Emily Olivia Leah Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awards. Forbes ranked her as one of the highest-paid actresses in the world in 2020.
Blunt made her acting debut in a 2001 stage production of The Royal Family. She went on to appear in the television film Boudica (2003) and portrayed Queen Catherine Howard in the miniseries Henry VIII (2003). She made her feature film debut in the drama My Summer of Love (2004). Blunt's breakthrough came in 2006 with her starring roles in the television film Gideon's Daughter and the comedy-drama film The Devil Wears Prada. The former won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and the latter earned her a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
Blunt's profile continued to grow with leading roles in the period film The Young Victoria (2009), the romantic comedy Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011), the science fiction films The Adjustment Bureau (2011), Looper (2012), and Edge of Tomorrow (2014), and the musical films Into the Woods (2014) and Mary Poppins Returns (2018). She received critical acclaim for playing a principled FBI agent in the crime film Sicario (2015), an alcoholic in the thriller The Girl on the Train (2016), which earned her a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and a survivalist mother in her husband John Krasinski's horror film A Quiet Place (2018), for which she won the SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has since starred in the sequel A Quiet Place Part II (2021) and the western television miniseries The English (2022).
Early life
Emily Olivia Leah Blunt was born on 23 February 1983 in the London Borough of Wandsworth, the second of four children born to Joanna, a former actress and teacher, and barrister Oliver Blunt, QC. Her siblings are Felicity, Sebastian, and Susannah. Her grandfather was Major General Peter Blunt, and one of her paternal uncles is Crispin Blunt, Conservative Member of Parliament for Reigate.
From age seven to 14, Blunt had difficulties with stuttering. She credits a school teacher for helping her manage the stutter through acting. She went on to sit on the board of directors for the American Institute for Stuttering. Blunt attended Ibstock Place School in Roehampton, southwest London and, at age 16, went to Hurtwood House near Dorking, Surrey, a private sixth form college known for its performing arts programme. There, she was discovered and signed by an agent.
