queen and Country, John Boorman's sequel to his 1987 Hope and Glory.^[10]

Kirby returns to the National Theatre to play Queen Isabella in Edward II opposite John Heffernan.^[14]

Personal life

She dated her Great Expectations co-star Douglas Booth for two years, from late 2011 to October 2013. Vanessa has two cats, Jeffrey and Miranda.

Awards and recognition

Kirby has been nominated for Ian Charleson Awards in 2010, 2011 (when she won Third Prize), and 2013.

In 2011, Kirby was named as one of Screen International's 'Stars of Tomorrow'.

In 2011 she was nominated for the Evening Standard Theatre Awards as Outstanding Newcomer for her performance in The Acid Test.

She was named as one of Nylon magazine's Young Hollywood list 2012.

Theatre

• 2010 All My Sons by Arthur Miller, Ann Deever, Octagon Theatre
• 2010 Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen, Regina, Octagon Theatre
• 2010 A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, Helena, Octagon Theatre
• 2010 As You Like It by William Shakespeare, Rosalind, West Yorkshire Playhouse
• 2011 Women Beware Women by Thomas Middleton, Isabella, National Theatre
• 2011 The Acid Test by Anya Reiss, Dana, Royal Court Theatre
• 2012 Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov, Masha, Young Vic
• 2013 "Edward II" by Christopher Marlowe, Isabella, National Theatre

Filmography

References

External links

• Vanessa Kirby at the Internet Movie Database