Charlotte Riley


Charlotte Frances Riley is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Sarah Hurst in Easy Virtue and as Catherine Earnshaw in ITV's adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

Early life and education

Riley was born in Grindon, County Durham. She was brought up in County Durham and attended Teesside High School from the age of 9 until 18. She attended St Cuthbert's Society, Durham, from 2000 to 2003, performing with the sketch comedy group the Durham Revue and in plays and musicals and graduating with a degree in English and Linguistics; she also attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art from 2005 to 2007.

Career

In 2004, Riley won the Sunday Times' Playwriting Award for Shaking Cecilia, which she co-wrote with Tiffany Wood. In 2011, she played Anna in Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Anna of the Five Towns on BBC Radio 4. She appeared in Edge of Tomorrow, starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. She also appeared onstage at the Royal Court Theatre production of The Priory, by Michael Wynne. She co-starred in London Has Fallen, the sequel to the 2013 film Olympus Has Fallen, where she portrayed an MI6 agent Jacqueline Marshall. She also portrayed Arabella Strange in the mini-series adaptation of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. In 2018, she got a lead role in the BBC drama Press, which was cancelled after its first series. In 2019, Riley played the role of Lottie / Ghost of Christmas Present in the BBC mini-series A Christmas Carol, based on the Charles Dickens novella of the same name. She appeared in the Amazon Prime Video series The Peripheral.

Personal life

In 2008, Riley and Tom Hardy met while playing fictional lovers Cathy and Heathcliff on the set of Wuthering Heights. In an interview Hardy said that although they became good friends while filming Wuthering Heights and The Take, they only began a relationship after filming the movie Warrior in 2009. Around the summer of 2010, Hardy proposed to Riley. Hardy and Riley have two children together and Riley is step-mother to Hardy's eldest son from a previous relationship. They had their first son in October 2015, and another in December 2018.

Filmography

YearNameRoleNotes
2007GrownupsChloeEpisode: "Send"
2007Holby CityTanya CusanEpisode: "Someone to Watch Over Me"
2008Survey No. 257EmmaShort film
2008Inspector George GentlyCarmel O'ShaughnessyEpisode: "The Burning Man"
2008Easy VirtueSarah Hurst
2009Wuthering HeightsCatherine EarnshawTelevision film
2009The TakeMaggie Summers4 episodes
2009Spanish Flu: The Forgotten FallenPeggy LyttonTelevision film
2009Marple: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to SideMargot BenceTelevision film
2010Foyle's WarMandy DeanEpisode: "Killing Time"
2010–2011DCI BanksLucy Payne3 episodes
2012The TownAlice3 episodes
2012World Without EndCaris8 episodes
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television
2012EntityKate Hansen
2014Edge of TomorrowNance
2014, 2017Peaky BlindersMay Fitz CarletonSeries 2 and 4
2015In the Heart of the SeaPeggy Gardner Chase
2015Jonathan Strange & Mr NorrellArabella Strange
2016London Has FallenMI6 Agent Jacquelin "Jax" Marshall
2016Close to the EnemyRachel LombardBBC2 TV miniseries written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff
2016Dark HeartJuliette WagstaffeTV series
2017King Charles IIIKateTelevision film
2018Swimming with MenSwimming Coach
2018PressHolly EvansMiniseries
2018TrustRobina LundMiniseries
2019A Christmas CarolLottie/Ghost of Christmas PresentMiniseries
2022The PeripheralAelita-
2025MaliceSophieTV series
2026Masters of the UniverseQueen Marlena GlennPost-production