Romola Garai

Her father, Adrian Earl Rutherford Garai (born 1945), is a bank manager.

Garai's great-grandfather, Bernhard "Bert" Garai, an immigrant from Hungary, founded the Keystone Press Agency, a photographic agency and archive, in London, in the early 20th century.

Garai is the third of four siblings.

Her family moved to Singapore when she was five, and returned to Wiltshire in England when she was eight.

She attended an independent boarding school, Stonar School in Wiltshire and, at 16, moved to London to attend the City of London School for Girls, where she completed her A-levels.

She appeared in school plays, and was with the National Youth Theatre until the age of 18, when she signed to play the younger version of Dame Judi Dench's character in the BBC Films/HBO co-production for television, The Last of the Blonde Bombshells.

After her A-levels, she studied English literature at Queen Mary University of London before transferring and graduating with a first-class degree from The Open University.

She originally intended only to focus on her studies but later began acting full-time during the summer holiday.

Romola Sadie Garai (born 6 August 1982) is a British actress and film director.

Known for her extensive work on stage and screen, she often acts in period films.

Garai's first professional acting role was in the 2000 BBC-HBO TV film The Last of the Blonde Bombshells, where she played Judi Dench's character as a young woman.

She then appeared in the BBC television series Attachments (2000–2002).

Garai's first major film role was in Nicholas Nickleby.

She played Kate Nickleby, a supporting role, in the well-reviewed film.

The cast were awarded Best Ensemble by the National Board of Review.

Her early film roles include Nicholas Nickleby (2002), I Capture the Castle (2003), Inside I'm Dancing (2004), and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004).

In 2003's I Capture the Castle, she played 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain.

Her performance earned her a nomination for a Most Promising Newcomer award from the British Independent Film Awards.

She has gained prominence for her performances in the critically acclaimed costume dramas such as Vanity Fair (2004), As You Like It (2006), Amazing Grace (2007), Atonement (2007), Glorious 39 (2009), and Suffragette (2015).

Her performance in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004) received mixed reviews.

Later in 2004 Vanity Fair was released, in which she played Amelia Sedley.

In 2005, Garai received another BIFA nomination, this time for Best Supporting Actress, for her performance as Siobhan in the independent film Inside I'm Dancing.

Her portrayal earned her the British Supporting Actress of the Year award from the London Film Critics Circle.

Also in 2005, she starred in a two-part drama made for television, entitled The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant.

While critics hailed it as "pleasingly old-fashioned adventure," it was her performance that won the most admiration and earned her two nominations: Best Lead Actress in Television from the Australian Film Institute and Most Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series from the Logie Awards.

The Observer noted: "As for the tireless Garai, she once again demonstrated an instinctive understanding of the vital difference between overperforming and overacting."

She appears in Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of As You Like It (2006), as Celia.

Also in 2006, she starred in the biographical drama film Amazing Grace, which was directed by Michael Apted and co-starring Ioan Gruffudd, Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Gambon.

The film was about William Wilberforce, a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade.

Garai played Barbara Spooner, the wife of Wilberforce.

The film was released in some European cinemas before being broadcast in 2007 on HBO cable television in the U.S. In 2009, it opened in cinemas in Mexico.

She is also known for her portrayal of Emma Woodhouse in the BBC series Emma (2009) for which she received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film.

She received a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for 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 receiving Golden Globe Award and Critics' Choice Television Award nominations.

In 2022, she portrayed Mary Tudor in Becoming Elizabeth.

Garai was born in Hong Kong, to British parents.

Her father's family is Jewish.

Her mother, Janet A. (née Brown), brought up Romola and her three siblings.

Co-starring Reese Witherspoon, Jim Broadbent and James Purefoy, the film was based on the 19th century novel by William Makepeace Thackeray and it was directed by Mira Nair.

The film received mixed reviews.