Headey was born the daughter of Susan (née Brown) and John Headey.[2][3] Her father, a police officer fromYorkshire, was stationed in Hamilton at the time in theBermuda Police Service.[4][5] Headey has one younger brother named Tim.[6] When she was five, her family returned to England, initially settling inSomerset.[6] She took ballet lessons as a child.[7] She had her first acting experience when as a pupil atShelley College; she was noticed at age 17, when performing in a school production at theRoyal National Theatre, and was picked for a role in the 1992 filmWaterland.[8]
At age 17, Headey performed in a one-off show and afterwards a casting agent took her photo and asked her to audition. She eventually obtained a supporting role in the dramaWaterland (1992),[9] whereSusie Figgis was casting[10] in which she had the opportunity to work with more experienced actors. This was followed by a major role inThe Clothes in the Wardrobe (1993), again with several acclaimed actors, including Julie Walters, Jeanne Moreau, and Joan Plowright. She also had a small role in the critically acclaimed 1993 drama filmThe Remains of the Day, which received eightAcademy Awards nominations. She appeared in series three of BBC One drama Spender, starring Jimmy Nail, as a teenage tearaway and hit ITV showSoldier Soldier withRobson Green andJerome Flynn. Her career continued to grow in England through the decade, and she got larger parts in bigger motion pictures. In 1996, she was featured as Collette in Kay Mellor'sBand of Gold TV series, before starring inKavanagh QC (1997) as Natasha Jackson.[citation needed]
Headey played Kitty Brydon, the childhood friend and romantic interest ofMowgli, in Disney'sThe Jungle Book (1994).[citation needed]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 oppositeVanessa Redgrave in the 1997 romantic dramaMrs 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 dramaOnegin (1999), a film based on the 19th-century Russian novelEugene Onegin byAlexander Pushkin, in which she portrayed the fiancée of an aspiring poet and appeared withRalph Fiennes andLiv 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 comedyAberdeen,[citation needed] receiving the Silver Iris Award for Best Actress at the 2001Brussels European Film Festival, and also starred as a troubled college student in the psychological dramaGossip, withKate Hudson.[citation needed] In 2001's comedyThe Parole Officer,[citation needed] Headey took on the role of a police officer, alongsideSteve 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".[16]
In 2002, she appeared as a mousey Victorian lesbian artist withGwyneth Paltrow andAaron Eckhart in the mystery dramaPossession,[citation needed] based on the 1990novel of the same name by British authorA. S. Byatt, and as the wife of a law-abiding art framer dying ofleukemia in the thrillerRipley's Game, adapted from the 1974novel 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".[17] Headey excellent portrayal of Ava Wigram inThe Gathering Storm (2002 film)BBC–HBO co-produced television biographical film aboutWinston Churchill in the years just prior to World War II. Headey appeared in the comedyThe Actors (2003), oppositeDylan Moran andMichael Caine, portraying the love interest of a struggling actor.[18] She is credited as voice actor for the character Callista in the video gameDishonored.[19]
Headey found much wider recognition when she starred withMatt Damon andHeath Ledger inTerry Gilliam's adventure fantasy filmThe Brothers Grimm (2005)[20] as Angelika, whose woodsman father was transformed into a werewolf by theEvil Queen. She was drawn to the character's "tomboy" nature, about which she said: "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".[21]The Brothers Grimm received mixed reviews and made US$105.3 million worldwide.[22][23]
In 2005, Headey also starred with actressPiper Perabo in the filmsThe Cave[citation needed] andImagine Me & You.[citation needed] The horror filmThe Cave had the actress play a member of a group of divers who become trapped in an underwater cave network. While critical response was negative,[24] the film made a profit at the box office.[25] In the romantic dramedyImagine 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",[26] found a limited release in theaters, but Mick LaSalle from theSan 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".[27]
Perhaps Headey's most known film role came in 2007, when she playedQueen Gorgo inZack Snyder's epic war film300,[citation needed] based on the1998 comic series of the same name byFrank Miller andLynn Varley, a fictionalized retelling of theBattle of Thermopylae within thePersian Wars. Her character has a much larger role in the film than in the comic book, where she appears only in the beginning,[28] and required Headey to film a nude 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 in 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."[29] The film received mixed reviews, but was a box-office success, grossing over US$450 million.[30] In 2007, she also appeared as the stuffy Miss Dickinson in the sixth release of theSt. Trinian's film series.[citation needed]
After guest-starring in theWhite Collar episode "Taking Account" in 2011, Headey took on the role of the leader of a drug-dealing gang and the primary villain in the3D sci-fi action filmDredd (2012), alongsideKarl Urban andOlivia Thirlby.[48][49][50] Her performance was inspired by punk-rock singerPatti 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 acult film.[citation needed]
Headey joined again withEthan Hawke to star inThe 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 was at the number-one position in the United States, grossing over US$36 million over the weekend;[51] it eventually made US$89.3 million worldwide.[52] She next played shadowhunterJocelyn Fray/Jocelyn Fairchild inThe Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (also 2013), based on thefirst book ofThe Mortal Instruments series byCassandra Clare, and oppositeLily Collins andJamie Campbell Bower. The film flopped at the box office, and as a result, plans for sequels were eventually canceled.[53]
Following the success of300, Headey reprised her role as Queen Gorgo in300: Rise of an Empire, which was released in 2014. Like the first film, it received mixed reviews, but was a major commercial success, grossing over US$337 million worldwide.[54] In 2014, she also starred in the fantasy adventure filmThe Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box[55] and the biographical filmLow Down, which detailed the life of jazz pianistJoe 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 thepolitical thrillerZipper, oppositePatrick Wilson.[citation needed]
Headey supports theLGBT rights organisationNOH8,[60] and in April 2015 appeared on a T-shirt designed by them and sold throughRepresent.com to raise funds for the cause.[61]
Headey has been involved with humanitarian organisation theInternational Rescue Committee, advocating for migrants who have been languishing in Greece during theEuropean migrant crisis. She said that in the face of risingpopulism and the "lost humanity in leadership", people should continue to "fight for the good".[62]
In 2018, Headey did a voice-over for an advertisement by the charityAlzheimer's Research UK, which launched ahead of World Alzheimer's Day (21 September).[63]
She married musician Peter Loughran in May 2007.[65] Their son was born in 2010.[66] She has spoken about suffering frompostnatal depression following his birth.[67] Headey and Loughran separated in 2011, and she filed for divorce in July 2012, which was finalised in December 2013.[65][68] 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 filmThe Devil's Wedding.[69] They had separated by June 2019.[70] In October 2022, Headey married American actorMarc Menchaca, whom she had been dating since 2020.[71][72]
^"THE MARRIAGE ACT, 1944. Notice of Intended Marriage".The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. 1 April 1972. p. 4.The persons named and described hereunder have given notice to me of their intended marriage, namely: — JOHN STEPHEN HEADEY of St. George's Parish (Bachelor) and SUSAN BROWN of St. George's Parish (Spinster). Any person knowing any just cause or impediment why this marriage should not be allowed should enter caveat forthwith in the office of the Registrar General. Dated 29th day of March, 1972. VALERIE T. SCOTT Registrar General
^"WEEKEND SPORT ONE: Title out of reach... but COLTS PLAY LIKE CHAMPIONS".The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. 5 February 1973. p. 7.The secondColts' goal was scored by luckless Police defender John Headey, who tried to nod the ball out after a Marcus Douglas shot; Unfortunately for Police, his bullett header went straight into the net. This came after 30 minutes.
^"WEEKEND SPORT ONE: COLTS CRUISE TO THE TOP: Devonshire Colts 5, Police 0".The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. 15 February 1973. p. 10.Cassidy's unfortunate exit was a big blow to Police, but his replacement, Headey, did surprisingly well on the occasions he was needed.....Though the Police defenders showed up fairly well — with John Headey and Brian McManus standing out — the simple fact was that they were just not capable of dealing with the likes of Dowling, Hubert Douglas and Ellsworth Lambert without the occasional collapse.
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