---
name: "Emerald Fennell"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/emerald-fennell"
fi1m_id: "emerald-fennell"
imdb_id: "nm2193504"
tmdb_id: 1252934
wikidata_id: "Q16207879"
roles: ["Writer","Producer","Director"]
born: "1 October 1985"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 9
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-10-07T15:24:06.904193+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Emerald Fennell

## Identity

Emerald Fennell

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/emerald-fennell
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** emerald-fennell
- **IMDb ID:** nm2193504
- **TMDB ID:** 1252934
- **Wikidata ID:** Q16207879
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_Fennell, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16207879, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2193504/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1252934

Writer and producer. Born 1 October 1985 in Hammersmith, London, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer, Producer, Director
- **Born:** 1 October 1985, Hammersmith, London, England, UK
- **Active:** 2010–present
- **Also known as:** Emerald Lilly Fennell
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 9: 6 acting, 2 directing, 1 writing
- **Frequently works with:** [Alison Oliver](https://film.one/person/alison-oliver.md), [Jacob Elordi](https://film.one/person/jacob-elordi.md), [Josey McNamara](https://film.one/person/josey-mcnamara.md), [Margot Robbie](https://film.one/person/margot-robbie.md), [Tom Ackerley](https://film.one/person/tom-ackerley.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 2 nominated)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 66 (6), 2020s 69 (3)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_Fennell, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16207879, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2193504/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1252934

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Killing Eve*](https://film.one/tv/killing-eve.md) (82)
- **Peacock:** [*Promising Young Woman*](https://film.one/film/promising-young-woman.md) (72)
- **Hulu:** [*Saltburn*](https://film.one/film/saltburn.md) (60)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Emerald Fennell

> Emerald Fennell writes bad behaviour with relish, but her social satire is less sure. We prefer the focused unpleasantness of *Promising Young Woman* to *Saltburn*, where the jokes land more reliably than the ideas.

In *Saltburn* (2023), Oliver Quick is poor and watchful; Felix Catton is rich, kind and never alone. Barry Keoghan's watchfulness and Jacob Elordi's easy sociability give Fennell a clear starting point: someone wants a life that somebody else takes for granted. She is good at making that wanting uncomfortable. The trouble comes when we need to know more about Oliver than what he covets.

She became showrunner and writer for the second series of *Killing Eve* in 2019, before making her feature debut with *Promising Young Woman* (2020). We recommend the programme for its funny, unsettling obsession, while giving Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer most of the credit. Her debut gives us a firmer basis for judging her writing: it is nasty, focused and follows one idea through. *Saltburn*, her second feature, has several and does not develop them far enough.

The people making *Saltburn* with her understand the attraction of its setting. Cinematographer Linus Sandgren's near-square frame crowds the people and clips the house at its edges; production designer Suzie Davies supplies dark wood, stuffed birds and dust in sunlight. Editor Victoria Boydell compresses weeks of swimming and drinking into summer montage, while composer Anthony B. Willis adds choral grandeur. These choices make the house worth coveting. They also help explain why the film's pleasure in the Cattons' life is more convincing than its criticism of them.

We laughed at the Cattons' rudeness in *Saltburn*, thanks chiefly to Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant. Their performances make a family who have never been told no worth spending time with. But Farleigh, played by Archie Madekwe, understands what the money does to everyone and is kept at the edge of the story. Fennell gives us less of the character who could make her class satire matter.

With *Wuthering Heights* (2026), she turns to Emily Brontë's novel. That is ample material for a writer interested in desire and obsession, provided the people receive as much attention as the setting. Start with *Promising Young Woman*, and approach *Saltburn* with modest expectations of its satire.

## Biography

Emerald Fennell is an English filmmaker, writer and actress. Born on 1 October 1985 in Hammersmith, London, she was educated at Marlborough College and studied English at the University of Oxford, where she began acting in university plays.

She first gained notice as an actress in television series including *Call the Midwife* (2013–2017) and *The Crown* (2019–2020). As a writer she contributed to *Killing Eve* (2018–2019) and wrote the book for the musical *Cinderella* (2021). Her feature directorial debut was the 2020 film *Promising Young Woman*, which she also wrote. She wrote, directed and produced the 2023 film *Saltburn*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com.*

## On Fi1m (9)

### Performed in (6)

- *Barbie* (2023), Fi1m 76, as Midge — [page](https://film.one/film/barbie.md)
- *Pan* (2015), Fi1m 38, as Commander — [page](https://film.one/film/pan.md)
- *The Danish Girl* (2015), Fi1m 57, as Elsa — [page](https://film.one/film/the-danish-girl.md)
- *Anna Karenina* (2012), Fi1m 64, as Princess Merkalova — [page](https://film.one/film/anna-karenina.md)
- *Call the Midwife* (2012), Fi1m 80, as Nurse Patsy Mount — [page](https://film.one/tv/call-the-midwife.md)
- *Any Human Heart* (2010), Fi1m 73, as Lottie — [page](https://film.one/tv/any-human-heart.md)

### Directed (2)

- *Saltburn* (2023), Fi1m 60, Director, Writer, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/saltburn.md)
- *Promising Young Woman* (2020), Fi1m 72, as Woman in Makeup Tutorial (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/promising-young-woman.md)

### Wrote (1) — the average rests on these

- *Killing Eve* (2018), Fi1m 82, Executive Producer, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/killing-eve.md)

## Complete filmography (25)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *“Wuthering Heights”* (2026), Director, Screenplay, Producer — coming soon, [page](https://film.one/film/wuthering-heights-2026.md)
- *Prüdes Hollywood - Laster, Lust und Leidenschaft im Film* (2025), Actor
- *Saltburn* (2023), Writer, Director, Producer — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/saltburn.md)
- *Barbie* (2023), as Midge — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/barbie.md)
- *Promising Young Woman* (2020), as Woman in Makeup Tutorial (uncredited) · Producer, Director, Writer — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/promising-young-woman.md)
- *Vita & Virginia* (2019), as Vanessa Bell
- *Killing Eve* (2018), series, Writer, Executive Producer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/killing-eve.md)
- *Careful How You Go* (2018), Screenplay, Director
- *The Crown* (2016), series, as Camilla Shand / Camilla Parker Bowles — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-crown.md)
- *The Darkest Universe* (2016), as Jess
- *Victoria* (2016), series, as Lady Lovelace
- *The Danish Girl* (2015), as Elsa — Fi1m 57, [page](https://film.one/film/the-danish-girl.md)
- *Pan* (2015), as Commander — Fi1m 38, [page](https://film.one/film/pan.md)
- *Drifters* (2013), series, as Lizzie
- *Chickens* (2013), series, as Agnes
- *Murder on the Home Front* (2013), as Issy Quennell
- *Murder on the Home Front* (2013), series, as Issy Quennell
- *The Lady Vanishes* (2013), as Odette
- *Blandings* (2013), series, as Monica Simmons
- *Anna Karenina* (2012), as Princess Merkalova — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/anna-karenina.md)
- *Call the Midwife* (2012), series, as Patsy Mount, Nurse Patsy Mount — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/call-the-midwife.md)
- *Albert Nobbs* (2011), as Mrs. Smythe-Willard
- *Any Human Heart* (2010), series, as Lottie — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/tv/any-human-heart.md)
- *Mr. Nice* (2010), as Rachel
- *Nemesis*, Screenplay

## Gallery

- ![Emerald Fennell](https://film.one/media/person/549/gallery-c7fa0fcd4f9d.jpg) Emerald Fennell — Margaret Gardiner, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Emerald_Fennell%2C_2023_%281%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Filmmaker Emerald Fennell in an interview for the movie Saltburn in 2023.](https://film.one/media/person/549/gallery-d9f712844a25.jpg) Filmmaker Emerald Fennell in an interview for the movie Saltburn in 2023. — Margaret Gardiner, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Emerald_Fennell%2C_2023_%283%29.jpg/1280px-Emerald_Fennell%2C_2023_%283%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Filmmaker Emerald Fennell in an interview for the movie Saltburn in 2023.](https://film.one/media/person/549/gallery-fecdbdf0731a.jpg) Filmmaker Emerald Fennell in an interview for the movie Saltburn in 2023. — Margaret Gardiner, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Emerald_Fennell%2C_Saltburn_director%2C_in_2023_%281%29.jpg/1280px-Emerald_Fennell%2C_Saltburn_director%2C_in_2023_%281%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Filmmaker Emerald Fennell in an interview for the movie Saltburn in 2023.](https://film.one/media/person/549/gallery-1ff04c9a83d3.jpg) Filmmaker Emerald Fennell in an interview for the movie Saltburn in 2023. — Margaret Gardiner, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Emerald_Fennell%2C_Saltburn_director%2C_in_2023_%282%29.jpg/1280px-Emerald_Fennell%2C_Saltburn_director%2C_in_2023_%282%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Emerald Fennell](https://film.one/media/person/549/gallery-cb823617a79d.jpg) Emerald Fennell — Image via TMDB
- ![Emerald Fennell](https://film.one/media/person/549/gallery-482a8a1489f6.jpg) Emerald Fennell — Image via TMDB
- ![Filmmaker Emerald Fennell in an interview for the movie Saltburn in 2023.](https://film.one/media/person/549/gallery-ae0a1757579d.jpg) Filmmaker Emerald Fennell in an interview for the movie Saltburn in 2023. — Margaret Gardiner, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Emerald_Fennell%2C_Saltburn_director%2C_in_2023_%283%29.jpg/1280px-Emerald_Fennell%2C_Saltburn_director%2C_in_2023_%283%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Filmmaker Emerald Fennell in an interview for the movie Saltburn in 2023.](https://film.one/media/person/549/gallery-2de84a1448d5.jpg) Filmmaker Emerald Fennell in an interview for the movie Saltburn in 2023. — Margaret Gardiner, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Emerald_Fennell%2C_Saltburn_director%2C_in_2023_%284%29.jpg/1280px-Emerald_Fennell%2C_Saltburn_director%2C_in_2023_%284%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 2 nominated

- 2021: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (won), for *Promising Young Woman*
- 2021: Best Picture (nominated), for *Promising Young Woman*
- 2021: Best Director (nominated), for *Promising Young Woman*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/emerald-fennell