Emily Mortimer

Emily Kathleen Anne Mortimer (born 1 December 1971) is an English actress and screenwriter. She began acting in stage productions, and has since appeared in several film and television roles. In 2003, she won an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in Lovely and Amazing. She is also known for playing roles in Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Harry Brown (2009), Shutter Island (2010), and Hugo (2011).

Early life and education

Mortimer was born in Hammersmith, London, England, to Sir John Mortimer, QC (a lawyer and writer who created the TV series Rumpole of the Bailey), and his second wife, Penelope (née Gollop). She has a younger sister, Rosie; two older half-siblings, Sally Silverman and Jeremy, by her father's first marriage, to author Penelope Fletcher; and a half-brother, Ross Bentley, by her father's extramarital relationship with actress Wendy Craig.

Mortimer studied at St Paul's Girls' School in west London, where she appeared in several pupil productions. She then went on to Oxford University, where she read Russian at Lincoln College and performed in several plays. Before becoming an actress, Mortimer wrote a column for the Daily Telegraph, and was screenwriter for an adaptation of Lorna Sage's memoir, Bad Blood.