Jennifer Ehle facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jennifer Ehle
Ehle in 2016
Born	Jennifer Anne Ehle (1969-12-29) December 29, 1969 (age 55) Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.
Alma mater	Central School of Speech and Drama
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1991–present
Known for	Pride and Prejudice
Spouse(s)	Michael Ryan ​ (m. 2001)​
Children	2
Parents	John Ehle (father) Rosemary Harris (mother)

Jennifer Anne Ehle (born December 29, 1969) is an American actress. She is well-known for her roles in movies, TV shows, and plays. Many people recognize her from the 1995 BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice, where she played Elizabeth Bennet. For this role, she won a special award called the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress.

Jennifer Ehle has also won two Tony Awards, which are very important awards for theatre actors on Broadway in New York City. She has also been nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award, a top theatre award in London.

She has appeared in many popular films like The King's Speech (2010), Contagion (2011), and Zero Dark Thirty (2012). She also acted in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie series. On TV, she has been in shows such as The Blacklist and The Good Fight. In 2023, she starred in the miniseries Dead Ringers, which won a Peabody Award.

Early Life and Education

Jennifer Ehle was born on December 29, 1969, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in the United States. Her mother, Rosemary Harris, was an English actress, and her father, John Ehle, was an American author. She has a mix of Romanian, German, and English family background.

When she was a toddler in 1973, Jennifer even appeared on Broadway in a play called A Streetcar Named Desire. Her mother was also in that play. Jennifer grew up spending time in both the UK and the US. She went to several schools, including Interlochen Arts Academy. She mostly grew up in Asheville, North Carolina. She studied acting at the North Carolina School of the Arts and the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

Acting Career Highlights

Jennifer Ehle started her acting career on stage. She performed at the Edinburgh Festival, with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and at the Royal National Theatre.

Becoming a Star in the 1990s

In 1991, Jennifer made her first big appearance in London's West End in a play called Tartuffe. She won an award for her performance. Soon after, she appeared in a TV show called The Camomile Lawn (1992). In this show, she and her mother played the same character at different ages.

One of Jennifer's most famous roles was playing Elizabeth Bennet in the 1995 TV series Pride and Prejudice. This show was based on Jane Austen's famous book. She starred alongside Colin Firth and won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for her work.

After this, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. She also got her first major movie role in Paradise Road (1997). She appeared in other films like Wilde (1997) and Sunshine (1999).

Broadway Success in the 2000s

In 2000, Jennifer Ehle made her first appearance on Broadway in a play called The Real Thing. Critics loved her performance, and she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Interestingly, her mother, Rosemary Harris, was also nominated for the same award that year!

She took a break from acting for a while. In 2005, she returned to the stage in London in The Philadelphia Story. The next year, she played Lady Macbeth in Macbeth in New York.

In 2006 and 2007, Jennifer returned to Broadway in a huge play series called The Coast of Utopia. She played three different characters in these plays and won her second Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.

In 2009, Jennifer was cast as Catelyn Stark in the pilot episode of the famous HBO show Game of Thrones. However, she decided not to continue with the role because she had just had her daughter and wanted to spend more time with her. Another actress, Michelle Fairley, took over the part.

Film and TV Roles in the 2010s and 2020s

Since 2010, Jennifer Ehle has been in many well-known films. She reunited with her Pride and Prejudice co-star Colin Firth in the award-winning movie The King's Speech (2010). She also appeared in Contagion (2011), The Ides of March (2011), and Zero Dark Thirty (2012). Other films include A Little Chaos (2015), A Quiet Passion (2016), and Little Men (2016).

She also appeared in the popular Fifty Shades of Grey movie series as Carla Wilks.

In 2017, Jennifer returned to the stage in the play Oslo, which won the Tony Award for Best Play. She was nominated for Best Actress for her role. In 2018, she was in the TV miniseries The Looming Tower.

In 2020, she worked with Jeff Daniels again in the miniseries The Comey Rule, where they played James Comey and his wife. In 2022, she appeared in several TV shows, including Suspicion, The Good Fight, and 1923.

Also in 2022, Jennifer received great reviews for her role in the movie She Said, an investigative drama. She also returned to the stage as Gertrude in a New York production of Hamlet.

In 2023, she starred as Rebecca Parker in the thriller miniseries Dead Ringers. This series won a Peabody Award. In 2024, she appeared in four episodes of the TV show Law & Order: Organized Crime.

Personal Life

Jennifer Ehle married writer Michael Ryan on November 29, 2001. They have two children together.

Film Roles

Television Roles

Theatre Roles

Awards and Nominations

Jennifer Ehle has won and been nominated for many awards throughout her career.

Tony Awards

BAFTA Awards

Screen Actors Guild Award

Laurence Olivier Award

Outer Critics Circle Award

Other award wins:

• 1991: Ian Charleson Award, Second Prize – for her role in Tartuffe
• 1992: Radio Times Award Best Newcomer – for The Camomile Lawn (TV)
• 2000: Variety Club Award – for The Real Thing (play)

Other award nominations:

• 2000: Genie Award nomination – for Sunshine

See also

In Spanish: Jennifer Ehle para niños