Anya Taylor-Joy

Taylor-Joy and Jarin Blaschke promoting The Witch (2015) at Sundance

At age fourteen, Taylor-Joy dropped out of school and moved from London to New York City, citing bullying from her peers and a desire to pursue acting.[20] She later split her time between the United States and England.[11] At age sixteen, she was scouted as a model while walking outside a Harrods department store. It was through her modeling work that she met and signed with an acting agent.[21]

Taylor-Joy had her first acting role in the 2014 horror comedy film Vampire Academy, but her scene was deleted from the final cut. She subsequently appeared in a 2014 episode of the detective drama series Endeavour and in multiple episodes of the 2015 fantasy-adventure drama series Atlantis. She rose to prominence with her lead role as Thomasin in Robert Eggers' period horror film The Witch. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and had a wide theatrical release in 2016. She turned down a simultaneous offer of a role in a Disney Channel series in order to complete the film.[22] The film and Taylor-Joy's performance received critical acclaim, and she won the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor,[23] the Empire Award for Best Female Newcomer,[24] and the Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Actress.[25] She also earned a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor.[26]

In 2016, Taylor-Joy starred in the science fiction horror film Morgan, directed by Luke Scott.[27] The film was released in September 2016 to mixed-to-negative reviews and was a box office bomb.[28] That same year, she played Charlotte Baughman, Barack Obama's girlfriend, in Vikram Gandhi's drama film Barry, which focused on a young Obama during his first year at Columbia University in 1981.[29] Taylor-Joy's likeness was used for the character Valkyrie Cain on the tenth anniversary cover of Skulduggery Pleasant, the first book in the series of the same name. She also appeared in the music video for Skrillex's remix of GTA's song Red Lips.[30]

Taylor-Joy alongside actress Olivia Cooke promoting Thoroughbreds in 2017

In 2017, Taylor-Joy was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award.[31] She was also awarded the prestigious Trophée Chopard at the Cannes Film Festival, which is given by a jury of professionals to young actors in order to recognise their accomplishments and encourage their careers.[32]

That same year, she gained further recognition for her starring role in M. Night Shyamalan's horror thriller film Split. She played Casey Cooke, a teenage girl abducted by a mysterious man with multiple personalities (played by James McAvoy).[33] Her performance earned her praise and she received a BloodGuts UK Horror Award nomination for it.[34] That same year, she starred as Allie in the horror mystery film Marrowbone.[35] Taylor-Joy later starred in the BBC One period drama miniseries The Miniaturist, which premiered in December 2017 to positive reviews.[36]

In 2018, she portrayed Lily in the dark comedy thriller film Thoroughbreds, which she starred in alongside Olivia Cooke.[37]

In 2019, Taylor-Joy reprised her role as Casey Cooke in the psychological superhero film Glass, the final instalment in the Unbreakable film series.[38] She also appeared in the documentary film Love, Antosha, which focused on her late co-star Anton Yelchin,[39] the animated musical adventure film Playmobil: The Movie,[40] and as Irene Curie in the biographical drama film Radioactive.[41] That same year, she had starring roles in the acclaimed BBC One period crime drama series Peaky Blinders and the Netflix fantasy drama series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.[42]

In 2020, Taylor-Joy starred as Emma Woodhouse in comedy-drama film Emma., a film adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 novel of the same name. The film was released in February 2020 to favourable critical reception and box office success.[43] She then starred in the drama film Here Are the Young Men, directed by Eoin Macken,[44] and as Illyana Rasputin/Magik, a Russian mutant and sorceress, in the superhero horror film The New Mutants.[45] The film was originally intended for release in April 2018, but experienced several delays; it was released in August 2020.[46] Taylor-Joy headlined the Netflix miniseries The Queen's Gambit, playing Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy struggling with addiction in a quest to become the world's greatest chess player.[47] The series and Taylor-Joy's performance received critical acclaim.[48] Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly called her performance "darkly fascinating" and took note of how she "excels in the quiet moments, [with] her eyelids narrowing as she decimates an opponent, [and] her whole body physicalizing angry desperation when the game turns against her."[49] Similarly, Caroline Framke of Variety found her performance to be "so magnetic that when she stares down the camera lens, her flinty glare threatens to cut right through it."[50] In 2021, her performances in both Emma. and The Queen's Gambit received nominations from the Golden Globe Awards and the Satellite Awards.[51][52][53][54]

Taylor-Joy will next star in Edgar Wright's psychological horror film Last Night in Soho, scheduled for release in October 2021.[55][56] She will also re-team with filmmaker Robert Eggers for a starring role in the historical revenge film The Northman. It is described as "a Viking revenge saga set in Iceland at the turn of the 10th century."[57]

In October 2020, it was announced that Taylor-Joy had been cast as the titular character in the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa.[58]

In January 2021, she was cast in David O. Russell's yet-untitled film, which will also star Robert De Niro, Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and Mike Myers.[59] [60]

Since 2017, Taylor-Joy has been attached to star in Robert Eggers' remake of F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu.[61] That same year, she was also cast in the drama film The Sea Change.[62]