Anya Taylor-Joy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anya Taylor-Joy
|
|
|---|---|
Taylor-Joy in 2019
|
|
| Born |
Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy
16 April 1996 Miami, Florida, U.S.
|
| Citizenship |
|
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Malcolm McRae
(m. 2022) |
| Awards | Full list |
Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy (born 16 April 1996) is a talented actress. She was born in Miami, USA, and grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and London, England. She left school at 16 to start her acting career.
After some smaller TV roles, she became well-known for her main part in the horror film The Witch (2015). Her career grew with roles in films like Split (2016) and its sequel Glass (2019). She also starred in the comedy Thoroughbreds (2017) and played Emma Woodhouse in the period drama Emma (2020).
Taylor-Joy also appeared in the TV series Peaky Blinders (2019–2022). She gained worldwide fame for playing Beth Harmon in the miniseries The Queen's Gambit (2020). For this role, she won a Golden Globe Award and a SAG Award. More recently, she starred in Last Night in Soho (2021), The Northman (2022), and The Menu (2022). She also voiced Princess Peach in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) and played Imperator Furiosa in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024).
Contents
Early Life and Background
Anya Taylor-Joy was born on April 16, 1996, in Miami, Florida. Her father, Dennis Alan Taylor, was a banker, and her mother, Jennifer Marina Joy, was a psychologist. Her father is from Argentina, with English and Scottish family roots. Her mother was born in Zambia and has English and Spanish heritage.
Anya's birth in Miami was by chance, as her parents were on vacation there. Because she was born in the U.S., she is an American citizen. She is the youngest of six children. Four of her siblings are from her father's earlier marriage.
Growing Up in Different Countries
Taylor-Joy lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, until she was six years old. She attended Northlands School there. Her family then moved to London, England. She speaks both Spanish and English fluently.
Moving to London was difficult for her. She initially refused to learn English, hoping her family would move back to Argentina. She went to Hill House International Junior School and Queen's Gate School. She acted in school plays but found it hard to fit in socially. She once said she felt "too English to be Argentine, too Argentine to be English, too American to be anything."
Discovering Acting
Before acting, Taylor-Joy trained in dance, studying ballet until she was 15. When she was 17, she was discovered by Sarah Doukas, who founded Storm Management, a modeling agency. This happened while Anya was walking her dog near Harrods in London.
She agreed to model, but only if acting remained her main goal. During a modeling shoot for the TV series Downton Abbey, she met actor Allen Leech. He noticed her reciting a poem for an upcoming screen test. Leech later introduced her to his agent, and Anya signed on as an actress.
Anya Taylor-Joy's Acting Career
Anya Taylor-Joy's first acting role was in the 2014 film Vampire Academy. However, her scenes were cut from the final movie. She then appeared on TV in the series Endeavour and Atlantis in 2015.
Breakthrough Roles
In 2015, she starred in The Witch, a horror film about a Puritan family. The movie was highly praised, and her role was a big success. Critics called her "remarkable" and noted her mix of innocence and cleverness. She won the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor for this role.
The next year, she played the main character in the science fiction horror film Morgan. Even though the movie didn't do well, her performance was praised for showing both innocence and intensity. She also appeared in Barry, a film about a young Barack Obama.
In 2016, she starred with James McAvoy in Split. She played Casey Cooke, a teenager kidnapped by a man with multiple personalities. The film was a huge success, earning a lot of money. She returned as Casey Cooke in the 2019 sequel, Glass.
Her other films in 2017 included Thoroughbreds, where she played a high school student planning a crime. Critics found her performance "captivating." She also starred in the horror mystery Marrowbone. That year, she was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award. She also received the Trophée Chopard at the Cannes Film Festival. In late 2017, she played Petronella Oortman in the TV miniseries The Miniaturist.
In 2019, she voiced Brea in the fantasy series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. She also joined the cast of the TV crime drama Peaky Blinders as Gina Gray.
Rising to Fame
In 2020, Taylor-Joy starred as Emma Woodhouse in the film Emma, based on Jane Austen's novel. Critics praised her performance, calling her "incandescent." She received a Golden Globe nomination for this role. She also played Illyana Rasputin in the superhero horror film The New Mutants.
Her role as Beth Harmon in the Netflix miniseries The Queen's Gambit brought her international fame. She played an orphaned chess prodigy who faces personal challenges while becoming a top chess player. The series was a massive hit for Netflix. Critics loved her performance, describing it as "darkly fascinating" and "magnetic." For this role, she won a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
.jpg)
In 2021, she starred in the psychological horror film Last Night in Soho. She also sang the song "Downtown" in the film. Time magazine included her on their "100 Next" list that year.
In 2022, she reunited with The Witch director Robert Eggers for the historical epic The Northman. She starred alongside Alexander Skarsgård in this Viking revenge story. The film received positive reviews. She also appeared in the comedy Amsterdam and the black comedy thriller The Menu. Her role in The Menu earned her another Golden Globe nomination.
In 2023, she voiced Princess Peach in the popular animated film The Super Mario Bros. Movie. In 2024, she had a surprise cameo in Dune: Part Two as Alia Atreides. She then starred as the main character in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road. She received praise for her performance as an "overwhelmingly convincing action heroine."
Looking ahead, she starred in the romantic action film The Gorge in 2025, which was released on Apple TV+. She is also set to star with Chris Evans in the upcoming action comedy film Sacrifice.
Personal Life
Anya Taylor-Joy started a relationship with American musician Malcolm McRae in 2021. He is the frontman of the rock band More. They got married in a private ceremony on April 1, 2022, in New Orleans. They had a second ceremony in September 2023 in Venice, Italy.
Filmography
Film
 |
Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Vampire Academy | Feeder Girl | (Uncredited) |
| 2015 | The Witch | Thomasin | |
| 2016 | Morgan | Morgan | |
| Barry | Charlotte Baughman | ||
| Split | Casey Cooke | ||
| 2017 | Marrowbone | Allie | |
| Thoroughbreds | Lily Reynolds | ||
| 2018 | Crossmaglen | Ana | Short film |
| 2019 | Glass | Casey Cooke | |
| Love, Antosha | Herself | Documentary | |
| Playmobil: The Movie | Marla Brenner | ||
| Radioactive | Irene Curie | ||
| 2020 | Emma | Emma Woodhouse | |
| Here Are the Young Men | Jen | ||
| The New Mutants | Illyana Rasputin / Magik | ||
| 2021 | Last Night in Soho | Sandie | |
| 2022 | The Northman | Olga | |
| The Menu | Margot / Erin | ||
| Amsterdam | Libby Voze | ||
| 2023 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie | Princess Peach (voice) | |
| 2024 | Dune: Part Two | Alia Atreides | Uncredited cameo |
| Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga | Imperator Furiosa | ||
| 2025 | The Gorge | Drasa | |
| TBA | Sacrifice |
Joan | Post-production; also executive producer |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Endeavour | Philippa Collins-Davidson | 1 episode | |
| 2015 | Viking Quest | Mani | Television film | |
| Atlantis | Cassandra | Recurring role, 6 episodes | ||
| 2017 | The Miniaturist | Petronella "Nella" Brandt | Miniseries, 3 episodes | |
| 2019–2022 | Peaky Blinders | Gina Gray | 11 episodes | |
| 2019 | The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance | Brea (voice) | Main role, 10 episodes | |
| 2020 | The Queen's Gambit | Beth Harmon | Miniseries, 7 episodes | |
| 2021 | Saturday Night Live | Herself (host) | Episode: "Anya Taylor-Joy/Lil Nas X" | |
| TBA | Lucky | Lucky | Upcoming miniseries, also executive producer |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "Red Lips (Skrillex remix)" | GTA (featuring Sam Bruno) | Girl | |
| 2019 | "Dinner & Diatribes" | Hozier | Wife |
Awards and Recognitions
Anya Taylor-Joy has won many awards for her acting. She received the Empire Award for Best Newcomer in 2016. In 2017, she was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award and was given the Trophée Chopard.
In 2021, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film. She also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie. Both awards were for her role in The Queen's Gambit.
See also
In Spanish: Anya Taylor-Joy para niños
