Emerald Fennell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Emerald Fennell
Fennell in 2023
Born	Emerald Lilly Fennell (1985-10-01) 1 October 1985 (age 39) London, England
Education	Greyfriars, Oxford (BA)
Occupation	Actress filmmaker writer
Years active	2007–present
Spouse(s)	Chris Vernon
Children	2
Relatives	Theo Fennell (father)

Emerald Lilly Fennell, born on October 1, 1985, is a talented English actress, filmmaker, and writer. She has won many important awards, including an Academy Award and two BAFTA Awards. She has also been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.

Fennell first became known for her roles in historical movies like Albert Nobbs (2011), Anna Karenina (2012), and The Danish Girl (2015). She became even more famous for playing Nurse Patsy Mount in the BBC One TV show Call the Midwife (2013–2017). She also played Camilla Parker-Bowles in the Netflix series The Crown (2019–2020), which earned her an Emmy nomination.

As a writer and director, Fennell was the main writer for the second season of the BBC spy thriller Killing Eve (2019). This work led to two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. She directed her first movie, the thriller Promising Young Woman (2020). For this film, she won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. She was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director. Fennell also wrote the story for Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cinderella (2021). Her second film, the psychological thriller Saltburn, was released in 2023.

Early Life and Education

Emerald Fennell was born in Hammersmith, London. Her father, Theo Fennell, is a jewellery designer, and her mother, Louise Fennell, is an author. Emerald's sister, Coco Fennell, is a fashion designer.

Emerald went to Marlborough College, a well-known school in Wiltshire, England. After that, she studied English at Greyfriars, Oxford University. While at Oxford, she acted in many university plays. A journalist named K.J. Yossman noted that Fennell was part of a special group of friends from famous families. While at Oxford, a talent agent named Lindy King noticed her.

Career Highlights

Early Acting Roles (2007–2012)

Fennell started her acting career in 2007 with a small role in the crime show Trial & Retribution. In 2008, she was asked to write a movie script called Chukka. It was a romantic comedy about teenagers trying to save their school. She also appeared in TV shows like New Tricks and Any Human Heart in 2010. That same year, she made her first movie appearance in Mr Nice.

From 2011 to 2013, Fennell starred as Agnes in the TV comedy Chickens. She also had supporting roles in historical films such as Albert Nobbs (2011) and Anna Karenina (2012).

Rising to Fame (2013–2019)

Emerald Fennell at a public reading of her book Shiverton Hall in 2013.

In 2013, Fennell appeared in the comedy series Blandings and the TV movie The Lady Vanishes. She became very well-known for her role as Nurse Patsy Mount in the BBC One show Call the Midwife from 2013 to 2017. She even dyed her blonde hair red for the part.

Emerald also started writing books. Her first children's fantasy novel, Shiverton Hall, was published in 2013. A second book in the series, The Creeper, came out in 2014. Shiverton Hall was even nominated for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize in 2014. In 2015, she released Monsters, her first horror book for adults. That same year, she acted in the films The Danish Girl and Pan.

In 2016, Fennell wrote two episodes of the comedy show Drifters and also appeared in one episode. She later played Ada Lovelace in the historical drama Victoria (2017) and Vanessa Bell in the film Vita & Virginia (2018).

In 2018, Emerald Fennell was chosen to be the head writer for the second season of the BBC spy thriller Killing Eve. She wrote six episodes and became an executive producer for the show. She had been friends with the show's creator, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, for many years. The second season of Killing Eve began in April 2019. Fennell received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her work on the show.

In October 2018, it was announced that Fennell would play Camilla Shand in the third season of the Netflix series The Crown. She continued this role in the fourth season, which earned her another Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Breakthrough and New Projects (2020–Present)

Emerald Fennell in an interview about her film Promising Young Woman in 2020.

In January 2019, it was announced that Fennell would produce, write, and direct the comedy thriller film Promising Young Woman, starring Carey Mulligan. Filming began in March 2019. Emerald was seven months pregnant during the 23-day shoot. The movie was shown at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and received great reviews. Critics praised it as a bold and important thriller. Fennell also had a small, uncredited role in the film. The movie received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay for Fennell. She became one of only seven women, and the first British woman, to be nominated for Best Director. She won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

In January 2020, Andrew Lloyd Webber announced he would work with Fennell on a musical called Cinderella. It opened in London in August 2021 and received good reviews. The musical later moved to Broadway in 2023, renamed Bad Cinderella.

Emerald Fennell was also involved in writing scripts for other films. In July 2022, actress Ana de Armas mentioned that Fennell helped write the script for the John Wick spin-off film Ballerina, which is expected to be released in June 2025.

In 2023, Fennell had a brief role as Midge in Greta Gerwig's fantasy comedy film Barbie. Also in 2023, Fennell wrote, produced, and directed her second feature film, Saltburn. This film is a black comedy and psychological thriller starring Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi. It premiered at the 50th Telluride Film Festival and received mostly positive reviews.

In July 2024, Fennell announced that her next film would be an adaptation of Emily Brontë’s famous novel Wuthering Heights.

Personal Life

Emerald Fennell is married to Chris Vernon, who is a film and advertising director and producer. They have two children. Their elder child, a son, was born in 2019. Emerald confirmed she was expecting their second child at the 93rd Academy Awards in April 2021.

Filmography

Short film

Feature Film Work

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer
2020	Promising Young Woman	Yes	Yes	Yes
2023	Saltburn	Yes	Yes	Yes
2026	Wuthering Heights	Yes	Yes	Yes

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Acting Roles in Films

Television Work

Acting Roles in Television

Theatre Work

Awards and Nominations

Emerald Fennell has received many awards and nominations for her work as an actress, writer, and director. Here are some of her notable achievements:

• Academy Awards: She won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Promising Young Woman in 2021. She was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director for the same film.
• British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs): For Promising Young Woman, she won BAFTAs for Best Original Screenplay and Outstanding British Film in 2021.
• Primetime Emmy Awards: She received nominations for her writing and producing work on Killing Eve (2019) and for her acting role in The Crown (2021).
• Critics' Choice Movie Awards: She won Best Original Screenplay for Promising Young Woman in 2021.
• Directors Guild of America Awards: She was nominated for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film for Promising Young Woman in 2021.
• Golden Globe Awards: She received nominations for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, and Best Screenplay for Promising Young Woman in 2021.
• Writers Guild of America Awards: She won Best Original Screenplay for Promising Young Woman in 2021.
• European Film Awards: She won the European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI for Promising Young Woman in 2021.
• Screen Actors Guild Awards: As part of the cast, she won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for The Crown in 2021.

See also

In Spanish: Emerald Fennell para niños