Isobel Dorothy Powley (born 7 March 1992) is an English actress. Powley was born and raised in London, where she was educated at

Holland Park School Holland Park School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form in Holland Park, London, England. In 2013, it has attained academy status. Opened in 1958, the school became the flagship for comprehensive education, and at one time had ove ...

. She began acting as a teenager on television, starring on the

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

action television series '' M.I. High'' (2007–2008), the period miniseries ''

Little Dorrit ''Little Dorrit'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in serial form between 1855 and 1857. The story features Amy Dorrit, youngest child of her family, born and raised in the Marshalsea prison for debtors in London. Arthur Cl ...

'' (2008), the crime series ''

Murderland ''Murderland'' is a three-part British television series created by David Pirie and directed by Catherine Morshead. The series also marks a return to ITV for Robbie Coltrane. The series was filmed in June 2009 and the first episode was transmitt ...

'' (2009), and the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

sitcom '' Benidorm'' (2014). Powley gained critical praise for her portrayal of

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

in ''

A Royal Night Out ''A Royal Night Out'' is a 2015 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Julian Jarrold and written by Trevor de Silva and Kevin Hood. The film stars Sarah Gadon as the teenaged Princess Elizabeth, who, with younger sister Princess Marga ...

'' (2015), for which she was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer, and a sexually confused teenager in the coming-of-age film ''

The Diary of a Teenage Girl ''The Diary of a Teenage Girl'' is a 2015 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Marielle Heller, based on the hybrid novel of the same name by Phoebe Gloeckner. It stars Bel Powley as a 15-year-old girl who becomes sexually active ...

'', for which she won the

Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Actress The Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Actress was one of the annual Gotham Independent Film Awards awarded between 2013 and 2020. In 2021, it was replaced by the gender neutral awards for Outstanding Lead Performance and Outstanding Supporti ...

and the Trophee Chopard at the

2016 Cannes Film Festival The 69th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian director George Miller was the President of the Jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies. On 15 Marc ...

. She has since starred in the films ''

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of scie ...

'' (2017), ''

White Boy Rick ''White Boy Rick'' is a 2018 American crime drama film directed by Yann Demange and written by Andy Weiss, Logan Miller, and Noah Miller. The film stars Richie Merritt, Matthew McConaughey, Bel Powley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brian Tyree Henry, R ...

'' (2018), ''

Ashes in the Snow ''Ashes in the Snow'' is a World War II drama film based on ''The New York Times'' best selling novel ''Between Shades of Gray'' by Ruta Sepetys. The film is a coming-of-age tale of a young teenager named Lina who, with her mother and younger b ...

'' (2018), and ''The'' ''King of Staten Island'' (2020) and on the

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

drama series '' The Morning Show'' (2019–2021).

Early life

Powley was born in the

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

borough of London, England, to British actor

Mark Powley Mark Powley (born 4 October 1963) is a British actor known for his work on television. He appeared in 88 episodes of police drama ''The Bill'' as P.C Melvin (1987–1990), and as builder Tom in BBC sitcom '' Next of Kin'' for 2 series (1995� ...

and casting director Janis Jaffa. Her mother is Jewish, the descendant of emigrants from Russia to Dublin, Ireland. Powley attended

Career

Screen

From 2007 until 2008, Powley was one of the lead characters in ''M.I. High'', starring in 23 episodes. Powley has also appeared in several other productions such as ''

'' (three episodes, 2009), ''

'' (2008), ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' (2008) and ''The Whistleblowers'' (2007). In 2013, Powley was joining the cast of the

series '' Benidorm'' for series six. Bel Powley at Diary of a Teenage Girl premiere

In 2015, Powley portrayed

in the biographical comedy-drama ''

'', alongside

Sarah Gadon Sarah Lynn Gadon (born April 4, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She began her acting career guest-starring in a number of television series, such as ''Are You Afraid of the Dark?'' (1999), '' Mutant X'' (2002), and ''Dark Oracle'' (2004). She also ...

as Princess Elizabeth. Powley played the lead role of Minnie Goetze in the comedy-drama film ''

'', which premiered in New York City and Los Angeles in August 2015. Shortly afterward, Powley starred as the titular character in the 2016 indie film ''

Carrie Pilby ''Carrie Pilby'' is a coming-of-age novel by Caren Lissner, first published by Red Dress Ink in 2003, then re-released on July 1, 2010 for teenage readers under the new imprint Harlequin Teen. It was among the first novels published by Harlequi ...

'', taking over the role from

Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Hailee Steinfeld, various accolades, including a Peabody Award, and nominations for an Academy Award ...

. In 2018, Powley starred opposite

Liv Tyler Liv Rundgren Tyler (born Liv Rundgren; July 1, 1977) is an American actress, producer, singer and former model. She began a modeling career at age 14. She later decided to focus on acting and made her film debut in ''Silent Fall'' (1994); she ...

in the horror film '' Wildling'', and appeared in the crime-drama film ''

''. That same year, Powley played a lead role as Holly Morten in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

drama ''

Informer An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informan ...

''. In June 2020, Powley appeared in ''

The King of Staten Island ''The King of Staten Island'' is a 2020 American comedy-drama film directed by Judd Apatow, from a screenplay by Apatow, Pete Davidson, and Dave Sirus. It stars Davidson, Marisa Tomei, Bill Burr, Bel Powley, Maude Apatow, and Steve Buscemi ...

'' as the love interest of

Pete Davidson Peter Michael Davidson (born November 16, 1993) is an American comedian and actor. He was a cast member of the NBC late-night sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (SNL) for eight seasons, running from 2014 to 2022. Davidson's ...

's character. In 2022, Powley played Birdy, one of the main characters in the TV series ''Everything I Know About Love''.

Stage

Powley appeared as Maggie in ''Tusk Tusk'' at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

, London, in March 2009. On

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, she was Thomasina in the 2011 revival of ''

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

'' at the

Ethel Barrymore Theatre The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a Broadway theater at 241 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1928, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in the Elizabethan, Mediterranean, and Adam styles ...

. In October 2011, she once again appeared at the Royal Court as Tilly in ''Jumpy'', a role to which she returned in the West End transfer of ''Jumpy'' to the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

in August 2012. She appeared as Dawn in the March 2018 revival of ''

Lobby Hero ''Lobby Hero'' is a play by Kenneth Lonergan. It premiered Off-Broadway in 2001. Production history ''Lobby Hero'' premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons, on March 13, 2001, and closed on April 15, 2001, reopening at the John Houseman ...

'' at the

Hayes Theatre The Hayes Theatre is a 111-seat theatre specialising in music theatre and cabaret in Potts Point, Sydney, Australia. It is named after the Australian performer Nancye Hayes. Hayes Theatre Co was established at the former Darlinghurst Theatre afte ...

, alongside Chris Evans,

Michael Cera Michael Austin Cera (; ; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian actor and musician. He started his career as a child actor, voicing the character of Brother Bear on the children's television show ''The Berenstain Bears (2003 TV series), The Berenstain ...

and Bryan Tyree Henry.

Personal life

In an interview in 2013, Powley said she had a spot reserved to study history at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

, but she never attended. It was announced in July 2021 via actor

Douglas Booth Douglas John Booth (born 9 July 1992) is an English actor and musician. He first came to public attention following his performance as Boy George in the BBC Two film ''Worried About the Boy'' (2010). He also starred in the BBC adaptations of ' ...

's Instagram page that he and Powley are engaged to be married after meeting on the set of the film ''

'' in 2016.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Powley, Bel 1992 births Actresses from London British child actresses British television actresses Living people People educated at Holland Park School People from Shepherd's Bush 21st-century British actresses British film actresses English people of Irish-Jewish descent English people of Russian-Jewish descent People from Hammersmith English Jews 21st-century English women 21st-century English people