Holliday Grainger

Early life

Grainger was born on 27 March 1988 in Didsbury, Manchester. Her maternal grandfather was Italian. Her first experience of acting was at the age of five when she was scouted for a BBC TV series. She appeared in many TV shows and independent films as a child actress.

Grainger attended Parrs Wood High School from 1999 to 2006, and in 2007 began study for a degree in English literature at the University of Leeds. However, she eventually opted for the Open University.

Career

Roles followed in Casualty, Doctors and Dalziel and Pascoe. Grainger played Megan Boothe in Where the Heart Is, Stacey Appleyard in Waterloo Road and Sophia in Merlin. In 2011, she appeared in the television series The Borgias, playing Lucrezia Borgia opposite Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI. The series, created by Neil Jordan and shot in Hungary, ran for three seasons.

After her role as Emily in the film The Scouting Book for Boys (2009), she played one of the Rivers sisters opposite Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender in Cary Fukunaga's 2011 retelling of Jane Eyre, and had a minor role in Bel Ami alongside Robert Pattinson and Uma Thurman. In June 2011, she was cast in the leading role of Estella in Mike Newell's film adaptation of Great Expectations, opposite Jeremy Irvine and Helena Bonham Carter. The movie, screened at Toronto International Film Festival 2012, had its European premiere as the closing night film of the BFI London Film Festival. She had a minor role in the 2012 film Anna Karenina as Baroness Shilton.

On stage, in 2013 she appeared in Disassociation, a play by Luke Bailey, at The Lowry in Salford. In the same year, she played Bonnie Parker in the 2013 TV mini-series Bonnie & Clyde. She was one of the female leads in the 2014 film The Riot Club, adapted from the play Posh, alongside Max Irons. In the same year, she appeared on stage in Anton Chekhov's play Three Sisters at the Southwark Playhouse. Grainger played Cinderella's stepsister Anastasia Tremaine in Kenneth Branagh's 2015 film version of Cinderella.

In 2016, Grainger starred in Disney's The Finest Hours. On 20 June 2016, World Refugee Day, Grainger, as well as Jack O'Connell, featured in a film from the United Nations' refugee agency UNHCR to help raise awareness of the global refugee crisis. The film, titled Home, has a family take a reverse migration into the middle of a war zone. It is inspired by primary accounts of refugees, and is part of UNHCR's #WithRefugees campaign, which also includes a petition to governments to expand asylum to provide further shelter, integrating job opportunities, and education. Home, written and directed by Daniel Mulloy, went on to win a BAFTA Award and a Gold Lion at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity among many other awards.

In 2017, she appeared in a film adaptation of the novel Tulip Fever alongside Alicia Vikander. From 2017, she plays Robin Ellacott in the TV series Strike (aired in the United States and Canada as C.B. Strike) based on the novels by J. K. Rowling. Grainger played one of the two lead female roles in the feature film Animals, along with Alia Shawkat. Based on the novel by Emma Jane Unsworth, who also wrote the script, the film was directed by Sophie Hyde and filmed in Dublin. In 2019, Grainger starred in the BBC conspiracy thriller The Capture.

Personal life

In May 2021, she had twin children with her partner Harry Treadaway, himself a twin (brother of Luke Treadaway).

Filmography

Film

Television

Audio

Theatre

References

References

1. (30 January 2011). "Holliday Grainger Interview THE BORGIAS; Updates on BEL AMI and JANE EYRE".
2. "Holliday Grainger Interview". 1883 Magazine.
3. "Parrs Wood Alumni". parrswood.manchester.sch.uk.
4. Harnick, Chris. (4 May 2012). "The Borgias renewed season 3".
5. French, Philip. (March 21, 2010). "The Scouting Book for Boys". [[The Guardian]].
6. Ge, Linda. (17 June 2011). "Holliday Grainger cast as Estella in "Great Expectations" opposite Jeremy Irvine".
7. "Great Expectations to close BFI London Film Festival". number9films.
8. (13 January 2013). "Downton Abbey star Jim Carter enjoys 'bamboo massage'". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
9. Cavendish, Dominic. (10 April 2014). "'Three Sisters, Southwark Playhouse, review'". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
10. Sneider, Jeff. (June 10, 2013). "'The Borgias' Star Holliday Grainger Joins Disney's 'Cinderella' (Exclusive)".
11. Schager, Nick. (26 January 2016). "Review: 'The Finest Hours' Starring Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Eric Bana, Ben Foster, Holliday Grainger, And More".
12. "Jack O'Connell, Holliday Grainger refugee drama 'Home' sets release".
13. (7 September 2016). "What They Took With Them - #WithRefugees". Unhcr.
14. (18 January 2017). "BAFTABritish Short Film and Short Animation".
15. Jagernauth, Kevin. (8 July 2013). "Alicia Vikander To Star In Long-Developing 'Tulip Fever,' Matthias Schoenaerts Sought For Role". indiewire.com.
16. (1 November 2016). "Holliday Grainger to Star in J.K. Rowling's 'Cormoran Strike'". [[Variety (magazine).
17. {{YouTube. q5t3dyqfad0. Animals interview: Alia Shawkat, Holliday Grainger, Sophie Hyde, Emma Jane Unsworth - 8 Feb 2019
18. (8 October 2019). "Meet the cast of BBC conspiracy thriller 'The Capture'". [[Radio Times]].
19. (29 May 2021). "Actress Holliday Grainger gives birth to newborn twins with beau Harry Treadaway".
20. Turner, Laura Jane. (22 January 2025). "New UK thriller from Baptiste writer reveals first look with One Day's Ambika Mod".