Hayley Atwell
Birthdate: Apr 5, 1982
Birthplace: London, England, UK
Hayley Atwell (birthname: Hayley Elizabeth Atwell) is a busy British actor most widely seen as Peggy Carter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), as well as MCU television shows including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2014), the lead role in Agent Carter (2015-2016), Avengers Assemble (2017-2019), and What If…? (2021-present).
Atwell established a character in yet another franchise with the role of Grace in Paramount Pictures’ seventh and eighth franchise entries, Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) and Dead Reckoning Part Two (2024), co-written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Tom Cruise, with Esai Morales, Rebecca Ferguson, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Ving Rhames, and Simon Pegg.
Atwell’s feature debut was under Woody Allen’s direction in his thriller, Cassandra’s Dream (2007), with Colin Farrell, Sally Hawkins, Ewan McGregor, and Tom Wilkinson. In the Irish film, How About You (2007), Atwell co-starred opposite the distinguished veteran cast of Vanessa Redgrave, Joss Acklund, Brenda Fricker, and Imelda Staunton.
For Miramax’s new version of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited (2008), Atwell established her status as a specialist in period drama alongside Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw, Emma Thompson, Michael Gambon, and Greta Scacchi, followed by another period role in BBC Films’ The Duchess (2008), starring Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling, and Dominic Cooper, and directed by co-writer Saul Dibb.
Hayley Atwell acted again opposite Charlotte Rampling, along with Gabriel Byrne, Eddie Marsan, and Jodhi May in writer-director Barnaby Southcombe’s noir thriller, I, Anna (2012), premiering at the Berlin Film Festival. Atwell played writer and Jimi Hendrix’s British lover/muse, Kathy Etchingham, in director-writer John Ridley’s biopic, Jimi: All is by My Side (2013), starring André 3000 as Hendrix, Imogen Poots and Ruth Negga, and then Atwell played a supporting role in the lauded British WWI drama, Testament of Youth (2014), starring Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Taron Egerton, Emily Watson, Dominic West, and Miranda Richardson.
Atwell was Cinderella’s mother in Kenneth Branagh’s live-action Disney production of Cinderella (2015), with Lily James, Cate Blanchett, and Helena Bonham Carter, grossing $542 million globally after its Berlin Film Festival premiere. Atwell’s next Disney movie was the biopic of the Winnie the Pooh creator, Christopher Robin (2018), played by Ewan McGregor (with Atwell as his wife Evelyn) and directed by Marc Forster.
Atwell was cast in a supporting role in writer-director Gurinder Chadha’s under-performing Bruce Springsteen-inspired Blinded by the Light (2019), premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Atwell then took on a voice role in filmmaker Will Gluck’s animated/live-action sequel, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (2021), with James Corden, Margot Robbie, Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson, David Oyelowo, Sam Neill, and Elizabeth Debicki, and earning $154 million worldwide.
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Personal Details
Hayley Atwell was born and raised an only child in London by parents Grant Atwell (American-born photographer and a part Native American shaman) and Allison Cain (British-born), who divorced when Atwell was two years old. Atwell was a student at Sion-Manning Roman Catholic Girls’ School in London, where she achieved the position of Head Girl, and played on the school’s rugby team.
Atwell then graduated in 2005 from Guildhall School of Music and Drama with a B.A. degree in acting, after switching her major from a double major in Philosophy and Theology. Atwell began a relationship with music producer Ned Wolfgang Kelly in 2022, and the couple announced their engagement in April 2023. Atwell’s height is 5’ 6½”. Atwell’s estimated net worth is $5 million.
Filmography
actor
Upcoming (2)
- 2025 | Mission: Impossible – The Final ReckoningasGrace
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
The 8th entry in the long running Mission Impossible franchise.
- 2025 | Paddington in PeruasMadison
Paddington in Peru
Paddington returns to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. With the Brown family in tow, a thrilling adventure ensues when a mystery plunges them into an unexpected journey.
Previous (5)
- 2023 | Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part OneasGrace
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must track down a dangerous weapon before it falls into the wrong hands.
- 2022 | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessasCaptain Carter
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Doctor Strange teams up with a mysterious teenage girl from his dreams who can travel across multiverses, to battle multiple threats, including other-universe versions of himself, which threaten to wipe out millions across the mul...
- 2021 | Peter Rabbit 2: The RunawayasMittens
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway
Thomas and Bea are now married and living with Peter and his rabbit family. Bored of life in the garden, Peter goes to the big city, where he meets shady characters and ends up creating chaos for the whole family.
- 2019 | Blinded by the LightasMs Clay
Blinded by the Light
In England in 1987, a teenager from an Asian family learns to live his life, understand his family and find his own voice through the music of American rock star Bruce Springsteen.
- 2018 | Christopher RobinasEvelyn Robin
Christopher Robin
A working-class family man, Christopher Robin, encounters his childhood friend Winnie-the-Pooh, who helps him to rediscover the joys of life.
Some Facts About Hayley Atwell
Dual Citizen: Due to her American-born father and British-born mother, Hayley Atwell is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and the United States.
Period Queen: The Guardian newspaper has named Atwell “the queen of period drama.”
Skill Sets: Among Hayley Atwell’s various skills are ventriloquism and pranking her friends and fellow cast members.
