WOMEN WE LOVE: Vanessa Kirby

Before she stole scenes in Netflix’s royal series "The Crown", braved cosmic MCU stakes as Sue Storm, or gained Oscar acclaim for her gutwrenching physical work in Pieces of a Woman, Vanessa Kirby was an English-born theatre devotee with a taste for risky female characters. Over the last 15 years, she has built a career that defies easy categorization, equally at home in BAFTA-winning prestige dramas, billion-dollar action spectacles, and small, piercingly human indie films. Whether she is embodying royalty, quippy femme fatales, or reluctant superhero mothers, Kirby radiates a fearless curiosity and a knack for finding the humanity in every character. 

Vanessa Kirby’s career began not with blockbuster glitz but under the warm stage lights of intimate English theaters. Raised in Wimbledon, London, Kirby attended Lady Eleanor Holles School before an early setback -- a rejection from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) -- redirected her path. She took a gap year, traveling and working in an AIDS hospice in South Africa, an experience that would deepen her empathy and perspective as she headed to the silver screen. 

She later studied English at the University of Exeter while cutting her teeth in acclaimed stage productions, including All My Sons and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, her role selection inspired by her interest in the themes and characters of legendary works of literature. Critics took notice; The Guardian called her “a significant new talent,” praising her “statuesque distinction” in the Shakespeare adaptation. In A Streetcar Named Desire, she played a fierce, layered Stella Kowalski alongside heavy-hitters Gillian Anderson and Ben Foster.

Kirby’s stage discipline and appetite for emotionally rich material translated seamlessly to the screen. She appeared in a minor role in Richard Curtis’s tearjerking romantic drama About Time while earning rave reviews for Robert Icke’s Uncle Vanya revival in 2016, which Variety hailed as proof that she was “the outstanding stage actress of her generation.”

Her international breakthrough came at the age of 28 with her portrayal of the glamorous, complicated, and rebellious Princess Margaret on Netflix’s "The Crown". Kirby immersed herself in research, spending time with the Princess’s former ladies-in-waiting and devouring archival photographs and material, all in an attempt to channel Margaret’s frustratingly intoxicating energy. From placing a lit cigarette into food she disliked to playing piano until dawn to keep guests captive, Kirby’s Margaret was vivid and unforgettable. Her steadfast performance earned her a BAFTA in 2018 and cemented her as one of Britain’s most captivating exports. 

Meanwhile, Kirby proved her action blockbuster chops by starring in the Fast & Furious spinoff Hobbs & Shaw as the street smart sister of Jason Statham's character. Then, in 2020, Kibry delivered a career-defining performance in Kornél Mundruczó’s Pieces of a Woman. Playing Martha, a mother who loses her baby to a home birth that turns tragic, she approached the role with rigorous preparation: shadowing midwives, witnessing a live birth, and studying the physical and emotional realities of the loss of a child. The film’s breathtaking 20-minute uncut birth scene became an instant cinematic landmark and the shining moment of Kirby’s career thus far. It is as moving as it is memorable; every scream and moan uttered by Kirby feels completely, utterly real. The role earned Kirby the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival and an Academy Award nomination, with Varietycalling her work “her most impressive screen performance to date.” Critics praised her emotional honesty, nuance, and fearlessness. 

Kirby’s versatility knows no bounds. In Ridley Scott’s epic Napoleon (2023), she played the elusive Empress Josephine opposite Joaquin Phoenix’s rendition of the vicious general, with Vanity Fairdescribing the historical figure as “mercurial” and “enigmatic". And in 2025, she stepped into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. For Kirby, grounding the character’s powers in realities of motherhood, family life, and 1960s counterculture gave her a fresh approach to franchise storytelling. “It rooted it in this kind of domesticity, in this family and home,” she toldDeadline. The camaraderie with co-stars Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach sealed the deal, a “found family” for Marvel’s first family.

Kirby returns this year in The Night Always Comes (streaming now on Netflix), a gritty and atmospheric adaptation of Willy Vlautin’s novel. Set over two tense days in Portland, the film follows Lynette’s desperate attempt to secure a better future amid the city’s economic boom and growing inequality. Trailers single out Kirby’s clenched intensity and simmering gaze as a quiet but forceful portrayal that anchors the film.

Vanessa Kirby embodies a rare balance of prestige and popular appeal. She is as at home in a Shakespearean drama as she is in explosive action franchises from Mission: Impossible to The Fast and the Furious. Her formative years gave her a commanding physical presence, while her meticulous preparation and emotional authenticity ensure she disappears into every role. 

She cites the likes of Judi Dench and Helen Mirren as inspirations, seeking roles that dig into the human condition. She is fearless in her choices, whether playing British icons, action heroes, or deeply flawed women navigating grief and survival. And offscreen, her compassion led her to become an ambassador for War Child, an organization supporting children in conflict zones, inspired by her early work in Africa.

“I really like actors like Jack Nicholson, who are really alive and chaotic,” she’s said, and it is this same vibrant energy and verve that makes her so magnetic to watch. 

Whether she’s commanding a stage, stealing scenes in billion-dollar blockbusters, or holding a frame in complete silence, Kirby draws audiences in without ever straining for attention. She has that rare ability to make stillness electric, to convey volumes in a single glance. And as she prepares for future roles, including Ron Howard’s upcoming thriller Eden alongside Sydney Sweeney, she continues to expand her reach without losing the grounding and empathy that make her work so resonant.