Lily James

Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson (born 5 April 1989), known professionally as Lily James, is an English actress. She studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and began her career in the British television series Just William (2010). Following a supporting role in the period drama series Downton Abbey (2012–2015), her breakthrough was the title role in the fantasy film Cinderella (2015).

James went on to portray Natasha Rostova in the television adaptation of War & Peace (2016) and starred in several films, including the action film Baby Driver (2017); the period dramas Darkest Hour (2017), The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018) and The Dig (2021); the musicals Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) and Yesterday (2019); and the sports drama The Iron Claw (2023). Her portrayal of Pamela Anderson in the biographical series Pam & Tommy (2022) earned her nominations for a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Early life and education

Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson was born on 5 April 1989 in Esher, Surrey, the daughter of Ninette Mantle, an actress, and James "Jamie" Thomson, a musician. She has two brothers, one older and one younger. Her paternal grandmother, Helen Horton, was an American actress. Her maternal grandmother was French, and during World War II fled her village near Paris because of the Nazis. After settling in England, she married James' grandfather, a chaplain in the Royal Air Force.

After finishing at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire, James studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, graduating in 2010. Shortly thereafter, she signed with Tavistock Wood management in London.