Carey Mulligan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carey Mulligan
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Mulligan in 2024
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Carey Hannah Mulligan
28 May 1985 London, England
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| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2004–present |
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Works
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Full list |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Full list |
Carey Hannah Mulligan (born on May 28, 1985) is a talented English actress. She has won many awards, including a BAFTA Award, and has been nominated for three Academy Awards (also known as the Oscars). She also received a special honor from the UK in 2025, becoming a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her work in drama.
Carey Mulligan started her acting career on stage in 2004. Her first movie role was in the romantic drama Pride & Prejudice (2005). She also appeared in TV shows like Bleak House (2005) and the popular Doctor Who episode "Blink" (2007). Her big breakthrough came in 2009 with the film An Education, where she played a schoolgirl in the 1960s. This role earned her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress.
She has starred in many other well-known films, such as Never Let Me Go (2010), Drive (2011), and The Great Gatsby (2013). She also received Oscar nominations for her roles in Promising Young Woman (2020) and Maestro (2023).
Outside of acting, Mulligan is a dedicated ambassador for the Alzheimer's Society and War Child, helping to raise awareness and support for important causes. She is married to singer-songwriter Marcus Mumford and they have three children.
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Her Early Life and Family
Carey Hannah Mulligan was born in London, England, on May 28, 1985. Her father, Stephen, was a hotel manager from Liverpool, England, and her mother, Nano, was a university lecturer from Wales. Her parents met while working at a hotel.
When Carey was three, her family moved to West Germany because of her father's job. She and her brother attended the International School of Düsseldorf there. They moved back to the UK when she was eight. As a teenager, she went to Woldingham School, a private school in Surrey.
How She Started Acting
Carey's interest in acting began when she was six years old, watching her brother in a school play called The King and I. She really wanted to be in it and convinced the teachers to let her join the chorus.
At Woldingham School, she was very involved in drama. She was even in charge of the drama department, acting in plays, musicals, and helping younger students. When she was 16, she saw a play starring Kenneth Branagh, a famous actor. His performance made her even more determined to become an actress. She wrote to him for advice, and his sister replied, telling her that if she felt such a strong need to act, she should pursue it.
Carey's parents wanted her to go to university, but she applied to drama schools instead. She wasn't accepted at first. During her last year of school, she met screenwriter Julian Fellowes (who wrote Gosford Park). She asked him for advice, and he suggested she "marry a lawyer" instead of acting! But Carey was serious and wrote him a letter explaining her passion. A few weeks later, Fellowes's wife invited Carey to a dinner for young actors. This led to an audition for Pride & Prejudice, and she got the role of Kitty Bennet. Before becoming a full-time actress, she worked as a barmaid and ran errands for Ealing Studios.
Her Acting Career
Early Roles (2004–2008)
Carey Mulligan's first professional acting job was in a play called Forty Winks in 2004. The next year, she made her film debut in Pride & Prejudice, playing Kitty Bennet alongside Keira Knightley. She also appeared in the BBC TV show Bleak House.
In 2007, she was in the film My Boy Jack with Daniel Radcliffe and another Jane Austen adaptation, Northanger Abbey. She also guest-starred in the popular Doctor Who episode "Blink", which won her an award. She then performed in a stage play called The Seagull, which later moved to Broadway in New York City.
Becoming a Star (2009–2014)
Carey's big break came in 2009 when she starred as Jenny, a teenage schoolgirl, in the independent film An Education. More than a hundred actresses tried out for the part, but Carey's audition stood out. The film and her performance received amazing reviews. She was nominated for an Academy Award and won a BAFTA Award for Best Actress. Critics compared her performance to that of the famous actress Audrey Hepburn.
In 2010, she was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group that gives out the Oscars. That same year, she starred in Never Let Me Go with Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield, and in the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. She also sang on a song for the band Belle & Sebastian.
She returned to the stage in 2011 in a play called Through a Glass, Darkly, where she played a challenging role. Critics praised her performance, with The New York Times calling her "one of the finest actresses of her generation."
In 2011, Carey co-starred in two highly praised films: Drive with Ryan Gosling and Shame with Michael Fassbender. Both films were very popular at film festivals. She received another BAFTA nomination for her role in Drive.
In 2013, she played Daisy Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann's film The Great Gatsby alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. She also starred in the black comedy Inside Llewyn Davis with Oscar Isaac and Justin Timberlake, where she played a folk singer.
In 2014, she returned to the stage in London for the play Skylight. The play was very successful and later moved to Broadway in 2015. Carey earned her first Tony Award nomination for her performance in Skylight.
Continued Success (2015–Present)
Carey continued to impress audiences with her roles. In 2015, she starred in the film Far from the Madding Crowd, based on a famous novel. Critics said her performance showed she could lead a movie. Later that year, she starred in Suffragette (2015) with Meryl Streep, playing a woman fighting for women's right to vote.
In 2017, she was in the Netflix film Mudbound, which was highly praised by critics. In 2018, she starred in Wildlife with Jake Gyllenhaal. Her performance in Wildlife was called a "career-best" by many.
Carey also returned to TV in the BBC series Collateral and performed in a one-woman stage show called Girls and Boys in New York, which The New York Times called "perfection."
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In 2020, Carey starred in the thriller film Promising Young Woman, where she also helped produce the movie. Her performance earned her a second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 2021, she starred in The Dig, a film about a famous archaeological discovery.
In 2022, Carey starred in She Said, playing a real-life reporter who helped expose a major scandal. For this role, she received a Golden Globe nomination.
Her most recent film was Maestro (2023), where she played Felicia Montealegre, the wife of famous composer Leonard Bernstein. Critics loved her "heartbreaking" performance, and she received her third Oscar nomination for it. She also had a small but memorable part in the film Saltburn.
Carey's upcoming projects include a voice role in the animated film Wildwood and a role in the second season of the Netflix series Beef.
Her Personal Life
Carey Mulligan married Marcus Mumford, the lead singer of the band Mumford & Sons, in 2012. They were childhood friends who wrote letters to each other, then reconnected as adults. They have three children together.
Helping Others
Carey Mulligan is very involved in charity work. In 2012, she became an ambassador for the Alzheimer's Society, an organization that helps people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Her own grandmother lived with Alzheimer's for many years. Carey helps raise awareness and money for research by participating in events like the Alzheimer's Society Memory Walk and a half-marathon.
In 2014, she also became an ambassador for War Child, a charity that helps children affected by war. She has visited places like the Democratic Republic of Congo to support their work.
Awards and Achievements
Carey Mulligan has received many awards and honors throughout her career. These include a British Academy Film Award and a Critics' Choice Movie Award. She has also been nominated for three Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, five Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2025, she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her contributions to drama.
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