Rosamund Pike

Rosamund Mary Ellen Pike (born 1979) is an English actress.

Pike studied at Wadham College, Oxford and began her acting career by appearing in stage productions including Romeo and Juliet at the National Youth Theatre.

Pike was born in 1979 in Hammersmith, London, the only child of opera singers Julian Pike and Caroline Friend.

She attended Badminton School in Bristol, and while appearing as Juliet in a production of Romeo and Juliet at the National Youth Theatre, she was noticed by an agent who helped her embark upon a professional career.

After being turned down by every stage school to which she applied, she gained a place to read English literature at Wadham College, Oxford.

She made appearances on British television shows, including A Rather English Marriage (1998), Wives and Daughters (1999), and the miniseries Love in a Cold Climate (2001).

She appeared as Sarah Beaumont in an episode of the series Foyle's War. After graduating, she was offered a role as a Bond girl and MI6 agent assigned to aid James Bond in Die Another Day, and also appeared in the show Bond Girls Are Forever and, shortly afterwards, the BAFTA tribute to the James Bond film series.

She was the first Bond girl to have gone to Oxford.

She graduated with an Upper Second-class honours degree in 2001, having taken a year off to pursue her acting career, gaining stage experience in David Hare's Skylight, Arthur Miller's All My Sons, and several plays by William Shakespeare.

While she was still at Oxford, Pike acted in and directed various plays, including one by Simon Chesterman, who was then a graduate student.

She had her breakthrough for her film debut as Bond girl Miranda Frost in Die Another Day (2002), and had supporting roles in the period dramas The Libertine (2004), Pride & Prejudice (2005), An Education (2009) and Made in Dagenham (2010).

The film is a sequel to the 2003 film Johnny English and was a box office success, taking over $160 million.

Pike then played Elizabeth Malet in The Libertine (2004), co-starring Johnny Depp, which won her the British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In the same year, she portrayed Rose in Promised Land, a film about Israel, and starred as scientist Samantha Grimm in the cinematic adaptation of the computer game series Doom.

In 2005, she appeared as Jane, the elder sister of Elizabeth (played by Keira Knightley), in Pride & Prejudice.

Pike then starred in the film adaptation of Anne Michaels' novel Fugitive Pieces.

She starred as a successful attorney in the film Fracture, opposite Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling.

Pike was a judge at the Costa Book Awards in 2008.

Her stage credits include Hitchcock Blonde by Terry Johnson and Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke, both in London's West End, and Gas Light at London's Old Vic Theatre.

In 2009, she played the title character in Madame De Sade during the Donmar's West End season.

In 2010, she appeared in the British film Made in Dagenham and in the Canadian film Barney's Version where she plays Miriam.

That same year, she starred in a production of Hedda Gabler on UK tour.

Pike recorded voicework for a lead role in the film Jackboots on Whitehall (2010) and lent her voice to a series of James Bond audio books, narrating The Spy Who Loved Me.

Also in 2010, Pike played the part of Pussy Galore in the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Fleming's Goldfinger.

In the next decade, Pike had mainstream film appearances in Johnny English Reborn (2011), Wrath of the Titans (2012), Jack Reacher (2012) and The World's End (2013).

In 2011, Pike played the part of Kate Sumner in the Bond spoof film Johnny English Reborn, playing a psychologist and English's love interest.

In 2012, she played the role of Queen Andromeda in the fantasy epic Wrath of the Titans.

She replaced Alexa Davalos, who had played the role in Clash of the Titans and had dropped out due to a scheduling conflict.

Taking the role in Wrath of the Titans meant she had to drop out of consideration for a role in Man of Steel.

Although the film was not well received by critics, it grossed over $300 million and critics considered her performance to be one of the film's highlights.

She starred as Helen Rodin, the female lead alongside Tom Cruise in the thriller Jack Reacher, an adaptation of the novel One Shot by author Lee Child.

The film opened to positive critical reception and grossed over $218 million.

The following year she had a supporting role in The World's End (2013),

Her starring role in the psychological thriller Gone Girl (2014) earned her nominations for the BAFTA, Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Actress.

Pike starred in the David Fincher-directed psychological thriller Gone Girl (2014), a film adaptation of Gillian Flynn's novel of the same name.

Featuring opposite Ben Affleck, Pike was cast as Amy Dunne, a woman who goes missing on her fifth wedding anniversary.

Pike then portrayed Ruth Williams Khama in the biopic A United Kingdom (2016) and Marie Colvin in the war film A Private War (2018).

Pike won a Primetime Emmy Award for her role in the comedy miniseries State of the Union (2019) and a Golden Globe for her leading performance in the black comedy film I Care a Lot (2020).

In 2021, she began starring as Moiraine Damodred in the Amazon Prime Video fantasy series The Wheel of Time.

She received further BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for her supporting role in the black comedy film Saltburn (2023).