Carey Mulligan: Her Journey from Jane to Daisy
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Carey Mulligan is an award-winning British actress who earned nominations for not one but two Academy Awards. She is known for her roles in The Great Gatsby, Mudbound, Wildlife, Promising Young Woman, and The Dig.
Carey's full name is Carey Hannan Mulligan. She was born on May 28, 1985, in London to Stephen Mulligan, a hotel manager, and Nano, a university lecturer from Llandeilo. While Carey was born in London, her family moved to Germany when she was just three. She did her early schooling at the International School of Dusseldorf. Her family moved back to England when she was eight, and she started attending Woldingham school in Surrey.
Carey developed an interest in acting when she was just six. Her brother got a role to play in a school production of The King and me, and after several requests, the teachers allowed young Carey to join the chorus. She fought for it right from the beginning. It was the stepping stone for Carey, who became an active part of the theatre at Woldingham. Eventually, she was named the drama department's student head and played an active role in productions and art.
Carey's ambitions to make a career in the acting field grew stronger after she attended Henry V's production starring Kenneth Branagh at 16.
Roadblocks:
Even before Carey could experience the tough competition in the cruel world, her parents disapproved of her acting ambitions. They wanted Carey to attend the university just like her brother.
She applied to three London drama schools instead of 17, but unfortunately, she didn't get an invitation from any of them.
Acting Career:
Carey's dream of becoming an actor turned into reality when she appeared in the play Forty Winks at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2004. This was her first stage appearance apart from the ones at the school. The big break came a year later in 2005 when she got a role in Pride & Prejudice, an adaptation of the famous novel Jane Austen of the same name by Joe Wright. 2005 was indeed a lucky year for Carey, who later got Ada Clare's role in Charles Dickens' Bleak House. So her movie and television debut came the same year, and she couldn't thank the gods of fortunes enough.
Carey's career chart saw significant growth in 2007 as her projects included My Boy Jack, Northanger Abbey, and The Seagull. This was the year when Carey established herself as a critically acclaimed actress and earned massive praise from the media for her work. In the same year, Carey also made an appearance in the Doctor Who episode Blink. She won the Constellation Award for Best Female Performance in a 2007 Science Fiction Television Episode.
After a gap of one year, Carey once again took a giant leap in 2009 as she was cast in her first leading role as Jenny in the 2009 independent film An Education. She was nominated for an Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and won a BAFTA Award for her portrayal of Jenny. The next10 years were phenomenal for Carey's acting career. She played a part in several award-winning movies and television series. She won scores of individual awards for her performances. This was the time when her fanbase went bigger. Among her most notable performances was the one Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. In the same year, she starred in the black comedy Inside Llewyn Davis alongside Oscar Isaac and Justin Timberlake.
Husband and Children:
Carey Mulligan is married to Marcus Mumford, the lead singer of Mumford & Sons. The two knew each other since childhood. However, they weren't always in touch. They got married on April 21, 2012. The couple has two children- daughter Evelyn Grace born in September 2015, and son Wilfred, born in August 2017.
Giving Back to the Society:
Carey has been very active when it comes to giving back to society. She contributed significantly to the cause of spreading awareness about sex trafficking. The popular actress became the ambassador of the Alzheimer's Society in 2012. She also had a personal reason behind joining the cause. Her grandmother, who lived with Alzheimer's for 17 years, didn't recognize Carey throughout that period. Two years later, in 2014, Carey became an ambassador for the charity War Child.
Awards:
Carey Mulligan is a name that is not just restricted to movie appearances. She has been an active face in Television and theatre as well. This is the reason that the actress has won several awards across the formats.
She won the Best Actress Award and Best Actress In a Leading Role Award for An Education. Next, she won the Robert Altman Award for Mudbound. She won 5 awards for her performance in Promising Young Woman. The awards included 2 Best Actress Awards. She has also been nominated for the prestigious Academy Awards for Promising Young Women.
Her upcoming projects include Bradley Cooper's Maestro and Christos Nikou's Fingernails.