Londra is not only her city, but it is also the metropolis where the fiction that consecrated her to the general public is set: The CrownNetflix series in which he played the princess Margaret. She was born in 1988 into a very wealthy family – her father is a urologist while her mother is the founder of the famous design and lifestyle magazine, Country Living – Vanessa Kirby34, spends his childhood in exclusive Wimbledon.
“My father was a country doctor,” he explained, “he raised me with the certainty that only the work is important. Work is what remains. I like to be appreciated, but every movie can be the lastwe must continue to work ».
And even though his father is a doctor by profession, and has nothing to do with the world of cinema, he too had a role in the success of the daughter.
Vanessa Kirby at the Virgin TV BAFTA Television Awards in 2017. (Getty Images)
Vanessa Kirby’s father and love for the theater
Father Kirby, in fact, loved to take his children to the theater to see the great classics of Shakespeare And Ibsen. Among all, there was “one production of Cherry garden that struck meSaid Vanessa Kirby. “Even before that day it was clear to me where I was happyin my little creative space, where I could play at being different thingsgiving life to a sweet space for me ».
With Helen Mirren in 2019 in London. (Photo by Samir Hussein / WireImage)
But that same Garden “it had sucked me in, I was in the place where the action took place. And I remember saying to myself: “I want to do this, I want to be there, whatever it is, although I have no idea how to do it“. At that moment I knew that I had to try“. At that moment, she had found her way.
Vanessa Kirby, bullied teenager
Adolescence, for her, it wasn’t exactly easy. Indeed, as she said, «he is a complicated period of life. Not being the most popular girl in school changed me. She taught me something about power that the judgment of others has over us“.
And he made her understand that, perhaps, «I was a outsider. But that doesn’t bother me. I think I transferred that teaching into the character of years later Margaret“. That experience “brought out my empathy and made me take refuge in acting, where I felt welcomed, “she explained.
Vanessa Kirby’s debut on the stage
Vanessa Kirby studied al National Youth Theater, and then graduated in English Literature. She began acting in the theater in shows Three sisters by Chekhov and A tram called Desiderio by Tennessee Williams. In this latest performance she performed alongside Gillian Anderson, with which he shared the dressing room. And there is a funny anecdote about her: the legendary “Dana Scully “ of the series X Files he always scolded her for hers disorder. “She took a picture and sent it to me on her smartphone,” she laughed during an interview.
Gillian Anderson. (Getty Images for Netflix)
His TV debut takes place with The Hour, a BBC television series. «I always try to choose movies or TV series that they also attract me as a spectator», He had told about his first roles. «I like to explore very different things, universes and characters. I choose films that I am passionate about and that allow me to enter unknown realities ».
The first films of Vanessa Kirby
Exactly 10 years ago, in 2012, he shot Charlie Countryman must die together with with Shia LaBeouf and Mads Mikkelsen, but she was not very convincing. Then she switches to Matter of time by Richard Curtis, before filming, in 2015, Everest by Baltasar Kormákur, where he plays mountaineer Sandy Hill Pittman. Her character, who really existed, managed to survive the Everest disaster: the accident, which took place between 10 and 11 May 1996, led to the deaths of 8 climbers caught in a storm while attempting to ascend to the summit.
Acting is a … Mission Impossible
Now a well-known face, she signs for three chapters of Mission: Impossible. “Mission: Impossible it’s mostly filmed in Europe, including Paris, Rome, Venice, Norway, and it’s an American film, ”he explained. “AND Pieces of a Woman has a Hungarian author, but was shot in Montreal and is a story set in Boston. The fusion of cultures is a blessingEuropeans and Americans give their best when they collaborate ».
However, she loves to keep her roots in the city where she was born. “I’ve always wanted to pass at least half of my time in Londonbut I love New York and Los Angeles, and I would be happy to be able to stay halfway when travel resumes, ”he explained.
The most important films of Vanessa Kirby
Two years ago he shot The world to come by Mona Fastvold, a film that touched on the theme offemale unhappiness. «I think the two housewives of The world to come were creative and curious women “, she said,” who in a different era would have had more opportunities. I also owe my independence today to their courage. However there is still a long way to go“.
Now, his wish is “become a producer and finance women’s stories never told. I’ve read really, really too many scripts where the women are watching the male lead“.
Vanessa Kirby wins the Volpi Cup
But two years ago it was also the turn of Pieces of a womanthe first film in which she is the protagonist and which allowed her to win the Coppa Volpi in Venice 2020 (as well as his first Oscar nomination).
With the Volpi Cup. (GettyImages)
“Pieces of a woman speaks of the loss of a childone of tragedies bigger than you can imagine, ”explained the actress. «I chose it because it was a film that required a lot of depth and the ability to understand the most poignant drama, something that in reality we would never want to live ». Immerse yourself in a character of that type «it can be disturbing and traumatic. My luck was to find myself surrounded by good and capable people“.
As she explained, she likes them “the experiences that terrify me and that’s why when i choose my roles i need to feel that I’m risking everything“. All these emotions, however, need to be rationalized. “Is critical maintain a detachment by characters with tragic shades like these “, he specified,” because otherwise you risk continuing to suffer with them even after shooting. Another thing that helped me was find moments of relaxation and fun with the rest of the cast ».
The consecration thanks to The Crown
Pieces of a woman, Mission: Impossible … There have been many successful films by Vanessa Kirby, but the success, the real one, owes it to the role of Countess of Snowdon Margaret Rose in the series The Crownbefore passing the baton to Helena Bonham Carter (below, together).
In the first two seasons of the Netflix series she played the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth: thanks to this role he got a nomination for Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a drama series in 2018, and also won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Supporting Actress. «She is a character who it cost me enormously to leave“, he has declared. “I didn’t know anything about royalty Before. Now I often think about how easy it is to evaluate people from the outside, to believe to grasp their essence by thinking that rich and famous mean happy“.
The premiere of the second season of The Crown: Claire Foy, Matt Smith and Vanessa Kirby in 2017 in London. (GettyImages)
Margaret “could have become a dancer or an actress, and instead its existence has been defined inexorably from family“. Actually, too: from that doctor dad so much in love with the theater and its great protagonists.
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