Charlotte Riley

She got into a romantic relationship with actor Tom Hardy in 2009 when they were working together in ‘Wuthering Heights’. The couple got married in 2014.

They welcomed their first child, a boy, in October 2015.

Charlotte Riley was born on 29 December 1981 in Grindon, County Durham, England. She is the third born child of Michael, an engineer and Margaret, a nurse & bereavement counsellor. Charlotte is a decade younger than her siblings, Joanne and Simon.

She was born into an upper class family in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham. Charlotte received her formal education from the prestigious Teesside High School. She started her professional training in acting at LAMDA, right from a tender age.

Later she graduated from St Cuthbert’s, Durham University in 2003 with a major in English and Linguistics. During her University days, Charlotte performed in several stage plays and musicals with the Durham Revue.

She became a notable member of the Durham Revue and since thenhas written numerous scripts for plays and musicals,along with her friend Tiffany Wood.

After their graduation, they went on to write and perform the play, ‘Shaking Cecilia’. Charlotte was still undecided about her future. So she spent a phase of her life teaching drama to young adults and children with disabilities. The experience she gained from it finally made her to pursue acting, and eventuallyshe landed in London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Charlotte made her debut in an episode of the British sitcom, ‘Grownups’, aired in 2007. She was seen playing the character of Chloe. Critics gave the series the thumbs down and hence Charlotte went unnoticed.

She went on to play guest roles in ‘Holby City’ and ‘Inspector George Gently’ the same year, but both the series received average reviews.

The following year, she appeared as Emma in the short film, ‘Survey No. 257’. Charlotte then made her film debut in the 2008 British romantic comedy, ‘Easy Virtue’. The film was an adaptation of the 1928 silent film of the same name directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Although the film received average reviews, Charlotte’s performance as Sarah Hurst was spot on.

Her breakthrough role came in the 2009 telefilm, ‘Wuthering Heights’, which was an adaptation of the novel of the same name authored by Emily Brontë. Charlotte’s portrayal of Catherine Earnshaw gained her significant attention.

In 2009, shewent on to play Maggie Summers in 4 of the episodes of the British drama, ‘The Take’. Around the same time, she starred in another TV film titled, ‘Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen’.

Easy Virtue – Charlotte debuted in mainstream films with this adaptation of the play of the same name by Noël Coward. Released on 7 November 2008, the film recorded an average performance at the box office.

Wuthering Heights – Charlotte gained fame for playing Catherine Earnshaw in the made-for-television film‘Wuthering Heights’, released in January 2009.

World Without End – Charlotte appeared in this eight-part series, set in medieval England. She performed as Caris, the daughter of an alderman who supports her ambitions to become a doctor. The series aired its first part on 4 September 2012.