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Carey Mulligan was born in Westminster, London, England, into a middle-class family. When she was three years old, she moved with her parents and her brother, Owain, to Germany, where they lived for five years before returning to England. During her time at Woldingham School in Surrey, Carey discovered her passion for acting and pursued it enthusiastically, despite her parents' disapproval.
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From a young age, Carey Mulligan loved acting. At Woldingham School in Surrey, an all-girls Roman Catholic school where she went for secondary education, she was very involved in the drama department. Despite her parents' wishes for her to go to university, she decided to pursue acting, even though she didn't get accepted into several drama schools.
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Carey Mulligan's first professional role was as a narcoleptic teenager in the 2004 play 'Forty Winks' at the Royal Court Theatre in London. She got this opportunity through producer Julian Fellowes, who had given a lecture at her school. This led to her being introduced to a casting assistant, which helped her land a small role as "Kitty Bennet" in the 2005 film 'Pride & Prejudice' with Keira Knightley. In the same year, she also played the orphan "Ada" in the BBC miniseries 'Bleak House,' based on the novel by Charles Dickens.
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Over the next two years, Carey Mulligan appeared in other TV shows and movies. She earned praise for her performance in a 2007 revival of Anton Chekhov’s 'The Seagull' at the Royal Court Theatre, and she received even more acclaim when the show moved to Broadway in 2008.
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In 2009, Carey Mulligan gained major recognition for her role in 'An Education,' where she played "Jenny Mellor", a teenager in 1960s England. Her performance earned her a BAFTA and nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
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This breakthrough led to more high-profile roles. She appeared in 'Public Enemies' (2009) with Johnny Depp, 'Brothers' (2009) with Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal, 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps' (2010) with Michael Douglas and Shia LaBeouf, and 'Never Let Me Go' (2010) with Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley, earning a British Independent Film Award for the latter.
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Carey Mulligan's personal life flourished alongside her career. In April 2012, she married her childhood friend Marcus Mumford, the lead singer of 'Mumford & Sons'. In addition to her acting career, she uses her fame to support the Alzheimer’s Society as an ambassador. She currently lives in England.
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Mulligan earned praise for her performance as "Daisy Buchanan" in Baz Luhrmann’s 'The Great Gatsby' and as a singer in the Coen brothers’ 'Inside Llewyn Davis' (both 2013). The following year she starred with Bill Nighy in a revival of 'Skylight in London’s West End', and, when the play transferred to Broadway in 2015, Mulligan was nominated for a Tony Award. Her 2015 movies were the period dramas 'Far from the Madding Crowd' and 'Suffragette'.
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In 2017, Carey Mulligan starred in the Netflix film 'Mudbound,' which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2020, she starred in the revenge thriller 'Promising Young Woman,' receiving rave reviews and award season buzz.
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Her performance earned her a second Academy Award nomination, a Golden Globe nomination, and a Screen Actors Guild award nod. She also starred opposite Ralph Fiennes in the Netflix original film 'The Dig,' which debuted in 2021. In 2024, Carey Mulligan received her third Academy Award nomination for her role as "Felicia Montealegre" in the Leonard Bernstein biopic, 'Maestro' (2023).
Explore the fascinating journey of Carey Mulligan, a talented actress known for her wide range of roles. From her breakout in 'An Education' to her standout performance in 'Promising Young Woman,' see the highlights of her career and personal life
This gallery gives you a closer look at the moments that have shaped her impressive career in film.