Michelle Dockery

Michelle Dockery
Born	Michelle Dockery
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2004–present

Michelle Dockery (born December 15, 1981 in Essex) is an English actress, mostly on stage, who has become best known for her role as Lady Mary Crawley in the television drama series Downton Abbey.

Acting career

Dockery was educated at the Chadwell Heath Foundation School in Chadwell Heath, now known as Chadwell Heath Academy. Michelle was a member of the National Youth Theatre and trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, graduating in July 2004. She made her professional debut in His Dark Materials at the Royal National Theatre later that year. In 2006, she was nominated for the Ian Charleson Award for her performance in Pillars of the Community at the National Theatre. She made her television debut as Susan Sto Helit in Sky One's adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Hogfather in 2005.

She appeared in Burnt by the Sun at the National Theatre for which she received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She won second prize at the Ian Charleson Awards for her performance as Eliza Doolittle in Peter Hall's production of Pygmalion at the Theatre Royal, Bath which toured the UK and transferred to The Old Vic on May 7, 2008, and for the same production was nominated Best Newcomer at the Evening Standard Awards 2008

In 2008, she played Kathryn in Channel 4 's The Red Riding Trilogy and played a guest lead in Waking the Dead. In 2009, she appeared in the two-part Cranford Christmas special for the BBC, and starred as the lead character in a modernised BBC adaptation of The Turn of the Screw.

Downton Abbey (2010)

Dockery came to particular public prominence in 2010 when she played Lady Mary Crawley in Julian Fellowes' series Downton Abbey, which was screened on ITV between September and November 2010 alongside Maggie Smith (who played her grandmother). She was nominated for a Southbank Award in January for Best Breakthrough Performance in a TV drama. At the same time, she played Ophelia in Hamlet at the Crucible Theatre alongside John Simm. A second series of Downton Abbey will be shown in 2011.

Singer

Dockery is also a jazz 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.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2005	Fingersmith	Betty	TV series
2006	Hogfather	Susan/Death of Rats	TV movie
2007	Consent		TV movie
	Dalziel and Pascoe	Aimee Hobbs	TV series (2 episodes)
2008	Poppy Shakespeare	Dawn	TV movie
	Heartbeat	Sue Padgett	TV series (1 episode: "Take Three Girls")
2009	Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974	Kathryn Taylor	TV movie
	Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1983	Kathryn Taylor	TV movie
	The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler	Ewa Rozenfeld	TV movie
	Waking the Dead	Gemma Morrison	TV series (2 episodes)
	Cranford	Erminia Whyte	TV mini-series (2 episodes)
	The Turn of the Screw	Ann	TV movie
2010	Spoiler	Goth Girl	short
	Downton Abbey	Lady Mary Crawley	TV series (7 episodes)
	Shades of Beige	Jodie	short
2011	Hanna	False Marissa	completed

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Awards and nominations
2004	His Dark Materials	Lyra	National Theatre
2005	The UN Inspector		National Theatre
	Pillars of the Community	Dina	National Theatre	Nominated—Ian Charleson Award - Best Actress
2007	Dying for It	Kleopatra	Almeida Theatre
2008	Pygmalion	Eliza Doolittle	Old Vic Theatre	Ian Charleson Award - Best Actress Nominated—Evening Standard Award - Best Newcomer
	Uncle Vanya	Yelena	UK Tour
2009	Burnt By The Sun	Maroussia	National Theatre	Nominated—Olivier Award - Best Supporting Actress

External links

• Michelle Dockery at IMDb