Daisy Ridley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Daisy Ridley
Ridley in 2024
Born	Daisy Jazz Isobel Ridley (1992-04-10) 10 April 1992 (age 33) London, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2013–present
Spouse(s)	Tom Bateman
Relatives	Arnold Ridley (great-uncle)

Daisy Jazz Isobel Ridley (born on April 10, 1992) is an English actress. She became very famous for playing Rey in the latest Star Wars movies.

Daisy Ridley has acted in many different films. She was in the mystery film Murder on the Orient Express (2017). She also played the main character in the romantic drama Ophelia (2018). You might have heard her voice in the animated movie Peter Rabbit (2018) and the video game Twelve Minutes (2021). She also had big roles in the science-fiction film Chaos Walking (2021), the drama Sometimes I Think About Dying (2023), and the thriller The Marsh King's Daughter (2023). In 2024, she played Gertrude Ederle, a famous swimmer, in the movie Young Woman and the Sea.

Early Life and Education

Daisy Ridley was born in Westminster, London, on April 10, 1992. She grew up in an area called Maida Vale. Her dad, Christopher Ridley, is a photographer. Her mom, Louise, works in communications for a bank. Daisy has two older sisters, Kika Rose and Poppy Sophia. She also has two older half-sisters.

Daisy's great-uncle, Arnold Ridley, was a soldier, a writer, and an actor. He was well-known for playing Private Godfrey in the TV show Dad's Army. Her grandfather, John Harry Dunn Ridley, worked for the BBC (a big British broadcasting company).

When Daisy was growing up, her favorite movie was Matilda (1996). She looked up to the main character, Matilda Wormwood. Even though she wasn't a huge Star Wars fan as a kid, she loved the Harry Potter movies.

Daisy won a special scholarship to attend Tring Park School for the Performing Arts. She went there from age nine to eighteen. After that, she studied classical history at Birkbeck, University of London. However, she left college to focus on becoming an actress. Before she got her big role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Daisy worked as a bartender in London for almost two years.

Acting Career

Starting Out and Star Wars

Daisy Ridley started her acting career with small parts in TV shows. These included Youngers, Toast of London, Silent Witness, Mr Selfridge, and Casualty. She also appeared in a short film called Blue Season. She was the main actress in Lifesaver, an interactive film that was nominated for a BAFTA Award. Daisy also appeared in the music video for Wiley's song "Lights On". Her first movie role was in the 2015 horror film Scrawl.

Ridley's costume from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts

In April 2014, it was announced that Daisy Ridley would play Rey. Rey is one of the main characters in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Daisy was chosen for the role in February 2014. At the time, she was not well-known at all. The director, J. J. Abrams, chose her just like George Lucas chose unknown actors for the first Star Wars movie in 1977.

Daisy started filming her scenes in May 2014. Before the movie came out in December 2015, she appeared on special Star Wars postage stamps in the UK. Her character, Rey, was on a stamp with the droid BB-8. The Force Awakens was a huge success, earning over $2 billion worldwide. It was the highest-grossing film of 2015. Critics praised Daisy's acting. One critic, Richard Roeper, called her performance "a breakout." He also said that Harrison Ford (who played Han Solo) had great chemistry with Daisy and John Boyega (who played Finn).

Continuing Her Journey

In January 2016, Daisy Ridley became an executive producer for the documentary The Eagle Huntress. This means she helped make the film happen. She also narrated the film for its wider release. Daisy also sang on Barbra Streisand's 2016 album, Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway. She sang the song "At the Ballet" with Anne Hathaway and Barbra Streisand.

In 2017, Daisy played Mary Debenham in Murder on the Orient Express. This movie was based on a detective novel by Agatha Christie. Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in the film. Daisy also played Rey again in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which came out in December 2017. In this movie, she acted alongside Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker.

Waxwork of Ridley as Rey (and the droid BB-8) at Madame Tussauds, London

In January 2018, Daisy starred as the main character in Ophelia. This movie was a new version of the classic Hamlet story. She acted with Naomi Watts and Clive Owen. In February 2018, Daisy voiced Cottontail in Peter Rabbit. This animated movie was based on the famous children's stories by Beatrix Potter.

In December 2019, Daisy appeared as Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. This was the last film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. She had said she wouldn't play Rey again after this movie. However, she later said she would be open to returning to the role if needed. She mentioned that the Star Wars universe is huge with many stories still to be told.

In 2021, Daisy Ridley co-starred in the film Chaos Walking. This movie was based on a young adult novel by Patrick Ness. She played Viola Eade, acting alongside Tom Holland. The movie was released on March 5, 2021.

She also lent her voice to the video game Twelve Minutes. In this game, she voiced the character of the Wife. The game received good reviews, and Daisy's voice acting was praised. She also made a surprise appearance in Judd Apatow's 2022 movie, The Bubble.

In July 2023, it was announced that Daisy would host a podcast series called True Spies. This series is about Lee Harvey Oswald.

Daisy started filming for the movie The Marsh King's Daughter in Canada on June 7, 2021. Filming finished on August 6, 2021.

She voices a character named Marguerite in the French animated film The Inventor. This movie was released in the United States in September 2023. In 2021–2022, she filmed an independent movie called Sometimes I Think About Dying. She was also a main producer for this film for the first time. She starred in Magpie, a thriller written by her partner Tom Bateman. This movie was based on Daisy's own idea. She also starred in a movie for Walt Disney Pictures called Young Woman and the Sea. In this film, she played the role of Gertrude Ederle, a famous swimmer.

Future Projects

In October 2021, Daisy Ridley signed on for a science-fiction mystery thriller film called Mind Fall.

On April 7, 2023, at a Star Wars event, it was announced that Daisy Ridley would play Rey again in a new Star Wars film. This movie will be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

In March 2025, it was announced that Daisy would star with Alden Ehrenreich in a romantic comedy called The Last Resort. Filming for this movie is set to begin in April 2025.

Personal Life

Daisy Ridley lives in Primrose Hill, London. Since 2017, she has been in a relationship with actor Tom Bateman. They met while working on the movie Murder on the Orient Express. In January 2023, Daisy confirmed that she and Tom Bateman had gotten married.

In 2016, Daisy shared that she was diagnosed with endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome when she was fifteen. These are health conditions that required her to have some surgeries. In 2023, Daisy was diagnosed with Graves' disease, which is another health condition.

Social Media

After the 2016 Teen Choice Awards, Daisy Ridley posted a message about gun violence on Instagram and Facebook. Some people criticized her post. Because of this, she deleted her social media accounts. She later returned to Instagram briefly, saying she wanted fewer distractions during busy months. In 2017, she said that social media is "highly unhealthy for people's mental health," including her own. In a 2019 interview, she said she would never go back to social media. She felt that "bad vibes" on social media were dangerous.

However, on April 4, 2022, Daisy Ridley returned to Instagram after six years. In her first post, she was drinking tea and said she was "refreshed, recharged, and ready for what I'm calling my 'Year of Yes'". Her co-star Leslie Odom Jr. and Chewbacca actor Joonas Suotamo welcomed her back.

Filmography

Film

Denotes productions that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2013	Lifesaver	Jo	Short film
	Blue Season	Sarah
	100% BEEF	Girl
	Crossed Wires	Her
2014	Under	Waitress
	The Quiet Ones	Jane Harper / Evey Dwyer	In a still mock photograph in end credits; credited as an artist
2015	Scrawl	Hannah
	Star Wars: The Force Awakens	Rey
2016	Only Yesterday	Taeko Okajima	Voice role; English dub
	The Eagle Huntress	Narrator	Documentary; executive producer
2017	Murder on the Orient Express	Mary Debenham
	Star Wars: The Last Jedi	Rey
2018	Ophelia	Ophelia
	Peter Rabbit	Cottontail Rabbit	Voice role
2019	Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker	Rey
2020	Asteroid Hunters	Narrator	Documentary
2021	Chaos Walking	Viola Eade
2022	The Bubble	Kate	Cameo
2023	Sometimes I Think About Dying	Fran	Also producer
	The Inventor	Marguerite	Voice role
	The Marsh King's Daughter	Helena Pelletier
2024	Magpie	Anette	Also producer and story writer
	Young Woman and the Sea	Gertrude Ederle	Also executive producer
2025	Cleaner	Joey Locke
	We Bury the Dead	Ava Newman
TBA	The Last Resort	Brooke	Filming

Television

Theatre

Music Videos

Video Games

Theme Park Attractions

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Daisy Ridley para niños