Carey Mulligan was born on 28 May 1985 in Westminster, London, to Nano Booth, a university lecturer, and Stephen Mulligan, a hotel manager. When she was three years old, her family moved to Germany because of her father’s job, and she studied at the International School of Düsseldorf. At age eight the family returned to England and she attended the all girls independent school Woldingham in Surrey. Her early interest in acting grew during her school years.
| Key Fact | Verified Details |
| Carey Mulligan Net Worth | Not publicly disclosed. |
| Date of Birth | Born 28 May 1985. |
| Birthplace | Westminster, London, England. |
| Education | Woldingham School, Surrey. |
| Breakthrough Role | An Education (2009). |
| BAFTA Win | Best Actress (2010). |
| Oscar Nominations | Three Academy Award nominations. |
| Tony Nomination | Skylight (2015). |
| National Honour | Appointed CBE (2024). |
| Income Sources | Film, theatre, endorsements. |
| Early TV Role | Appeared in Bleak House (2005). |
| Stage Debut | Forty Winks (2004), Royal Court Theatre. |
| Golden Globe Nods | Four Golden Globe nominations. |
| Major Box Office Film | The Great Gatsby (2013). |
| Recent Film | Starred in Maestro (2023). |
Carey Mulligan has built a distinguished career defined by critically acclaimed performances across film and theatre. From her breakthrough in An Education to award-nominated roles in Promising Young Woman and Maestro, she is Carey Mulligan is a British actress who has become one of the leading performers of her generation in both film and theatre. Launching her professional career in the mid-2000s, she quickly earned a reputation for taking on complex roles.
Over the past two decades Mulligan has amassed top industry honors: she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress and has been nominated three times for the Academy Award (Oscars) in the leading actress category. In recognition of her contributions to drama, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in late 2024.
Her body of work spans major period dramas, contemporary thrillers and stage productions, reflecting a versatile career built on critically acclaimed performances.
Mulligan’s stage debut came at age 18 in Kevin Elyot’s play Forty Winksat London’s Royal Court Theatre (2004). Her first screen appearances followed quickly.
In 2005 she appeared on BBC television as Ada in the Dickens adaptation Bleak Houseand had a small part as Kitty Bennet in Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice. These early roles gave her notice in the industry.
Her true breakout came with the film An Education(2009), in which she played Jenny Mellor, a London schoolgirl. That performance won Mulligan the BAFTA for Best Actress and earned her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
This role firmly established her as a leading actor in cinema.
Following her breakout, Mulligan built a filmography of critically praised performances. In 2010 she co-starred in Never Let Me Go(an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel) and appeared opposite Ryan Gosling in the thriller Drive(2011).
She also took on intense dramatic parts such as the damaged sister in Shame(2011). In 2013 Mulligan portrayed Daisy Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby, which became her highest-grossing release, and she sang and acted in the Coen Brothers’ musical drama Inside Llewyn Davis.
In 2015 she led two period films: Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowdand the early-20th-century women’s-rights drama Suffragette. She continued to receive acclaim with roles like the Mississippi farmer’s wife in the civil-rights era drama Mudbound(2017) and a downtrodden 1950s American wife in Paul Dano’s Wildlife(2019).
Her portrayal of a determined journalist in the investigative thriller She Said(2022) and of the obsessed heroine in the darkly comic Promising Young Woman(2020) also earned strong reviews, cementing her reputation for choosing challenging, character-driven projects.
Mulligan’s work has been recognized with numerous major nominations and awards. She won the 2010 BAFTA Award for Best Actress for An Education, in addition to nominations for the Rising Star BAFTA that year.
She has received Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for An Education(2009), Promising Young Woman(2020), and Maestro(2023), for a total of three Oscar nods. Golden Globe nominations have come for each of those films as well as for She Said, making four Globe nominations in all.
On stage, her lead role in the Broadway revival of David Hare’s Skylight(2015) earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play. In 2024 Mulligan’s contributions to drama were further honored when she was named a CBE in the UK New Year Honours list.
Alongside her screen work, Mulligan has maintained an active and acclaimed theatre career. After her debut in Forty Winks(2004), she earned wide praise in London playing Nina in Chekhov’s The Seagull(2007, Royal Court Theatre).
The production transferred to Broadway in 2008, introducing Mulligan to American theatre audiences. She returned to the West End and Broadway in 2014–2015 for Skylight, playing the title role opposite Bill Nighy.
When Skylightmoved to New York in 2015, Mulligan’s performance won her a Tony Award nomination. She has also appeared off-Broadway in serious plays, such as Ingmar Bergman’s Through a Glass Darkly(2011) and the solo drama Girls & Boys(2018), showcasing her versatility.
More recently, Mulligan has taken on musical theatre roles in London productions (for example starring in Funny Girlin 2019), further broadening her stage credentials.
In cinema, Mulligan has balanced independent, character-driven films with high-profile studio projects. In addition to the prestige films already mentioned, her credits include mainstream hits like Drive, Shame, and The Great Gatsby(2013).
The Great Gatsbyremains her biggest box-office success. She has demonstrated that she can anchor both arthouse dramas and larger-budget features.
Beyond her acting roles, Mulligan is also regarded as an outspoken voice in the film community. She has publicly spoken about industry issues – for example, noting that Hollywood still provides relatively few “interesting roles” for women – reflecting her influence and thought leadership on gender parity in film.
From 2021 onward Mulligan has continued to lead significant projects. She co-starred in The Dig(2021), a period drama released on Netflix, and played a reporter in She Said(2022), the film about the New York Times exposé of sexual harassment.
In 2023 she portrayed Felicia Bernstein opposite Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein in the biopic Maestro. This performance earned her further awards attention (including an Oscar and BAFTA nomination for Best Actress).
She also appeared in Saltburn(2023), an Emerald Fennell drama, and signed on to the sci-fi romance Spaceman(2024) with Adam Sandler. In 2024–2025 Mulligan continued to select diverse roles, indicating her range from historical dramas to contemporary genre films.
Off-screen, she remains a respected figure: she has used her public platform to support causes such as Alzheimer’s awareness and to speak on representation in cinema. As of 2026, Mulligan is a well-established star who continues to influence the industry through her choice of roles and her advocacy, solidifying her standing as a leading actress and industry contributor.
As of 2026, Carey Mulligan’s net worth is not publicly disclosed, and no figure has been officially verified by major financial authorities. She derives income from acting in feature films, stage productions, and occasional television roles, and holds producing credits on some projects.
She also earns income through brand endorsements and fashion campaigns, for example, serving as the face of Prada’s Spring/Summer 2025 womenswear campaign. Specific salary or fee figures for her projects and endorsements are not publicly disclosed.
Carey Mulligan is a British actress known for her work in film, television, and theatre. She gained international recognition for her lead performance in An Education(2009).
She is best known for starring in films such as An Education, Drive, The Great Gatsby, and Promising Young Woman. She is also widely respected for her stage work in productions like Skylight.
Carey Mulligan was born on 28 May 1985. Her current age depends on the current year and date.
She was born in Westminster, London, England. She spent part of her childhood in Germany before returning to the UK.
Her breakthrough role was Jenny Mellor in An Education(2009). The performance earned her major awards attention and established her as a leading actress.