Vanessa Kirby facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Vanessa Kirby
Kirby at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	18 April 1987/1988 (age 36–37) Wimbledon, London, England
Education	University of Exeter (BA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2010–present
Partner(s)	Callum Turner (2015–2019) Paul Rabil (2022–present; engaged)
Parent(s)	Roger Kirby (father)
Relatives	Joe Kirby (brother)

Vanessa Nuala Kirby is an English actress. She was born on 18 April 1987. She became famous for playing Princess Margaret in the Netflix TV show The Crown (2016–2017). For this role, she won a special award called the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Kirby started her acting career on stage in plays like All My Sons (2010) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (2010). She also played Stella Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (2014).

She has also acted in action movies such as Hobbs & Shaw (2019) and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023). In 2020, she starred in Pieces of a Woman, playing a woman dealing with sadness. This role earned her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. More recently, Kirby played Empress Joséphine in the historical movie Napoleon (2023).

About Vanessa Kirby

Her Early Life

Vanessa Kirby grew up in Wimbledon, a part of London, England. Her mother, Jane Cooper Kirby, used to write for a magazine. Her father, Roger Kirby, was a surgeon and led the Royal Society of Medicine. Vanessa has two siblings: a brother named Joe, who is a teacher, and a sister named Juliet, who works as a theatrical agent.

After finishing school at Lady Eleanor Holles School, Vanessa wanted to study acting. She was not accepted into a drama school at first. So, she took a year off to travel and volunteer at an AIDS hospice in South Africa. Later, she studied English at the University of Exeter.

Her Acting Journey

Starting on Stage (2010–2014)

Vanessa Kirby began her professional acting career in theatre. In 2010, she got three main roles at the Octagon Theatre Bolton. These roles were in plays like All My Sons by Arthur Miller and A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. She won an award for her role in All My Sons. Critics noticed her talent early on.

In 2011, Kirby performed at the Royal National Theatre in Women Beware Women. She also appeared in a play called The Acid Test at the Royal Court Theatre. That same year, she made her first TV appearances in BBC shows like The Hour and Great Expectations.

In 2012, Kirby filmed the British crime movie The Rise. It was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival and received good reviews. She also played Masha in the play Three Sisters at the Young Vic, which was highly praised.

Kirby returned to the Royal National Theatre in 2013 to play Isabella of France, the Queen of England, in Edward II. She also had a small role in the romantic comedy film About Time. She appeared in the American film Charlie Countryman and an episode of the British TV series Agatha Christie's Poirot.

In 2014, Kirby played Stella Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Young Vic. She won the Best Supporting Actress award at the Whatsonstage Awards for this role. She also appeared in the film Queen and Country.

Becoming Internationally Known (2015–2020)

Kirby in 2017, promoting The Crown

The year 2015 was very busy for Vanessa Kirby. She had supporting roles in movies like Everest and the science fiction film Jupiter Ascending. She also appeared in the TV film The Dresser and the series The Frankenstein Chronicles.

In May 2015, Kirby was chosen to play Princess Margaret in the Netflix series The Crown. This show is about the life of Queen Elizabeth II. Her performance earned her a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2017, and she won the award in 2018 for the second season. This role made her famous around the world.

Kirby during an interview for the promotion of Mission: Impossible – Fallout

In 2016, Kirby acted in the play Uncle Vanya and received excellent reviews. She also had three movie roles: she played Zelda Fitzgerald in Genius, starred in the sci-fi film Kill Command, and appeared in the romantic drama Me Before You.

In 2018, Kirby returned to the stage in the play Julie at the Royal National Theatre. On the big screen, she starred in two action movies: Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) with Tom Cruise and Hobbs & Shaw (2019) with Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. Critics praised her performance in Hobbs & Shaw. She also appeared in the movie Mr Jones, which tells the story of journalist Gareth Jones.

In 2020, Kirby played Martha in Pieces of a Woman. This film explored the difficult topic of losing a baby. Her performance was highly praised by critics. She won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the 2020 Venice Film Festival. She was also nominated for many other awards, including the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and the BAFTA Award.

At the same film festival, Kirby promoted The World to Come, a film that won an award for best LGBTQ-themed film. Critics also praised her performance in this movie.

Recent Projects (2021–Present)

In 2021, Vanessa Kirby and her sister Juliet started their own production company called Aluna Entertainment. This company works with Netflix to create new shows and movies. That same year, Kirby starred in the drama film Italian Studies.

From 2021 to 2023, Kirby was a host on the True Spies podcast, which talks about real spy missions. In 2022, she played Beth in the drama film The Son alongside Hugh Jackman. Even though the movie received mixed reviews, Kirby's acting was highly praised.

She took on the role of Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, in the historical drama film Napoleon (2023). She also returned as Alanna Mitsopolis, known as the White Widow, in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023).

In February 2024, it was announced that Kirby would play Susan Storm / Invisible Woman in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is set to be released in 2025. She will also appear in future Marvel movies like Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).

In March 2024, Kirby was cast as Lynette in a Netflix movie called The Night Always Comes, based on a novel. Filming for this movie took place in spring 2024.

Personal Life

From 2015 to 2019, Vanessa Kirby was in a relationship with actor Callum Turner. Since 2022, she has been with Paul Rabil, a former professional lacrosse player. In May 2025, Kirby shared that she was expecting her first child.

Acting Credits

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Love/Loss	Jane
2012	The Rise	Nicola
	Nora	Young woman	Short film
2013	Charlie Countryman	Felicity
	About Time	Joanna
2014	The Exchange	Woman	Short film
	Insomniacs	Jade
	Queen and Country	Dawn Rohan
	National Theatre Live: A Streetcar Named Desire	Stella Kowalski
	Off the Page: Devil in the Details	Jessica	Short film
2015	Jupiter Ascending	Katharine Dunlevy
	Bone in the Throat	Sophie
	Everest	Sandy Hill
2016	Genius	Zelda Fitzgerald
	Kill Command	Katherine Mills
	Me Before You	Alicia Dewares
2018	Mission: Impossible – Fallout	Alanna Mitsopolis / White Widow
2019	Mr Jones	Ada Brooks
	Hobbs & Shaw	Hattie Shaw
2020	Pieces of a Woman	Martha Weiss
	The World to Come	Tallie
2021	Italian Studies	Alina Reynolds	Also executive producer
2022	The Son	Beth
2023	Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One	Alanna Mitsopolis / White Widow
	Napoleon	Empress Joséphine
2024	Eden	Dora Strauch
2025	Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning	Alanna Mitsopolis / White Widow	Archival footage only
	The Fantastic Four: First Steps	Susan Storm / Invisible Woman	Post-production
	Night Always Comes	Lynette	Post-production; also producer
2026	Avengers: Doomsday	Susan Storm / Invisible Woman	Filming

Television

Theatre

Music videos

Audiobooks

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Vanessa Kirby para niños