Romola Garai facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Romola Garai
Garai in Singapore in July 2007
Born	Romola Sadie Garai (1982-08-06) 6 August 1982 (age 42) British Hong Kong
Nationality	British
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2000–present
Spouse(s)	Sam Hoare ​ (m. 2014)​
Children	2

Romola Sadie Garai (born 6 August 1982) is a British actress and film director. She was born in Hong Kong. Romola is well-known for her many roles in movies and on stage. She often acts in movies that are set in the past, called "period films."

Some of her early movie roles include Nicholas Nickleby (2002) and I Capture the Castle (2003). She also appeared in Inside I'm Dancing (2004) and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004). Romola became more famous for her roles in popular historical dramas. These include Vanity Fair (2004), As You Like It (2006), and Amazing Grace (2007). She also starred in Atonement (2007), Glorious 39 (2009), and Suffragette (2015).

Romola is also known for playing Emma Woodhouse in the BBC TV series Emma (2009). For this role, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. She also received a nomination for a British Academy Television Award for her work in the BBC Two series The Crimson Petal and the White (2011). From 2011 to 2012, she played Bel Rowley in the BBC series The Hour. This role earned her more nominations, including another Golden Globe Award nomination. In 2022, she played Mary Tudor in the series Becoming Elizabeth.

Early Life and Education

Romola Garai was born in Hong Kong. Her parents are British. Her father's family has a Jewish background. Her mother, Janet A. Brown, raised Romola and her three brothers and sisters. Her father, Adrian Earl Rutherford Garai, is a bank manager. Romola's great-grandfather, Bernhard "Bert" Garai, came from Hungary. He started a photo agency called Keystone Press Agency in London in the early 1900s.

Romola is the third of four children. Her family moved to Singapore when she was five years old. They returned to Wiltshire in England when she was eight. She went to a private boarding school called Stonar School in Wiltshire. At 16, she moved to London to attend the City of London School for Girls. There, she finished her A-levels, which are important exams in the UK.

She acted in school plays and was part of the National Youth Theatre. This is a group for young actors. When she was 18, she got a role playing a younger version of famous actress Dame Judi Dench. This was for a TV show called The Last of the Blonde ....

After her A-levels, Romola studied English literature at Queen Mary University of London. She later moved to the Open University and earned a top degree. She first planned to focus only on her studies. However, she started acting full-time during her summer break.

Acting Career Highlights

Early Roles: 2000–2009

Romola's first professional acting job was in 2000. It was in the TV film The Last of the Blonde .... She played the younger version of Judi Dench's character. After that, she appeared in the TV series Attachments (2000–2002).

Her first big movie role was in Nicholas Nickleby. She played Kate Nickleby. The movie received good reviews. The cast even won an award for Best Ensemble. In 2003, she starred in I Capture the Castle. She played Cassandra Mortmain, a 17-year-old. Her performance earned her a nomination for a Most Promising Newcomer award.

In 2004, she was in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. Later that year, Vanity Fair was released. Romola played Amelia Sedley in this film. It was based on a 19th-century novel.

In 2005, Romola was nominated for another award. This was for Best Supporting Actress in the film Inside I'm Dancing. She won the British Supporting Actress of the Year award for this role. Also in 2005, she starred in a TV drama called The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant. Critics praised her performance. She earned two nominations for this role.

She appeared in Kenneth Branagh's movie version of As You Like It (2006). She played Celia. In 2006, she also starred in Amazing Grace. This film was about William Wilberforce, who worked to end the slave trade. Romola played Barbara Spooner, Wilberforce's wife.

In 2007, Romola starred as Angel Deverell in Angel. She was named one of the actresses of the year for her role. She was also nominated for a French award, the Prix Lumiere. This made her the first British actress to be nominated for it.

Also in 2007, she was in the Oscar-nominated film Atonement. She played the 18-year-old Briony Tallis. The film received many awards. Romola was nominated for a Best Actress award for her performance. She also performed in two Royal Shakespeare Company plays. She played Cordelia in King Lear and Nina in The Seagull. She received great reviews for her role in The Seagull. She later played Cordelia again in a TV version of King Lear.

In 2008, she appeared in The Other Man. Romola then starred in Glorious 39, a World War II thriller.

In 2009, she played the main character in a TV show based on Jane Austen's Emma. This was a four-hour series. Romola was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance.

In 2009, she traveled to the Syrian-Iraqi border. She made a short film called No Man's Land for the UNHCR. This film showed the difficult situation of refugees.

Recent Work: 2010–Present

In 2011, Romola starred in the BBC drama The Crimson Petal and the White. She was nominated for Best Actress at the 2012 BAFTA awards for this role. In 2011, she played Bel Rowley in the TV drama The Hour. This role earned her another Golden Globe nomination. Later that year, she played Becky in the play The Village Bike.

Romola also appeared with Anne Hathaway in the movie One Day. She played a single mother in the British film Junkhearts. She returned as Bel Rowley in the second season of The Hour in 2012. In 2013, she was in the sci-fi film The Last Days on Mars.

In 2015, she played Isabella in Measure for Measure on stage. Her performance was highly praised. That same year, she had a role in Suffragette. She also had a main role in the TV drama Churchill's Secret.

In 2020, she played Eleonor Marx in the movie "Mrs Marx".

Romola has also done radio dramas for BBC Radio 4. These include The Stone Tape and the thriller series Tracks. In 2017, she appeared in the Channel 4 TV series Born to Kill. She played Jenny, the mother of a teenager with unusual tendencies. From June to September 2017, she played Sarah Churchill in the play Queen Anne. Romola also starred in The Miniaturist, a TV series. In 2018, she starred in the play The Writer. In 2024, Romola played Annie Ernaux in a play based on her book "The Years".

Other Creative Work

Romola Garai has written articles for The Guardian newspaper.

In 2012, she wrote and directed a short film called Scrubber. The film was shown at several film festivals. It was nominated for Best British Short Film at the Edinburgh film festival. It also won an award at the London Short Film Festival.

On April 18, 2018, it was announced that Romola would direct her first full-length movie. It is a horror film called Amulet. Romola wrote the film herself. It was released in July 2020.

Personal Life

Romola's great-grandfather moved from Budapest to New York in the 1910s. He then moved to London and started the Keystone Press Agency. Many of Romola's Jewish relatives faced hardship during World War II.

Romola lives in London. In 2009, she earned a degree in English literature. She likes to keep her private life to herself. She believes it's important to be true to herself.

Romola enjoys traveling and cooking. She has visited many countries, including Hong Kong, Italy, and the United States. She feels that being in new places helps her grow.

In March 2013, Romola had a daughter. The next year, she married her boyfriend, British actor Sam Hoare. Their second child was born in August 2016.

Romola is a feminist. She has spoken about her views on how women are treated in the film industry.

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Romola Garai para niños