WHOIS? Vanessa Kirby

She won an award at the Venice Film Festival for Pieces Of A Woman, which premieres on Netflix today; here, we take a look at the career of the British actress who’s one to watch…

● Born in Wimbledon, London, in April 1988, Vanessa is the daughter of Professor Roger Kirby, a retired surgeon and leading figure in men’s health. Her mother, Jane, was editor of Country Living magazine, and brother Joe is a deputy head teacher and education writer.

● Vanessa declined a place at drama school and went straight into theatre. In 2009, she had three lead roles on stage in Bolton, including one in Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, for which she was named Rising Star at the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards. She also won critical acclaim in London – most recently in 2018, in Polly Stenham’s Julie at the National Theatre.

● She made her TV debut in The Hour and starred as Estella in the BBC’S Great Expectations adaptation, both in 2011. Her breakthrough came playing the young Princess Margaret in The Crown (right), for which she won the Best Supporting Actress Bafta. She described working on the show as ‘the best time of my life.’

● Hollywood came calling in 2018; she was cast in Mission: Impossible – Fallout as Alanna Mitsopolis, aka White Widow, a role she will return to in two future films. She was also in 2019’s Fast & Furious spin-off, Hobbs & Shaw.