Biography
Having barely begun her career on British television, actress Lena Headey was wooed by American feature directors who were captivated by her emotional realism and timeless beauty. A big fan of British films, Headey maintained a demanding international schedule in more lucrative American fare to finance her love of homegrown period pieces and art house dramas like "Face" (1997) and "Onegin" (1999). But it was her acclaimed performance in the …
Lena Headey SlideShow
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Career Milestones
2012 | Cast opposite Karl Urban in sci-fi action feature "Dredd 3D" | |
2011 | Portrayed the cruel queen Cersei Lannister on HBO series "Game of Thrones," based on the first book of the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin | |
2008 | Played the titular character on Fox action series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" | |
2007 | Cast as Queen Gorgo in Zack Snyder's "300," an adaptation of the Frank Miller graphic novel | |
2006 | Co-starred in the romantic comedy "Imagine Me & You" | |
2005 | Cast in Terry Gilliam's "The Brothers Grimm" with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger | |
2002 | Acted in "Ripley's Game" | |
2002 | Landed featured role in "Possession" | |
2001 | Co-starred with Steve Coogan in the British comedy caper "The Parole Officer" | |
2000 | Co-starred with Ian Hart and Charlotte Rampling in Hans Petter Moland's "Aberdeen" | |
2000 | Cast as a bitchy college student in dark comedy "Gossip" | |
1999 | Cast in pivotal role as Liv Tyler's spirited sister Olga in Martha Fiennes' directorial debut "Onegin" | |
1998 | Cast as Guinevere opposite Sam Neill in the title role in NBC miniseries "Merlin" | |
1998 | Played the female lead in "The Man with Rain in His Shoes" | |
1997 | Portrayed Sally Seton, the best friend of a young Clarissa (Natascha McElhone) in "Mrs. Dalloway" | |
1997 | Underused as Robert Carlyle's idealistic girlfriend in Antonia Bird's "Face" | |
1995 | Played a troubled lesbian prostitute in British miniseries "Band of Gold" | |
1995 | Played an Ecstacy-fueled raver in the BBC-2 cautionary drama "Loved Up" | |
1994 | Portrayed the virginal heroine in Disney's live-action version of "Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book" | |
1994 | Made American TV debut in "MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday" (ABC) | |
1993 | Played a passive teenager engaged to an older man in BBC TV-movie "The Summer House" | |
1993 | Appeared opposite Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins in James Ivory's Academy Award-nominated "The Remains of the Day" | |
1992 | Made film debut as a sexually precocious schoolgirl opposite Jeremy Irons in "Waterland" | |
| Spotted by a casting agent at age 17 while performing in a school production at the Royal National Theatre | ||
| Lived in Bermuda until age eight and then family returned to Huddersfield, West Yorkshire | ||
Awards
2011 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in Game of Thrones |
2007 | MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Performance in 300 |