Margot Elise Robbie was born on 2 July 1990 inDalby, Queensland, to Doug Robbie, a former farm-owner andsugarcanetycoon, and Sarie Kessler, aphysiotherapist.[1][2][3] She is the second youngest of four; older siblings Anya and Lachlan and younger brother Cameron.[4][5] Her parents separated when she was five.[6] Robbie and her siblings were raised by their single mother and had minimal contact with their father. The family spent the majority of Robbie's upbringing on her grandparents'Currumbin Valley farm[7] in theGold Coast hinterland.[8][9] As a child, Robbie often put on shows at home.[10]
Her mother enrolled her in acircus school, where she excelled intrapeze, in which she received a certificate at age eight.[11] In high school, Robbie studied drama atSomerset College.[12] As a teenager, she worked three jobs: she tended a bar, cleaned houses, and worked atSubway.[13][14] After graduation, with a few commercials and independent thriller films on her résumé, Robbie relocated toMelbourne to begin acting professionally.[15]
Robbie's first acting roles came when she was in high school. She starred in two low-budget independent thriller films, calledVigilante andI.C.U., both released years later. She described the experience of being on afilm set as "a dream come true".[16] She made her television debut in a 2008 guest role as Caitlin Brentford in the drama seriesCity Homicide and followed this with a two-episode arc in the children's television seriesThe Elephant Princess, in which she starred alongsideLiam Hemsworth.[17]
With agent encouragement at the time and as Robbie recalled onThe Graham Norton Show,[18] she calledFremantleMedia on a daily basis. "One day, I got put through by accident to the casting director for Neighbours," and she said, "I'm in town working on something." The casting director asked how old she was, and she responded "seventeen". She was told, "We're looking for exactly that, come in and audition"[18] for the television soap operaNeighbours. In June 2008, she began playingDonna Freedman, a role that was meant to be a guest character, but Robbie was promoted to the regular cast after she made her debut.[19] In her three-year stint on the soap, she received twoLogie Award nominations.[20]
Shortly after arriving in America, Robbie landed the role of Laura Cameron, a newly trained flight attendant in the period drama seriesPan Am (2011). The series premiered to high ratings and positive reviews but was cancelled after one season due to falling ratings.[21][22]
2013–2015: Breakthrough
Robbie next appeared inRichard Curtis' romantic comedyAbout Time (2013), co-starringDomhnall Gleeson andRachel McAdams. It tells the story of a young man with the ability to time travel who tries to change his past in hopes of improving his future. To play Gleeson's unattainable teenage love interest, she adopted a British accent.[23] The film was a modest commercial success.[24] Robbie's breakthrough came the same year with the role ofNaomi Lapaglia, the wife of protagonistJordan Belfort, inMartin Scorsese's biographical black comedyThe Wolf of Wall Street. In her audition for the role, Robbie improvised a slap on co-starLeonardo DiCaprio during a fight scene which ultimately won her the part.[25] The film and her performance received positive reviews; she was particularly praised for her on-screenBrooklyn accent.[26] CriticSasha Stone wrote of Robbie's performance, "She's Scorsese's best blonde bombshell discovery sinceCathy Moriarty inRaging Bull. Robbie is funny, hard and kills every scene she's in."[27]The Wolf of Wall Street was a box office success, grossing $392 million worldwide, making it Scorsese's highest-grossing film to date.[28] Robbie was nominated for theMTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and won theEmpire Award for Best Newcomer.[29]
She later said that the fame and attention the movie brought her led her to consider quitting acting, but her mother was philosophical about her profession and explained to her that it was probably too late to quit. She fully understood and stuck with it.[30] With the aim to produce more female-driven projects, Robbie and her future husband, Tom Ackerley, and their respective longtime friends Sophia Kerr and Josey McNamara, started their own production companyLuckyChap Entertainment. The company was founded in 2014, and its name was inspired byCharlie Chaplin.[6]
She followed this withCraig Zobel's post-apocalyptic dramaZ for Zachariah oppositeChris Pine andChiwetel Ejiofor, in her first leading role. Partially based onRobert C. O'Brien'sbook of the same name, the film follows Ann Burden (Robbie) as she finds herself in an emotionally charged love triangle with the last known survivors of a nuclear disaster that wipes out most of civilisation. In preparation for the film, Robbie dyed her hair brown and learned to speak in anAppalachian accent.[36] The film received positive reviews, and Robbie's performance was widely praised, with Drew McWeeny ofHitFix asserting that "Robbie's work here establishes her as one of the very best actresses in her age range today."[37][38] Her fourth release of 2015 was acameo appearance inAdam McKay's comedy-dramaThe Big Short, in which she breaks thefourth wall to explainsubprime mortgages while in a bathtub.The Big Short was a commercial and critical success and Robbie's cameo became atrending topic six years later, in the wake of theGameStop short squeeze, as her explanation provided reference points for what was happening with the GameStop and related stocks.[39]
Her final release of 2017 and LuckyChap Entertainment's first release wasCraig Gillespie's sports black comedyI, Tonya, based on the life of American figure skaterTonya Harding (Robbie) and her connection to the1994 assault on rivalNancy Kerrigan. In preparation, Robbie met with Harding, watched old footage and interviews of her, worked with a voice coach to speak in Harding'sPacific Northwest accent and vocal timbre at different ages, and underwent several months of rigorous skating instruction with choreographerSarah Kawahara.[56][57]I, Tonya premiered at the2017 Toronto International Film Festival to critical acclaim.[58] James Luxford ofMetro deemed it Robbie's best performance to date, andMark Kermode ofThe Observer wrote, "Margot Robbie's performance in this satirical, postmodern tale of the disgraced star is a tour-de-force tornado that balances finely nuanced character development with impressively punchy physicality".[59][60] She received numerous accolades for her performance, including nominations for anAcademy Award, aBAFTA Award, aGolden Globe Award, aScreen Actors Guild Award and aCritics' Choice Movie Award, all for Best Actress.[61]
Robbie began 2018 with the voice role ofFlopsy Rabbit inPeter Rabbit, an animated comedy from directorWill Gluck, which is based on theBeatrix Potterbook series. The animated feature was a box office success, grossing $351.3 million worldwide against a production budget of $50 million.[62] Her next two 2018 films—the neo-noir thrillerTerminal and comedy-horrorSlaughterhouse Rulez—were critical and commercial failures. The historical dramaMary Queen of Scots, directed byJosie Rourke, was her final release of 2018. The film featuredSaoirse Ronan as thetitular character and Robbie as her cousinQueen Elizabeth I, and it chronicles the1569 conflict between their two countries. Robbie had initially turned down the role for being "terrified" of not living up to the history of portrayals of the Queen.[63] Before each day of shooting, she spent three hours in the make-up chair while a prosthetic nose, painted on boils and blisters were applied.[64] Critics dismissed the film for its screenplay and several historical inaccuracies, but praised the performances of Robbie and Ronan.[65] Yolanda Machado ofTheWrap wrote, "[B]ow down to Ronan and Robbie for taking two legendarily complex characters, [...] and completely owning both roles. Ronan's fiery Mary and Robbie's emotionally complex Elizabeth truly reign divine on screen."[66] For her portrayal, Robbie received nominations for aBAFTA Award and for aScreen Actors Guild Award.[67]
Robbie's first release of 2019 was the LuckyChap Entertainment productionDreamland, a poorly received period crime thriller set during the 1930sDust Bowl.[68] She began executive producing the comedy seriesDollface, which streamed onHulu from 2019 to 2022.[69] Robbie was filmmakerQuentin Tarantino's only choice to portray the late actressSharon Tate in his period filmOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood, starring Leonardo DiCaprio andBrad Pitt.[70] With theTate–LaBianca murders serving as a backdrop, the film tells the story of a fadingcharacter actor (DiCaprio) and hisstunt double (Pitt) as they navigateNew Hollywood in 1969 Los Angeles.[71] Feeling "an enormous sense of responsibility", Robbie prepared for the role by meeting Tate's family members and friends, watching all of her films and reading the autobiography by Tate's then-husband,Roman Polanski.[72]Once Upon a Time in Hollywood premiered at the2019 Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim, and was a commercial success with a worldwide gross of $374.3 million.[73] Despite many bemoaning Robbie's lack of lines in the film,[74]Robbie Collin ofThe Daily Telegraph highlighted a scene with Robbie in the cinema, which he found to be the film's "most delightful" scene.[75]
Robbie began the new decade by reprising the role of Harley Quinn inCathy Yan'sBirds of Prey (2020). Determined to make a female ensemble action film, she pitched the idea for the film toWarner Bros. in 2015. Robbie spent the subsequent three years developing the project under her production company, making a concerted effort to hire a female director and screenwriter.[82]Birds of Prey, along with Robbie's performance, gained generally positive reviews;[83][84][85]Ian Freer ofEmpire wrote that "theMVP is Robbie, who lends Harley charming quirk and believable menace, hinting at Harley's inner life without reams of dialogue."[86] She received two nominations at the46th People's Choice Awards.[87]
In 2022, Robbie reprised her role as Donna Freedman for thefinal episode ofNeighbours.[95] She starred alongside an ensemble cast inDavid O. Russell's period comedyAmsterdam, based on the 1933Business Plot.[96] The film emerged as a critical and commercial failure.[97][98] In her second film release of the year, she played Nellie LaRoy, an actress inspired by silent movie starClara Bow, inDamien Chazelle's comedy-dramaBabylon. In preparation, she studied the works of Bow and researched her traumatic childhood.[30] She described LaRoy as "the most physically and emotionally draining character I've ever played".[30] The film polarised critics and had poor box office returns, though her performance received praise;[99][100]Caryn James ofBBC Culture opined, "Robbie's bold, charismatic performance makes Nellie a daring, endlessly spiraling, sympathetic figure".[101] She received another Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress,[102] although the underperformance of her two major releases that year led some commentators to brand her as "box office poison" at the time.[103]
In the following year, Robbie had a single scene inWes Anderson's ensemble comedy filmAsteroid City.[104] Chris Hewitt of theStar Tribune described her "impassioned acting in her lone scene" as "perfectly judged".[105] The fantasy comedyBarbie, co-starringRyan Gosling asKen, was her next film release.[106] As producer, Robbie bought the rights fromMattel for a film about theeponymous fashion doll in 2018.[107] She hiredGreta Gerwig to write and direct the film, and took on the title role herself afterGal Gadot declined her offer.[107] In preparation, Gerwig and Robbie watched oldTechnicolor musicals such asThe Red Shoes (1948) andThe Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964).[107]Variety reported that Robbie earned $12.5 million for the role, the highest for an actress in Hollywood that year.[108]Vulture's Alison Willmore took note of how much Robbie fit the part, and commended her for combining both "heartbreaking earnestness" and "humor" in her performance.[109] With a worldwide gross of over $1.4 billion,Barbie emerged as Robbie's highest-grossing release.[110] She received further BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for her performance, in addition to a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Picture.[111][112][113]
Despite significant media attention, Robbie rarely discusses her personal life.[118][119] Robbie moved from Melbourne toWilliamsburg, Brooklyn, in the early 2010s, having previously shared a flat withNeighbours co-starAshleigh Brewer.[120][121] During that period, she became an avid ice hockey fan; she supports theNew York Rangers and previously playedright wing in an amateur ice hockey league.[122][123]
Robbie met British assistant directorTom Ackerley on the set ofSuite Française in 2013.[124] As a child, Ackerley served as an extra in the first three films of theHarry Potter film series, which Robbie has been a fan of since childhood.[125] In 2014, she moved to London with Ackerley and LuckyChap Entertainment co-founders Sophia Kerr and Josey McNamara. Later that year, Robbie and Ackerley began a romantic relationship.[6][126] In December 2016, they married in a private wedding ceremony inByron Bay, Australia.[127][128] The couple reside inVenice Beach, California.[124] In August 2024, the couple revealed that they were expecting their first child,[129][130] and in October 2024, Robbie gave birth to their son.[131][132]
Other work
Robbie has been a vocal supporter ofhuman rights,women's rights,gender equality andLGBT rights.[133][134] Through LuckyChap Entertainment, she and her co-founders focus on promoting female stories from female storytellers, whether it would be writers, directors, producers or all the above.[135] In 2014, she was part of a fundraising event in support of theMotion Picture & Television Fund, which helps people in the film and television industries with limited or no resources; she joined the same event on two other occasions, in 2018 and 2020.[136] In 2015, she helped raise $12 million through theBGC Global Charity Day fundraising event, which donates money to different charities around the world.[137] In 2016, Robbie joined other celebrities andUN Refugee Agency staff in a petition aiming to gather public support for the growing number of families forced to flee conflict and persecution worldwide.[138] Later in the year, she joinedOxfam's "I Hear You" project, which was designed to amplify the personal stories of the world's most vulnerable refugees and donated more than $50.000 toUNICEF's "Children First" campaign, in support of refugee children.[139]
In October 2016, while hostingSaturday Night Live, Robbie made a stand forsame-sex marriage in her native Australia wearing a T-shirt that read "Say 'I Do' Down Under", with a map of the country in rainbow colours. A year later, she joined fellow actorChris Hemsworth in advocating for the same purpose.[140] In 2018, she pledged to support theTime's Up initiative to protect women from harassment and discrimination.[141] In April 2021, Robbie was announced as the recipient of the inaugural RAD Impact Award, for inspiring purpose with her philanthropy. She chose to share the prize withYoungcare, a charity she had previously worked with, and therefore an impact donation was made to fund a project benefiting young people with extensive care needs.[142]
Public image
Robbie in 2013
Robbie is known for starring in both high-profile, mainstream productions and low-budget independent films, in which she has been able to display both her dramatic and comedic range.[143][144][145][146][147]
For her role inThe Wolf of Wall Street,Vanity Fair named her one of its breakthrough actors of 2013.[148] In 2017, she appeared on the annualForbes 30 Under 30 list, a compilation of the brightest young entrepreneurs, innovators and game changers in the world and was included on a similar list compiled byThe Hollywood Reporter.[149][150][151] That same year,Time named her one of the100 most influential people in the world; herThe Wolf of Wall Street director Martin Scorsese penned the article in the magazine, referring to Robbie as having "a unique audacity that surprises and challenges and just burns like a brand into every character she plays. [...] Margot is stunning in all she is and all she does, and she will astonish us forever."[152] In 2019,Forbes ranked her among the world's highest-paid actresses, with annual earnings of $23.5 million, andThe Hollywood Reporter listed her among the 100 most powerful people in entertainment.[153][154] In 2021, she was named one of the 100 most influential women in entertainment byThe Hollywood Reporter.[155] In December 2023, Robbie has been listed inThe Hollywood Reporter’s 2023 Women in Entertainment Power 100.[156] In 2024, she was named byForbes as theworld's highest-paid actress in 2023, with earnings of $78 million.[157]
Vogue has named her "one of the most glamorous starlets", and she was ranked as one of the best-dressed women in 2018 and 2019 by luxury fashion retailerNet-a-Porter.[158][159] In 2014 and 2016, she featured onAskMen's Top 99 Women, ranking among the top ten each year.[160][161] Also in 2016, Robbie was placed at number one onFHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" list.[162] Since 2016, she has been chosen as the ambassador for brands such asCalvin Klein,Nissan andChanel.[163][164][165] She was the last brand ambassador picked byKarl Lagerfeld before his death in February 2019.[166] She is the latest ambassador ofChanel No. 5.[167][168]
^"Margot Robbie's Sad Family Secret".New Idea. Australia. 15 August 2016.Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved19 December 2016. Additional on 19 December 2016.
^"Exclusive Interview with Margot". Gold Coast (Australia) via Margot Robbie official website. 26 January 2014.Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved6 July 2015.
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