Michelle Dockery

Michelle Suzanne Dockery (born December 15, 1981) is an English actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), for which she has been nominated for three consecutive Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. She made her professional stage debut in His Dark Materials in 2004. For her role as Eliza Doolittle in the 2007 London revival of Pygmalion, she was nominated for the Evening Standard Award. For her role in the 2009 play Burnt by the Sun, she earned an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Her other notable stage credits include Pillars of the Community (2005) and Hamlet (2010). She has also appeared in the films Hanna (2011), Anna Karenina (2012), and Non-Stop (2014).

Early life

Dockery was born at Rush Green Hospital in Rush Green, London, the daughter of Lorraine (née Witton) and Michael Francis Dockery, a van driver and surveyor. She has two older sisters, Louise and Joanne. She was educated first at the Chadwell Heath Foundation School in Chadwell Heath, Essex. She then trained at the Finch Stage School. After her A Levels, she enrolled at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she was awarded the Gold Medal for Drama at her graduation in 2004.