Rose Leslie
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Rose Eleanor
Arbuthnot-Leslie(born 9 February 1987) is a Scottish actress. After winning a Scottish BAFTAfor Best Acting Performance for her role in New Town, she rose to fame as Gwen Dawson in the ITV drama series Downton Abbeyand as Ygritte in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones. She stars as Maia Rindell in the CBS All Access legal and political drama The Good Fight.
Quick facts: Born, Alma mater …
Rose Leslie

Leslie in 2013
Born
Rose Eleanor Arbuthnot-Leslie
9 February 1987(age 32)
Aberdeen, Scotland
Alma materLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic ArtOccupationActressYears active2005–presentSpouse(s)
Kit Harington(m. 2018)
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Early life and ancestry
Leslie was born in Aberdeen, Scotland and raised at Lickleyhead Castle in Aberdeenshire, her family's 15th century ancestral seat, where she lived until the age of 10. Her father, Sebastian Arbuthnot-Leslie, is the Aberdeenshire Chieftain of Clan Leslie. Her mother is Candida Mary Sibyl "Candy" Leslie (née Weld) of Clan Fraser, whose maternal great-grandfather was Simon Fraser, 13th Lord Lovat, and a descendant of King Charles II.Another great grandfather of Candy Leslie (née Weld) was Frederick Weld, the sixth Prime Minister of New Zealand. Her family currently lives at the 12th century Wardhill Castle in Old Rayne. Her great-great grandfather was Don Guillermo de Landa y Escandon, who served as Mayor of Mexico City,and she is cousin-in-law to the British historian William Dalrymple(FRAS).Leslie's ancestors include Ambrose Lisle March Phillipps De Lisle, politician Charles March-Phillippsand MP James Grimston, 3rd Earl of Verulam.
She was educated at Rayne North School in Aberdeenshire and then Millfieldin Street, Somerset,before spending three years at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Career
Leslie worked for BBC Radionarrating The British Slave Trade: Abolition, Parliament and People. She won a BASSCcertificate in stage combatand graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in 2008.
Her leading on screen debut came at age 21 in the television film New Town (2009), for which she won the Scottish BAFTA for Best Acting Performance – New Talent Award.
In September and October 2010, she became the lead in Nell Leyshon's infamous play Bedlam held at Globe Theatre.Based on the Bethlem Royal Hospital, representative of the worst excesses of asylums in the era of lunacy reform, Leslie portrayed May, a beautiful country girl driven mad by lost love.The Daily Telegraph's Charles Spencer praised her performance, commenting, "Leslie proves genuinely poignant." Her break-through role came as Gwen Dawson, a housemaid, in the first series (2010–11) of the ITVtelevision drama Downton Abbey. In 2011, while on Downton Abbey, Leslie briefly appeared in two episodes of the British drama series Case Histories.
Leslie in 2013 for Game of ThronesComic-Con panel
In 2012, she was cast in seasons two, three and four of the popular HBOfantasy series Game of Thronesas the wildlingYgritte.. The A.V. Club's Rowan Kaiser stated: "As Ygritte, [Rose] is both dangerous and flirtatious, and it's fun to watch." Den of Geek's David Crow exclaimed, "A complicated character [...] Rose Leslie devours the screen." In 2013, Vox.com's Todd VanDerWerff (under The A.V. Club) review for "The Climb" episode, "(In the books) Ygritte is a means to an end... (but) on screen, as embodied by Rose Leslie, she becomes something more," whilst The Atlantic's Christopher Orrsummed up her portrayal in 2014's episode "The Watchers of the Wall" by concluding: "Rose Leslie has been one of a handful of performers on the show who’ve really elevated their characters above what they were in the books."
While on Game of Thrones, Leslie appeared in the 2012 drama film Now Is Goodalongside Dakota Fanning and in episodes of ITVdetective television series Vera, Channel 4 conspiracy drama Utopiaand BBC One's comedy series Blandings.
From October to November 2014, she appeared in the four-part mini-series The Great Fire. She then starred in the horror film Honeymoon with Harry Treadaway. She has since played DS Emma Lane in the BBC detective drama Luther with Idris Elba with positive response and starred alongside Vin Diesel and Elijah Wood in the 2015 action adventure/fantasy film The Last Witch Hunter. In 2016, she portrayed the character of Athena in Sticky Notes with Ray Liotta.
In 2016, Leslie was cast in The Good Fight, a CBS All Access legal drama and spin off of The Good Wife. She plays Maia Rindell, a new lawyer who just passed the bar and whose family is involved in a financial scam, destroying her reputation. The first episode aired in February 2017.
In 2017 Leslie provided the voice for the female protagonist "En" in the video game Echo, a game by Copenhagen-based game developer Ultra Ultra.
Personal life
Kit Harington & Rose Leslie at 2014 Comic Con
Leslie is fluent in French, having lived in France for three years. While working as an actress, she lived in Battersea, London, until moving to North London. She often refers to missing Aberdeen, her hometown, having said: "Aberdeen... in the middle of the countryside, all trees and nature... I feel very much at peace in Scotland".
Leslie began a relationship with her Game of Thrones co-star Kit Harington in 2012. They announced their engagement through The Times in September 2017. Their wedding was held on 23 June 2018. They married at Rayne Church in Aberdeenshire, and the reception was held at nearby Wardhill Castle, owned by Leslie's family.
Politics and other interests
Leslie declared her support for Scotland remaining a devolved part of the United Kingdom during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum campaign. At the 2015 UK general election, she campaigned with the Conservatives in her local constituency of Gordon, Aberdeenshire.
She is a runnerand enjoys rock climbing, cooking, skiing, archeryand tennis.
Filmography
Film
More information: Year, Title …
YearTitleRoleDirectorNotesRef(s)2012Now Is GoodFionaOl Parker2014HoneymoonBeaLeigh Janiak2015The Last Witch HunterChloeBreck Eisner2016The Last DanceAthenaAmanda SharpUS title: Sticky NotesMorganDr. Amy MenserLuke Scott
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Television
More information: Year, Title …
YearTitleRoleNetworkNotesRef.2008Banged Up AbroadKimChannel 5Episode: "Lima"2009New TownRhianBBCTelevision film2010,
2015Downton AbbeyGwen DawsonITV8 episodes;
Main (Season 1)
Guest (Season 6)2011Case HistoriesLaura WyreBBC2 episodes2012VeraLena HolgateITVEpisode: "The Ghost Position"
Theatre
More information: Year, Title …
YearTitleVenue / touring theatreDirectorRef2005–2015Mixed Up NorthTouring
Wilton's Music Hall
Octagon TheatreMax Stafford-ClarkRomeo and JulietLove and Madness CompanyJohn LinkCan-CanLAMDAAnne DurhamPericlesRodney CottierThe Learned LadiesJenny LipmanThe Caucasian Chalk CircleTouring
Out of Joint Theatre Company
MacOwan TheatreJohn BaxterBreaking Barriers in BurnleyOut of Joint Theatre CompanyRobin Soans & ClarkUncle VanyaLAMDAColin CookAntigoneMark BellThe Children's MonologuesRoyal Court TheatreDanny BoyleBedlamGlobe TheatreNell Leyshon
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Awards and nominations
More information: Year, Award …
YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.2009British Academy Scotland New Talent AwardsBest Acting PerformanceNew TownWon
2013Screen Actors Guild AwardOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
(shared with the cast)Game of ThronesNominated
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Ancestry
More information: Ancestors of Rose Leslie …
Rose Leslie on IMDb
Rose Leslie on Facebook
