Emily Blunt

Emily Olivia Leah Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is an English actress. She has appeared in The Devil Wears Prada (2006), The Young Victoria (2009), The Adjustment Bureau (2011), Looper (2012), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), and Into the Woods (2014). She has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, four Critics' Choice Awards, two London Film Critics' Circle Awards, and one BAFTA Award. She won a Golden Globe Award for her work in the BBC television drama Gideon's Daughter (2007). In 2009, she received the BAFTA Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year.

Early life

Blunt was born in London, the second of four children of Janice (Dixon), a teacher and former actress, and barrister Oliver Simon Peter Blunt, QC, one of the highest-profile barristers in the United Kingdom, who earned an estimated Â£1 million annually. Her siblings are Felicity, Sebastian, and Suzanna. Her grandfather was Major-General Peter Blunt, and one of her paternal uncles is Crispin Blunt, Conservative Member of Parliament for Reigate.

As a child from ages 7 to 14, Blunt struggled with stuttering. She credits a school teacher for helping her overcome 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 and, at the age of 16, went to Hurtwood House, a private sixth-form college known for its performing arts programme. There, she was discovered by an agent.

Career

Blunt made her professional debut in The Royal Family, a play opposite Judi Dench in Sir Peter Hall's production. Hailed by critics for her performance, she was named "Best Newcomer" by The Evening Standard. She went on to perform as Eugenie in Nicholas Wright's Vincent in Brixton at the National Theatre, and as Juliet in Indhu Rubasingham's production of Romeo and Juliet at Chichester Festival Theatre, both in 2002.

In 2003, Blunt made her screen debut in the British television drama Boudica, about the life of the ancient Celtic warrior-queen who fought the Romans. That same year, she was praised for her performance as the 16th-century queen Catherine Howard in the two-part British television drama Henry VIII.

In 2004, Blunt delivered her breakout performance as Tamsin in the British drama film, My Summer of Love, a story of deception and lesbian love in the English countryside. She shared an Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer with co-star Natalie Press.

In 2005, Blunt co-starred with Bill Nighy and Miranda Richardson in the British television drama Gideon's Daughter, an original screenplay written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff, in which she played the troubled only child of New Labour spin doctor Gideon Warner, played by Nighy. Blunt won a Golden Globe for her performance.

In 2006, Blunt appeared opposite Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in the box-office success The Devil Wears Prada. Streep and Hathaway received most of the critical attention initially, but Blunt proved to be equally memorable, with Entertainment Weekly naming her the Best Female Scene-Stealer in their end-of-summer special issue. Her role as Emily garnered her nominations for a BAFTA and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She attended the 79th Academy Awards where she co-presented the award for best costume design with her Prada co-star Hathaway. That same year, Blunt co-starred with Susan Sarandon in the independent drama Irresistible. Following production, Sarandon strongly suggested to director David Auburn that he cast Blunt in his next film, The Girl in the Parkâ€" a role she did not accept.

In 2007, Blunt appeared in four films: Wind Chill, The Jane Austen Book Club, Dan in Real Life, and Charlie Wilson's War. In 2008, Blunt appeared in two films, Sunshine Cleaning in the role of Norah Lorkowski, and The Great Buck Howard as Valerie Brennan. In 2009, Blunt played Queen Victoria in The Young Victoria, directed by Jean-Marc VallÃ©e and written by Julian Fellowes. She also starred in the Toby Spanton-directed short film Curiosity. She was director Jon Favreau's first choice to play the Black Widow in Iron Man 2 but scheduling conflicts with Gulliver's Travels forced her to cede the role to Scarlett Johansson. She voiced Angelina's mother, Matilda Mouseling, in the television series, Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps.

In 2010, Blunt co-starred with Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins in the big-budget horror film The Wolfman, released on 12 February. She also starred in Gulliver's Travels and in The Adjustment Bureau, alongside Matt Damon, as a dancer "being mysteriously kept apart" from Damon's character. Blunt was offered the female lead in Captain America: The First Avenger but turned it down. She was replaced by Australian actress Abbie Cornish to play the lead in David Riker's independent film The Girl. She dropped out the film due to scheduling conflicts. In 2011, Blunt was named the ambassadress of the new Yves Saint Laurent fragrance, Opium.

Blunt starred in the 2011 British comedy film Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, directed by Lasse HallstrÃ¶m and co-starring Ewan McGregor and Kristin Scott Thomas. Also that year, she briefly appeared in The Muppets, as Miss Piggy's receptionist. She starred in the 2012 film The Five-Year Engagement, directed by Nicholas Stoller and co-starring Jason Segel. In January 2011, Blunt began filming an American science-fiction film, Looper, directed by Rian Johnson and co-starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt; the film was released in September 2012. Also that year, she starred in Arthur Newman with Colin Firth.

In 2014, she starred alongside Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow, the film adaptation of the Japanese novel All You Need Is Kill, by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. Also that year, played the Baker's Wife in the film adaptation of the musical Into the Woods, which also features her Devil Wears Prada co-star Meryl Streep as the Witch.

Personal life

Blunt had a three-year relationship with Canadian singer Michael BublÃ©. They met in 2005, while backstage at the Australian television Logie Awards in Melbourne. They later shared a home in Vancouver, Canada, before breaking up in 2008. In November 2008, Blunt began dating American actor John Krasinski. Blunt and Krasinski became engaged in August 2009, and married on 10 July 2010 in Como, Italy. They have one daughter, Hazel, born on 16 February 2014.

Blunt's brother-in-law is her The Devil Wears Prada co-star Stanley Tucci. In 2012, Tucci married Blunt's sister Felicity, who works as a literary agent. Blunt was responsible for introducing the couple. Her brother Sebastian is an actor.