Occupational Inheritance: No
Social Class: mother, secretary; father car dealer
Race/Ethnicity/Religion
Nationality: UK
Family:
Education:
Training: Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, 2005; member of National Youth Theatre.
Teacher/Inspirational Figure:
Radio Debut:
TV Debut:
Stage Debut:
Broadway Debut:
Film Debut: Venus, 2006; aged 25
Breakthrough Role: Birdman, 2014; aged 33
Oscar Role: To Leslie
Other Noms: To Leslie, 2022, aged 41
Other Awards:
Frequent Collaborator:
Screen Image: NA
Last Film:
Career Output:
Film Career Span: 2006-present
Marriage:
Politics:
Death:
Riseborough (born November 20, 1981) is an English actress and producer, who made her film debut with a small part in Venus (2006).
She has since appeared in more prominent roles in Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), Never Let Me Go, Brighton Rock, Made in Dagenham (all 2010), W.E. (2011), Shadow Dancer, Disconnect (both 2012), Welcome to the Punch, Oblivion (both 2013), Birdman (2014), Nocturnal Animals (2016), Battle of the Sexes, The Death of Stalin (both 2017), Mandy, Nancy (both 2018), The Grudge, and Possessor (both 2020).
For her performance as a recovering addict in the drama To Leslie (2022), Riseborough received a nomination for the Best Actress Oscar.
Her nomination has generated some amount of suspicion, with some pundits believing that it was garnered through efforts by others that violated the Academy code of conduct. Without naming her, the Board of Governors has pledged to investigate the overall nomination process.
Outside of film, Riseborough received a BAFTA nomination for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in the television film The Long Walk to Finchley (2008), and won critical acclaim for her performances in the Channel 4 miniseries The Devil’s Whore (2008) and National Treasure (2016), as well as the BBC One miniseries The Witness for the Prosecution (2016).
Her stage credits include August Strindberg’s Miss Julie, Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure (Theatre Royal, Bath, both 2006) and Anton Chekhov’s Ivanov (West End, 2008).
Riseborough was born in Wallsend, near Newcastle upon Tyne, the daughter of Isabel Johnson, a secretary, and George Riseborough, a car dealer. She grew up in Whitley Bay. In reference to The Long Walk to Finchley, she has described her parents as “working class Thatcherites.”
She appeared at the People’s Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne, in the play Riding England Sidesaddle by Christopher Goulding, as Celia Fiennes, and was a member of the Young People’s Theatre for five years.
Riseborough spent her schooldays at the independent school, Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2005 and is a member of National Youth Theatre.
Riseborough appeared in the 2010 films Made in Dagenham and Mark Romanek’s adaptation of Never Let Me Go.
She starred in the US premiere of Alexi Kaye Campbell’s The Pride at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in January 2010. The production was directed by Joe Mantello and co-starred Hugh Dancy and Ben Whishaw.
She appears in Rowan Joffé’s film adaptation of Brighton Rock alongside Helen Mirren and John Hurt.
She worked with The Devil’s Mistress author Peter Flannery on his screenplay based on the life of Angelica Fanshawe with Michael Fassbender. She played the role of Wallis Simpson in W.E., a film directed by Madonna.
She stars alongside Michael Sheen and Iwan Rheon in Resistance, an adaptation of an Owen Sheers novel, released on November 25, 2011.
She writes with her creative partner, actor Tom Burke, and with Mike Leigh.
Riseborough starred with Alexander Skarsgård in the thriller Hidden, a low-budget film directed by The Duffer Brothers. Hidden was released for streaming September 2015.
She appeared alongside Tom Cruise in Oblivion (2013), in a supporting role. She co-starred in the acting ensemble of Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), which won the Oscar for Best Picture. Riseborough also shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for the film.
She co-starred opposite Steve Coogan in apartheid drama Shepherds and Butchers (2016). She joined the cast of Netflix’s Bloodline for Season 2, as a series regular character, Evangeline.
She acted as Emma Stone’s love interest in the biographical sports film Battle of the Sexes, based on the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. She appeared as Stalin’s daughter in the 2017 comedy-drama film The Death of Stalin and was praised for the “shrewd, multi-layered complexity” of her performance.
She starred opposite Garrett Hedlund in Andrew Heckler’s indie feature Burden. She was cast in Waco, a six-part television series about the 51-day 1993 standoff between the ATF, FBI, and David Koresh’s Branch Davidians at Waco, Texas. The first episode was released on 24 January 2018.
Riseborough has been cast in Lone Scherfig’s The Kindness of Strangers as an ER nurse who runs an eclectic therapy group. The film started shooting at the Russian Tea Room in the spring of 2018.
She starred in a Sony remake of The Grudge, opposite Demián Bichir and John Cho. The film was released on 3 January 2020.
Riseborough starred in the international cocaine trade drama ZeroZeroZero, an 8-part series adapted from the book by Roberto Saviano, which had its debut on Sky in the UK and Amazon Prime in the US in 2020.
She starred in Possessor – written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg – as Tasya Vos, an agent for a secretive organization who uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people’s bodies, driving them to commit assassinations for the benefit of high-paying clients. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020.
In 2022, Riseborough appeared in the film To Leslie, for which she received critical acclaim and a nomination for the Best Actress Oscar. Dozens of celebrities praised her performance publicly and on social media, and hosted screenings during the voting period for the nominations in January 2023.
Acting credits:
2006 Venus Period Film Lover
2007 Magicians Dani
2008 Happy-Go-Lucky Dawn
Love You More Georgia Short film
2010 Made in Dagenham Brenda
Never Let Me Go Chrissie
Brighton Rock Rose
2011 Resistance Sarah
W.E. Wallis Simpson
2012 Shadow Dancer Colette McVeigh
Disconnect Nina Dunham
2013 Welcome to the Punch Sarah Hawks
Oblivion Victoria Olsen
2014 Birdman, Laura Aulburn
The Silent Storml Aislin
2015 Hidden Claire
2016 Shepherds and Butchers Kathleen Marais
Nocturnal Animals, Alessia Holt
Mindhorn DC Baines
2017 Battle of the Sexes Marilyn Barnett
The Death of Stalin Svetlana Stalina
2018 Mandy Mandy Bloom
Nancy, Nancy Freeman Also producer
Burden Judy
2019 The Kindness of Strangers, Alice
2020 The Grudge Detective Muldoon
Possessor Tasya Vos
Luxor Hana
2021 Here Before Laura
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain Caroline Wain
2022 Please Baby Please Suze
To Leslie, Leslie Rowlands
Amsterdam Beatrice Vandenheuvel
Matilda the Musical Mrs. Wormwood
What Remains Anna Rudebeck
TBA Geechee dagger Wren Post-production
TBA Lee dagger Audrey Withers