Michelle Suzanne Dockery[1] (born 15 December 1981) is an English actress. She is best known for starring as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV television period drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.[2] She reprised her role in the films Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022).
Born
Michelle Suzanne Dockery
Alma mater
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Occupation
Actress
Years active
2004–present
Spouse
Jasper Waller-Bridge
(m. 2023)Relatives
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (sister-in-law), Isobel Waller-Bridge (sister-in-law)
Signature
After graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Dockery made her professional stage debut in His Dark Materials in 2004. For her role as Eliza Doolittle in a 2007 London revival of Pygmalion, she was nominated for the Evening Standard Award.[3] For her role in the 2009 play Burnt by the Sun, she earned an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.[4]
Dockery has appeared in the films Hanna (2011), Anna Karenina (2012), Non-Stop (2014), and The Gentlemen (2019).[5] She has also played lead roles in the western miniseries Godless (2017), for which she received her fourth Emmy nomination, and the drama miniseries Defending Jacob (2020) and Anatomy of a Scandal (2022).[1]
Michelle Dockery is the daughter of Lorraine, a care home assistant from Stepney, England, and Michael Dockery, a lorry driver from Ireland. She grew up in Romford, Essex.[6]
She attended the Finch Stage School,[7] and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 2004.[8]
Dockery was a member of the National Youth Theatre. She made her professional debut in His Dark Materials at the Royal National Theatre in 2004.[9] In 2006, she was nominated for the Ian Charleson Award for her performance as Dina Dorf in Pillars of the Community at the National Theatre.[10] She appeared in Burnt by the Sun at the National Theatre, for which she received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.[11]
She won second prize at the Ian Charleson Awards for her performance as Eliza DoolittleinPeter Hall's production of Pygmalion at the Theatre Royal, Bath, which toured the UK and transferred to The Old Vic in 2008,[12] and for the same production was nominated Best Newcomer at the Evening Standard Awards 2008.[13]
In 2010, she played OpheliainHamlet at the Crucible Theatre alongside John Simm.[14]
In 2006, Dockery starred as Susan Sto Helit in a two-part adaptation of Terry Pratchett's novel Hogfather.[15] In 2008, she played Kathryn in Channel 4's The Red Riding Trilogy and played the guest role of tormented rape victim Gemma Morrison in BBC's Waking the Dead. In 2009, she appeared on the BBC as Erminia, a ward of Jonathan Pryce's character, in the two-part Cranford Christmas special (also known as Return to Cranford), and as the young governess in an adaptation of The Turn of the Screw, opposite her future Downton Abbey co-star Dan Stevens in the role of her psychiatrist.[16]
Dockery came to public prominence in 2010 when she played Lady Mary CrawleyinJulian Fellowes' series Downton Abbey. The series ran from 2010 through 2015; each year it was filmed from February through August and broadcast on ITV from September through November, with a special Christmas night episode each year beginning in 2011. It later aired in the U.S. on PBS.
For her role as Lady Mary Crawley in the Downton Abbey series, Dockery received three consecutive Emmy Award nominations in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress In a Drama Series in 2012,[17] 2013,[18] and 2014.[19] She also earned a Golden Globe nomination in 2013.[2]
Dockery's first big screen role was as False Marissa in Hanna (2011). In 2012, she appeared as Princess Myagkaya in the film adaptation of Anna Karenina and starred with Charlotte Rampling in a two-part dramatisation of William Boyd's spy thriller Restless on BBC One.[20] In January 2014, she appeared in the action thriller feature film Non-Stop alongside co-stars Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, and Lupita Nyong'o.[21][22]
In 2014, Dockery was made Fellow of the Guildhall School in recognition of her achievements in television.[23] In 2014, Dockery was listed in The Sunday Times Britain's 500 Most Influential People, which is a compilation of the most significant individuals in the UK who have demonstrated outstanding qualities of influence, achievement and inspiration.[24][25]
In a departure from her portrayal of Lady Mary in Downton Abbey, Dockery advanced her Hollywood career with a 2015 performance in the sci-fi thriller feature film Self/less, with Ryan Reynolds.[21]
Beginning in November 2016, Dockery starred in the lead role of Letty Raines in Good Behavior, an American drama series based on the novella series by Blake Crouch. Letty is a drug-addicted thief and con-artist who, released early from prison on good behaviour, is attempting to get her life under control. Her efforts are complicated by a chance meeting and subsequent entanglement with a charismatic hitman, played by Juan Diego Botto. The 10-episode first season, airing on a U.S. basic-cable network TNT, was filmed in and around Wilmington, North Carolina. In January 2017, the show was picked up for a second season.[26] In November 2018, the series was cancelled after two seasons.[27]
In 2017, Dockery appeared alongside Jim Broadbent, Charlotte Rampling, Harriet Walter, and Emily Mortimer in the British film The Sense of an Ending from CBS Films, based on the Booker-winning novel of the same name by Julian Barnes. She plays Susie Webster, the daughter of Tony Webster (Jim Broadbent), a man who lives in quiet unquestioning solitude until he confronts secrets of his past. "The film is a beautiful adaptation of the book which I love. And I jumped at the chance to work with director Ritesh Batra, who also filmed The Lunchbox (2013)", explained Dockery.[28][29]
Later that year, Dockery had a lead role in the Netflix western miniseries Godless.[30] In 2019, Dockery reprised her lead role as Lady Mary Crawley in the Downton Abbey film, alongside Hugh Bonneville and Maggie Smith. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was a financial success, grossing $192 million. Later in 2019, Dockery appeared in The Gentlemen, directed by Guy Ritchie, as the wife of a drug baron played by Matthew McConaughey. The film opened in wide release in 2020 and has grossed over $100 million worldwide. It was met with mixed to positive reviews.
Dockery is a trained singer. She sang at the 50th Anniversary of Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London and has occasionally sung with Sadie and the Hotheads, a band formed by Elizabeth McGovern, who played her mother in Downton Abbey.[31] In February 2022, it was announced that Dockery and her Downton Abbey co-star Michael C. Fox had signed a record deal with Decca Records as the duo Michelle and Michael.[32]
On World Humanitarian Day 2014, Oxfam announced Dockery as its first ever Humanitarian Ambassador.[33] Dockery is also a patron of Changing Faces,[34] as well as other charities.[35]
In 2014, Dockery was one of nine British celebrities featured in a short film promoting Stand Up to Cancer UK.[36]
Dockery began a relationship with John Dineen, from Waterfall, Ireland, in 2013. The actress had been introduced to Dineen, then a public relations director at FTI Consulting in London, by Irish actor Allen Leech, who appeared alongside Dockery in Downton Abbey.
Dineen died on 13 December 2015, at age 34 from a rare form of cancer at the Marymount Hospice in Cork.[37][38][39]
Dockery has been in a relationship with Jasper Waller-Bridge, brother of Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge and composer Isobel Waller-Bridge, since 2019. They announced their engagement in January 2022[40] and married on 22 September 2023.[41]
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2010
Spoiler
Goth Girl
Short film
Shades of Beige
Jodie
Short film
2011
False Marissa
2012
Out of Time
Christine
Princess Myagkaya
A Poem Is...
Narrator
Voice
Angelic Voices: The Choristers of Salisbury Cathedral
Narrator
Documentary
2014
Nancy Hoffman
Tough Justice
Connie Tough
Short film
2015
Claire Hale
Many Beautiful Things
Voice of Lilias Trotter
Documentary
District Zero: What's Hidden Inside the Smartphone of a Refugee
Narrator
Documentary
2017
Susie Webster
2019
Rosalind "Roz" Pearson
2022
2023
Melanie van der Koy
2024
Madelyn Harris
Post-production
Post-production
2025
Untitled Downton Abbey: A New Era sequel
Filming
TBA
Please Don't Feed the Children
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2005
Betty
Miniseries
2006
Television film
2007
Consent
Television film
2007
Aimee Hobbs
2 episodes
2008
Sue Padgett
Episode: "Take Three Girls"
2008
Dawn
Television film
2009
Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974
Kathryn Taylor
Television film
2009
Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1983
Kathryn Taylor
Television film
2009
The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler
Ewa Rozenfeld
Television film
2009
Ann
Television film
2009
Gemma Morrison
2 episodes
2009
Erminia Whyte
2 episodes
2010–2015
Main cast; 52 episodes
2012
Ruth Gilmartin
Miniseries
2012
Margaret Watkins
Voice
1 episode
2012
"Henry IV, Part I and Part II"
2013
Voice
Episode: "Boopa-dee Bappa-dee"
2015
Japan: Earth's Enchanted Islands
Narrator
BBC2 Documentary Series
2016–2017
Letty Raines
Main cast; 20 episodes
2017
Victoria Nova
1 episode
2017
Alice Fletcher
Miniseries; 7 episodes
2019
Lady Netherfield (voice)
Episode: "The Deli Guy"
2020
Laurie Barber
Miniseries; 8 episodes
2020–2022
Lady Olivia (voice)
9 episodes[46]
2022
Kate Woodcroft
Miniseries; 6 episodes
2024
Estella
Main cast[47]
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2004
Jessie
National Theatre
2005
Henry IV, Parts I and II
Carrier
National Theatre
2005
Female activist
National Theatre
2005
Dina
National Theatre
2007
Dying for It
Kleopatra
2007
UK tour
2008
Yelena
UK tour
2008
Pygmalion
Eliza Doolittle
2009
Burnt by the Sun
Maroussia
National Theatre
2010
2017–2018
Diana Christensen
Year
Award
Category
Nominated work
Result
2005
Best Actress
Pillars of Community
Nominated
2007
Best Performance by an Actor – 2nd Prize
Won
2008
Outstanding Newcomer
Pygmalion
Nominated
2010
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated
2011
Monte-Carlo Television Festival
Outstanding Actress Drama Series
Nominated
2012
Monte-Carlo Television Festival
Outstanding Actress Drama Series
Downton Abbey
Nominated
Downton Abbey
Nominated
Editor's Special Award
—
Won
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Downton Abbey
Nominated
Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama
Downton Abbey
Nominated
2013
Best Actress – Television Series Drama
Downton Abbey
Nominated
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Downton Abbey
Nominated
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Downton Abbey
Won
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Downton Abbey
Nominated
Best Global Actress
Downton Abbey
Won
Online Film and Television Association Awards
Best Actress in a Drama Series
Downton Abbey
Nominated
2014
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Downton Abbey
Nominated
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Downton Abbey
Won
2015
Harper's Bazaar Women of the Year Awards
Television Icon Award
—
Won
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Downton Abbey
Won
2016
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Downton Abbey
Nominated
Online Film and Television Association Awards
Best Actress in a Drama Series
Downton Abbey
Nominated
2017
Critics' Pick Awards[48]
Best Actress in a Drama Series
Nominated
2018
Cannes International TV Series Film Festival
Variety Icon Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting[49][50]
—
Won
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series
Godless
Nominated