Lena Kathren Headey was born in
Hamilton in the
British Overseas Territory ofBermuda on 3 October 1973,[3] the daughter of English parents Sue and John Headey.[3] Her father, a police officer from
Yorkshire, was stationed in Hamilton at the time in the
Bermuda Police Service. She has one younger brother named Tim.[4] She is of English and Irish descent.[5] When she was five, her family returned to England, initially settling in
Somerset.[4] She took ballet lessons as a child.[6] Headey had her first experience of acting when she was a pupil at
Shelley College; she was noticed at age 17, when performing in a school production at the
Royal National Theatre, and was picked for a role in the 1992 film Waterland.[7]
Career
Beginnings (1992–2004)
At the age of 17, Headey performed in a one-off show and afterwards a casting agent took a photo and asked her to audition. She eventually obtained a supporting role in the drama Waterland (1992),[8] in which she had the opportunity to work with actors who had been in the business several years before her. She also had a small role in the critically acclaimed 1993 drama film The Remains of the Day, which received eight
Academy Awards nominations. She appeared in the hit TV show Soldier Soldier with
Robson Green and
Jerome Flynn. Her career continued to grow in England throughout the decade, and she got larger parts in bigger motion pictures. In 1996 she featured as Collette in Kay Mellor's Band of Gold TV series, before starring in Kavanagh QC in 1997 playing the role of Natasha Jackson.[9]
Headey played Kitty Brydon, the childhood friend and romantic interest of
Mowgli, in Disney's The Jungle Book (1994).[10]James Berardinelli praised the cast's "solid performances"[11] as part of a positive critical reception, and the film found moderate commercial success in theaters.[12] She appeared opposite
Vanessa Redgrave in the 1997 romantic drama Mrs Dalloway, portraying the closest friend of a housewife, who is now wife of a self-made millionnaire and mother of five.[13] She was then cast in the drama Onegin (1999), a film based on the 19th-century Russian novel Eugene Onegin by
Alexander Pushkin, in which she portrayed the fiancée of an aspiring poet and appeared with
Ralph Fiennes and
Liv Tyler.[14] The film was critically and financially unsuccessful.[15]
In 2000, Headey played a newly promoted lawyer with no apparent emotional attachments in the romantic comedy Aberdeen,[16] receiving the Silver
Iris Award for Best Actress at the 2001 Brussels European Film Festival, and also starred as a troubled college student in the psychological drama Gossip, with
Kate Hudson.[17] In 2001's comedy The Parole Officer,[18] Headey took on the role of a police officer, alongside
Steve Coogan in his first film role. While the film was warmly received, ViewLondon remarked: "The only disappointment is Lena Headey, who, despite being fantastically sexy (she's given both a nude scene and a 'dressed as a prostitute' scene), smirks her way through the entire film, even at the most inappropriate moments".[19]
In 2002, she appeared as a mousey Victorian lesbian artist with
Gwyneth Paltrow and
Aaron Eckhart in the mystery drama Possession,[20] based on the 1990
novel of the same name by British author
A. S. Byatt, and as the wife of a law-abiding art framer dying of
leukemia in the thriller Ripley's Game, adapted from the 1974
novel of the same name. In its review for the latter, Eye for Film noted: "Whilst this is very much a male-centred film, Lena Headey turns in a powerful performance as Jonathan's wife, creating a sense of balance and normality against which other events are contrasted".[21] Headey appeared in the comedy The Actors (2003), opposite
Dylan Moran and
Michael Caine, portraying the love interest of a struggling actor.[22] She is credited as voice actor for the character Callista in the video game
Dishonored.[23]
Rise to prominence (2005–2010)
Headey found much wider recognition when she starred with
Matt Damon and
Heath Ledger in
Terry Gilliam's adventure fantasy film The Brothers Grimm (2005),[24] as Angelika, whose woodsman father was transformed into a werewolf by the
Evil Queen. She was drawn to the "tomboy" nature of her character, about which she stated: "She lives and grows up and survives in the forest. Terry and I talked about how her instincts are almost animalistic and she can see 360 degrees around her. She is aware of what is going on. That is how she is grounded. She is of the earth".[25]The Brothers Grimm received mixed reviews and made US$105.3 million worldwide.[26][27]
In 2005, Headey also starred with actress
Piper Perabo in the films The Cave[28] and Imagine Me & You.[29] The horror film The Cave saw the actress play a member of a group of divers who become trapped in an underwater cave network. While critical response was negative,[30] the film managed to turn a profit at the box office.[31] In the romantic dramedy Imagine Me & You, she took on the role of a woman who falls in love at first sight with a newlywed bride who reciprocates her feelings; the newlywed struggles with whether to remain in a passionless marriage to a sweet husband, or pursue her electric connection to Headey's character Luce. The film, which Commonsense Media called "charming", "quirky" and "witty",[32] found a limited release in theaters, but Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle stated that the actress "has a forthright, irresistible appeal and a face and especially a smile that suggest intelligence, integrity and lots of fun".[33]
Her most known film role came perhaps in 2007, when Headey played
Queen Gorgo in
Zack Snyder's epic war film 300,[34] based on the
1998 comic series of the same name by
Frank Miller and
Lynn Varley, a fictionalized retelling of the
Battle of Thermopylae within the
Persian Wars. Her character has a much larger role in the film than she does in the comic book, where she only appears in the beginning,[35] and required her to film naked for one scene. "It's always weird the thought of taking your clothes off in front of 20 people and then to have it projected in front of many more", she said during an interview. "I think it was necessary because we only get that scene to establish their relationship. It is a very obvious moment but I think it does it in quite a beautiful way."[36] The film received mixed reviews, but was a box office success, grossing over US$450 million.[37] In 2007, she also appeared as the stuffy Miss Dickinson in the sixth release of the St. Trinian's film series.[38]
After guest-starring in the White Collar episode "
Taking Account" in 2011, Headey took on the role of the leader of a drug dealing gang and the primary villain in the
3D sci-fi action film Dredd (2012), alongside
Karl Urban and
Olivia Thirlby.[59][60][61] Her performance was inspired by punk-rock singer
Patti Smith, and on the character, Headey asserted: "I think of [Ma-Ma] like an old great white shark who is just waiting for someone bigger and stronger to show up and kill her [...] she's ready for it. In fact, she can't wait for it to happen [...] She's an addict, so she's dead in that way, but that last knock just hasn't come". Despite a positive critical response, the film flopped at the box office, seeing greater success following its home release; it has since been recognised as a
cult film.[citation needed]
Headey joined again with
Ethan Hawke to star in The Purge (2013), a "micro-budget" horror film, in which she took on the role of the matriarch of a family who find themselves endangered by a gang of murderers during the annual Purge, a night during which all crime, even murder, is temporarily legal. The film at number one position in the United States, grossing over US$36 million over the weekend;[62] it eventually made US$89.3 million worldwide.[63] She next played shadowhunter
Jocelyn Fray/Jocelyn Fairchild in The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (also 2013), based on the
first book of The Mortal Instruments series by
Cassandra Clare, and opposite
Lily Collins and
Jamie Campbell Bower. The film flopped at the box office, and as a result, plans for sequels were eventually canceled.[64]
Following the success of 300 (2007), Headey reprised her role as Queen Gorgo in 300: Rise of an Empire, which was released in 2014. Like the first film, Rise of an Empire received mixed reviews, but was a major commercial success, grossing over US$337 million worldwide.[65] In 2014, she also starred in the fantasy adventure film The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box[66] and the biographical film Low Down, which detailed the life of jazz pianist
Joe Albany. In 2015, she played the wife of a federal prosecutor running for office who cannot stop himself from sleeping with high-class escorts in the
political thrillerZipper, opposite
Patrick Wilson.[citation needed]
In November 2020, Headey's production company, Peephole Productions, signed a first-look deal with
Platform One Media (now Boat Rocker Studios).[69]
In March 2022, Headey was set to make her feature directorial debut with thriller film Violet based on a novel of the same name by SJI Holliday.[70]
Public image
She has appeared on the covers of TV Guide, G3, Sunday Mirror and Germany's Filmstar. She ranked No. 64 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2007 list. She was listed at No. 4, No. 10 and No. 3 in
AfterEllen's list of the Hot 100 in 2007, 2008 and 2009, respectively.[71]
Charity work
Headey supports the
LGBT rights organisation
NOH8,[72] and in April 2015 appeared on a T-shirt designed by them and sold through
Represent.com to raise funds for the cause.[73]
Headey has been involved with humanitarian organisation the
International Rescue Committee (IRC), advocating for migrants who have been languishing in Greece during the
European migrant crisis, saying that in the face of rising
populism and the "lost humanity in leadership", people should continue to "fight for the good".[74]
In 2018, Headey did a
voice-over for an advertisement by the charity
Alzheimer's Research UK, which launched ahead of World Alzheimer's Day (21 September).[75]
Headey is a former
vegetarian who added meat back to her diet.[77]
Headey married musician Peter Loughran in May 2007.[78] Their son was born in 2010.[79] She has spoken about suffering from
postnatal depression following his birth.[80] Headey and Loughran separated in 2011, and she filed for divorce in July 2012, which was finalised in December 2013.[78][81] On 10 July 2015, Headey gave birth to a daughter with filmmaker Dan Cadan, a childhood friend who had worked with her on his short film The Devil's Wedding.[82] They had separated by June 2019.[83] In October 2022, Headey married American actor
Marc Menchaca, whom she had been dating since 2020.[84][85]