Biography
Emily Mortimer is a British actress and filmmaker. Born in London on 6 October 1971, she is the daughter of barrister and author Sir John Mortimer. She was educated at St Paul’s Girls’ School and Lincoln College, Oxford, where she studied English and Russian, and spent time at the Moscow Arts Theatre Drama School studying acting.
Mortimer began acting in stage productions and made her screen debut in the mid-1990s. She is known for roles in films including Notting Hill (1999), Match Point (2005), Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Shutter Island (2010), Hugo (2011) and Mary Poppins Returns (2018), and for voicing Sophie in the English version of Howl’s Moving Castle (2004). On television she played Mackenzie McHale in The Newsroom (2012–2014).
She co-created and co-wrote the series Doll & Em (2014–2015) and wrote and directed the miniseries The Pursuit of Love (2021). In 2003 she won an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in Lovely & Amazing. She co-wrote the screenplay for Jay Kelly (2025) and appears in the film, and played Mary Brown in Paddington in Peru (2024).
