Rebecca Ferguson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rebecca Ferguson
Rebecca Ferguson in 2018
Born	Rebecca Louisa Ferguson Sundström (1983-10-19) 19 October 1983 (age 41) Stockholm, Sweden
Alma mater	Adolf Fredrik's Music School
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1999–present
Spouse(s)	Rory St. Clair Gainer ​ (m. 2018)​
Partner(s)	Ludwig Hallberg (2005–2015)
Children	2

Rebecca Louisa Ferguson Sundström (born on October 19, 1983) is a talented actress from Sweden. She started acting on TV in 1999 in a Swedish soap opera called Nya tider. Her first movie role was in 2004 in the Swedish horror film Drowning Ghost.

Rebecca became famous around the world when she played Elizabeth Woodville in the British TV show The White Queen in 2013. For this role, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. She is also well-known for playing the secret agent Ilsa Faust with Tom Cruise in three Mission: Impossible movies: Rogue Nation (2015), Fallout (2018), and Dead Reckoning Part One (2023).

She also played Jenny Lind in the musical movie The Greatest Showman (2017). Rebecca has starred in horror films like Life (2017) and Doctor Sleep (2019). She also had important roles in the science fiction movies Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024). In 2023, she began starring in the Apple TV+ science fiction series Silo.

Early Life and School

Rebecca Ferguson was born in Stockholm, Sweden. She grew up in the Vasastan area of central Stockholm. Her mother, Rosemary Ferguson, is English. She moved from Britain to Sweden when she was 25. Rebecca's mother helped the famous music group ABBA translate their song lyrics into English. Rebecca's father, Olov Sundström, is a Swedish businessman. Rebecca uses her mother's last name, Ferguson, as her stage name.

Rebecca went to an English-speaking school in Sweden. She learned to speak both Swedish and English very well. She went to the Adolf Fredrik's Music School in Stockholm and finished in 1999.

When she was 13, Rebecca started working as a model. She appeared in magazines and TV commercials for makeup, clothes, and jewelry. She has loved dancing since she was very young. She learned ballet, tap-dancing, jazz, street funk, and tango. For a few years, she even taught Argentine tango at a dance company in Lund, Sweden. Before becoming a full-time actress, Rebecca had many different jobs. She worked at a daycare, as a nanny, in a jewelry shop, in a shoe shop, and at a Korean restaurant.

Acting Career

Rebecca Ferguson with Steven Gätjen at the premiere of Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation in 2015.

Starting in Sweden

Rebecca first became well-known for playing Anna Gripenhielm in the Swedish soap opera Nya tider (1999–2000). Later, she played Chrissy Eriksson in the Swedish-American show Ocean Ave. (2002). In 2004, she made her first movie appearance in the horror film Drowning Ghost. She also had a small role in the TV show Wallander (2008).

In 2011, Swedish director Richard Hobert saw her at a market. This led to her starring in his film A One-way Trip to Antibes [sv]. For this movie, she was nominated for the Rising Star award at the Stockholm International Film Festival. In 2013, she also starred in the film Us [sv].

Becoming Famous Worldwide

In 2012, Rebecca was chosen to play Elizabeth Woodville in the BBC historical drama The White Queen. This show was based on books about the women of the Wars of the Roses. People really liked Rebecca's acting in The White Queen. She even got a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a TV movie or miniseries. Her first role in a Hollywood movie was with Dwayne Johnson in Hercules (2014).

Mission: Impossible and Hollywood Stardom

In 2015, Rebecca became even more famous. She played Ilsa Faust, an agent from MI6, in the fifth Mission: Impossible movie, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Critics praised her performance. Tom Cruise, who stars in the movies, personally chose Rebecca for the role. He saw her in The White Queen and thought she looked like Ingrid Bergman.

Rebecca Ferguson in 2018.

She played Ilsa Faust again in the sixth Mission: Impossible film, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, which came out in 2018. This movie was a huge success, earning over $790 million worldwide. She returned as Ilsa Faust for a third time in the seventh film, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, in 2023.

In 2016, Rebecca played two characters, Katya and Lauren, in the spy movie Despite the Falling Snow. She won the Best Actress award at the 2016 Prague Independent Film Festival for this role. That same year, she appeared in Florence Foster Jenkins with Meryl Streep. She also starred in the thriller The Girl on the Train with Emily Blunt.

In 2017, Rebecca was the main female character in the sci-fi horror movie Life. She acted alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds. She also played the famous Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind in the musical film The Greatest Showman, starring with Hugh Jackman.

In 2019, Rebecca had several big movie roles. She co-starred in Doctor Sleep, which was based on a Stephen King novel. She played the villain Morgana in the adventure film The Kid Who Would Be King. She also played Riza Stavros in the science fiction comedy Men in Black: International. In 2021, she co-starred in the sci-fi thriller Reminiscence.

Director Denis Villeneuve chose her to play Lady Jessica in his movie versions of Frank Herbert's science fiction book Dune. She played this role in Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024).

In 2023, Rebecca starred in and helped produce the Apple TV+ science fiction series Silo.

Personal Life

In 2007, Rebecca had her first child, a son, with her boyfriend at the time, Ludwig Hallberg. After her success in soap operas and the birth of her son, she moved with Ludwig to Simrishamn, a town on the southeast coast of Sweden. In 2012, Rebecca and Ludwig taught tango together. They separated in April 2015.

Since 2016, Rebecca has been in a relationship with a businessman named Rory St. Clair Gainer. They have a daughter who was born in May 2018. Rebecca and Rory got married in December 2018. They have a home in Richmond, southwest London. This location is good because it is close to the Pinewood and Shepperton film studios.

Filmography

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2004	Drowning Ghost	Amanda
2010	Lennart	Home care personnel	Short film
	Puls	Linda	Short film
2011	Irresistible	Woman	Short film
	A One-Way Trip to Antibes	Maria
2013	Us	Linda
2014	Hercules	Ergenia
2015	Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation	Ilsa Faust
2016	Despite the Falling Snow	Katya / Lauren
	Florence Foster Jenkins	Kathleen Weatherley
	The Girl on the Train	Anna Watson
2017	Life	Miranda North
	The Snowman	Katrine Bratt
	The Greatest Showman	Jenny Lind
2018	Little Match Girl	Mother	Short film
	Mission: Impossible – Fallout	Ilsa Faust
2019	Doctor Sleep	Rose the Hat
	The Kid Who Would Be King	Morgana
	Men in Black: International	Riza Stavros
2020	Cold Night	Jenny Sorensen	Filmed in 2008
2021	Reminiscence	Mae
	Dune	Lady Jessica
2023	Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One	Ilsa Faust
2024	Dune: Part Two	Lady Jessica
2026	Mercy	TBA	Post-production
TBA	The Magic Faraway Tree	Dame Snap	Filming
	The Immortal Man	TBA	Filming
	Untitled Kathryn Bigelow film	TBA	Post-production

Television

Podcast

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Rebecca Ferguson (actriz) para niños