Romola Garai

Romola Sadie Garai (/ˈrɒmələ ˈɡæri/; 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. Her early film roles include Nicholas Nickleby (2002), I Capture the Castle (2003), Inside I'm Dancing (2004), and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004). She's 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). She's 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. 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.