Lily James facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lily James
James in 2017
Born	Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson (1989-04-05) 5 April 1989 (age 36) Esher, Surrey, England
Alma mater	Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2009–present
Relatives	Helen Horton (grandmother)

Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson (born 5 April 1989), known as Lily James, is an English actress. She studied acting in London at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Her career started in the British TV show Just William in 2010.

She became very well-known after playing Cinderella in the 2015 fantasy film Cinderella. Before that, she had a role in the drama series Downton Abbey from 2012 to 2015. Lily James has also starred in many other films. These include the action movie Baby Driver (2017) and the musicals Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) and Yesterday (2019). She also played Pamela Anderson in the TV series Pam & Tommy (2022), which earned her important awards nominations.

Early Life and Education

Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson was born on April 5, 1989. Her birthplace was Esher, in Surrey, England. Her mother, Ninette Mantle, was an actress, and her father, James "Jamie" Thomson, was a musician. Lily has an older brother and a younger brother.

Her grandmother, Helen Horton, was an American actress. Lily's other grandmother was French. She had to leave her village near Paris because of the Nazis during World War II. Later, she married Lily's grandfather, who was a minister in the Royal Air Force.

After attending Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, Lily went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She graduated in 2010. Soon after, she signed with a management company in London.

Acting Career Highlights

Early TV Roles and Big Break

Lily James started her TV career in 2010. She played Ethel Brown in the BBC show Just William. In 2011, she appeared as Poppy in the fourth series of ITV's Secret Diary of a ... Girl.

From 2012 to 2015, she played Lady Rose MacClare in the popular series Downton Abbey. Lady Rose became a main character in the show's later seasons. Lily also appeared in the very last episode of the series.

In 2012, Lily James acted in the Warner Brothers film Wrath of the Titans. She also starred in Fast Girls, a movie about young female athletes.

Her biggest role came in 2015 when she played Cinderella. This was in Kenneth Branagh's live-action Disney film Cinderella. She even sang songs like "Sing Sweet Nightingale" and "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" for the film's end credits.

Lily James at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con

Major Film Roles and Success

In 2016, Lily returned to TV in the BBC historical drama War & Peace. She played Natasha Rostova. She also starred as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. This movie was a funny version of Jane Austen's famous book.

Lily appeared in several big movies in 2017. She played Debora in the action film Baby Driver. She was also Elizabeth Layton, a secretary to Winston Churchill, in the war drama Darkest Hour.

In 2018, Lily starred as a younger version of Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. This was the sequel to the popular musical film. That same year, she played author Juliet Ashton in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. This drama was set during World War II.

Recent Work and Future Projects

In 2020, Lily played the second Mrs. de Winter in Rebecca, a Gothic romance film. In 2021, she was Peggy Piggott in The Dig, a British film based on a true story.

Later in 2021, she was chosen to play Pamela Anderson in the miniseries Pam & Tommy for Hulu. Her performance earned her nominations for a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award.

In 2023, Lily starred as Pam Adkisson in The Iron Claw. She also appeared in the Italian film Finally Dawn. In 2024, she starred in the indie film Greedy People.

Lily James is set to star in an upcoming Cliffhanger reboot. She is also expected to voice a character in LoliRock: The Movie in 2026 and The Angry Birds Movie 3 in 2027.

Personal Life

Lily James's father, James Thomson, passed away from cancer in 2008. She chose her father's first name as her stage name. She did this because there was already another actress named Lily Thomson.

She was in a relationship with actor Matt Smith from 2014 to 2019. They met while working on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. In 2021, Lily started dating American musician Michael Shuman. Their relationship was reported to have ended in early 2023 but rekindled later that year.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Chemistry	Ines	Short film
	Wrath of the Titans	Korrina
	Broken	Older Skunk
	Fast Girls	Lisa Temple
2013	The Silent Treatment	The Girl	Short film
2015	Cinderella	Cinderella
	Burnt	Sara
2016	Pride and Prejudice and Zombies	Elizabeth Bennet
	The Exception	Mieke de Jong
	The Tale of Thomas Burberry	Betty	Short film
2017	Baby Driver	Debora
	Darkest Hour	Elizabeth Layton
2018	Sorry to Bother You	White Detroit (voice)	Cameo
	The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society	Juliet Ashton
	Little Woods	Deb Hale
	Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again	Young Donna Sheridan
2019	One Red Nose Day and a Wedding	Miranda	Short film
	Yesterday	Ellie Appleton
	Rare Beasts	Cressida
2020	Rebecca	Mrs. de Winter
2021	The Dig	Peggy Piggott
2022	What's Love Got to Do with It?	Zoe Stevenson
2023	Finally Dawn	Josephine Esperanto
	The Iron Claw	Pam Adkisson
2024	Greedy People	Paige Shelley
	Relay	Sarah Grant
2026	LoliRock: The Movie	TBA (voice)	Filming
2027	The Angry Birds Movie 3	TBA (voice)
TBA	Untitled Cliffhanger film	Naomi Cooper	Filming
	Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo	TBA	Filming

Television

Theatre

Awards and Nominations

Lily James has received several awards and nominations for her acting.

See also

In Spanish: Lily James para niños

• List of British actors