Emilia Fox
{{short description|British actress and presenter (born 1974)}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Emilia Fox
| image = Emilia Fox.jpg
| caption = Fox in 2011
| birth_name = Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1974|7|31|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Hammersmith, London, England
| occupation = Actress and presenter
| years_active = 1995–present
| television = {{Plainlist|
- Rebecca
- Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
- Silent Witness
- Consuming Passion: 100 Years of Mills & Boon
- Gunpowder, Treason & Plot
- The Virgin Queen
- Merlin
- Delicious
}}
| alma mater = St Catherine's College, Oxford
| spouse = {{Plainlist|
- {{marriage|Jared Harris|2005|2010|reason=divorced}}
- Jonathan Stadlen}}
| partner = Jeremy Gilley (2009–2011)
| children = 1
| parents = {{ubl|Edward Fox|Joanna David}}
| relatives = {{ubl|Freddie Fox (brother) |Laurence Fox (cousin)}}
| family = Fox
| awards = {{Awards|Flaiano Prizes Best Actress|2003|The Soul Keeper}}
}}
Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox (born 31 July 1974) is an English actress and presenter whose career is primarily in British television. Her feature film debut was in Roman Polanski's film The Pianist (2002). Her other motion pictures include the Italian–French–British romance-drama The Soul Keeper (2002), for which she won the Flaiano Film Award for Best Actress; the drama The Republic of Love (2003); the comedy-drama Things to Do Before You're 30 (2005); the black comedy Keeping Mum (2005); the romantic comedy-drama Cashback (2006); the drama Flashbacks of a Fool (2008); the drama Ways to Live Forever (2010); the drama-thriller A Thousand Kisses Deep (2011); and the fantasy-horror drama Dorian Gray (2009).
Fox's television roles include the BBC drama Pride and Prejudice (1995), the PBS British/German television serial Rebecca (1997), ITV Granada's Henry VIII (2003), BBC's Gunpowder, Treason & Plot (2004), the 2005 BBC miniseries The Virgin Queen (2005) and the ITV crime drama series Fallen Angel (2007). She also appeared as Morgause in the BBC's Merlin, beginning in the programme's second series. Fox also starred in Delicious (2016). She stars as Dr Nikki Alexander on the BBC crime drama Silent Witness, having joined the cast in 2004 following the departure of Amanda Burton. Fox is the longest-serving cast member since the departures of Tom Ward in 2012 and William Gaminara in 2013. Since 2022 she has had the title role of her namesake Sylvia Fox in the Acorn TV series Signora Volpe.
Early life and education
Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox{{cite news|last=Barratt|first=Nick|title=Family Detective|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/3632703/Family-detective.html|access-date=19 December 2017|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=26 May 2007|location=London|archive-date=26 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226222148/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/3632703/Family-detective.html|url-status=live}} was born on 31 July 1974 in Hammersmith, London.{{cite web|title=Emilia Fox: A long line of theatrical ancestors... |url=http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2011/who-do-you-think-you-are/emilia-fox-65/|website=The Genealogist|access-date=19 December 2017|date=20 September 2011|archive-date=28 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428075526/https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2011/who-do-you-think-you-are/emilia-fox-65/|url-status=live}} Her mother is actress Joanna David and her father is actor Edward Fox; her uncle James Fox and her cousins Jack, Laurence, and Lydia are also actors.The Observer Review, p. 2, 1 February 2009. She has a brother, Freddie (also an actor), and a half-sister, Lucy. Her great-great-grandfather was Samson Fox, a self-made millionaire, and her great-grandmother was the actress Hilda Hanbury, sister of Lily Hanbury. Her grandfather was Robin Fox, a theatrical agent.{{cite web|title=Emilia Fox|url=http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/wdytya_emiliafox.php|website=The Genealogist|access-date=19 December 2017|archive-date=28 April 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190428075533/https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/wdytya_emiliafox.php|url-status=live}}
Fox was educated at the independent Bryanston School near Blandford Forum, Dorset, where she played the cello, and at St Catherine's College, Oxford, where she studied English.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/mar/16/highereducation.careers |location=London|work=The Guardian|first=Carole|last=Cadwalladr|author-link=Carole Cadwalladr|title=It's the clever way to power – part 2|date=19 March 2008|access-date=19 December 2017|archive-date=9 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409160158/https://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/mar/16/highereducation.careers|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Women at Oxford |url=http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/introducing_oxford/women_at_oxford/index.html |publisher=University of Oxford|access-date=8 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304201310/http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/introducing_oxford/women_at_oxford/index.html|url-status=dead |archive-date=4 March 2012}}
Career
Fox first appeared as Georgiana, the sister of Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy, in the 1995 television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, followed by her role as the second Mrs. de Winter in the 1997 television adaptation of Rebecca, opposite Charles Dance. In 1998 she starred with Ben Miles in the adaptation of Catherine Cookson's The Round Tower as the young Vanessa Radcliffe, a girl from an affluent family who is forced to leave her home after becoming pregnant. Fox played Jeannie Hurst in the 2000 remake of Randall and Hopkirk.
In 2002, she starred in The Pianist as Dorota, a beautiful, blond, non-Jewish cellist who adores the playing of the Polish-Jewish pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman (played by Adrien Brody). The film was directed by Roman Polanski. In 2003, she played Jane Seymour in a two-part television biographical film about King Henry VIII. She also played the title role in Katherine Howard, directed by Robin Lefevre at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 1998.
In 2004, she joined the cast of the crime drama, Silent Witness. As of 2025, she is still in the show and has now played the role of Nikki Alexander for twenty-one years. 2004 also saw her play Lady Margaret in Part 2 of Gunpowder, Treason and Plot, the mini-series about James I (James VI in Scotland) and the Gunpowder Plot. In 2005, Fox appeared in the BBC miniseries The Virgin Queen, a four-part miniseries based upon the life of Queen Elizabeth I, Fox played Amy Dudley, the first wife of Robert Dudley, played by Tom Hardy, despite appearing in only one episode, her character remains a key character in the series. In 2008, she played Sister Jean in Baillie Walsh's Flashbacks of a Fool, which also featured Daniel Craig. She also starred in Things To Do Before You're 30 with Billie Piper, who would later marry her first cousin Laurence Fox; they divorced in 2016.
She was cast as Lynne Frederick in the 2004 film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, which starred Geoffrey Rush in the lead role. A whole section of the film focusing on the Frederick/Sellers relationship was removed in the final edit, although she can be seen briefly in a background shot towards the end of the film. The deleted scenes with Fox can be found among the special features on the DVD release of the film.
In 2007, Fox was reunited with her Rebecca co-star Charles Dance when they starred together in the ITV1 mini-series Fallen Angel, Fox played a serial killer, Rosie Byfield, with Dance appearing as her father. The rewind format in which the show was shot traced the development of the killer streak of Fox's character. Fox and Dance had previously both appeared in ITV1's Henry VIII, but Dance's role as the Duke of Buckingham was limited, as his character was arrested for treason less than fifteen minutes into the first half, while Fox's scenes as the doomed third Queen Jane Seymour dominated the first half of the second episode. In the 2008 English language DVD re-release of the cult 2006 Norwegian animated film Free Jimmy, Fox voiced the character of "Bettina". The dialogue was written by Simon Pegg; other actors included Pegg himself and Woody Harrelson. Emilia Fox narrates the popular children's book We're Going on a Bear Hunt (by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury) with Kevin Whately in a special edition book and DVD set. She appeared as Morgause in the second series of BBC's Merlin in 2009. She returned for the third and fourth series. The same year, she portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in the Channel 4 documentary The Queen.
She narrated the Doctor Who character Lady Winters in the Doctor Who Adventure Game, The Gunpowder Plot, (2011).{{cite web|title=The Gunpowder Plot: More Stars, More Monsters!|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/bulletin_111003_01/The_Gunpowder_Plot_More_Stars_More%20Monsters|publisher=BBC|access-date=17 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111130081014/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/bulletin_111003_01/The_Gunpowder_Plot_More_Stars_More%20Monsters|archive-date=30 November 2011|url-status=dead}} She had previously played Berenice in the Eighth Doctor audio drama Nevermore.{{cite web|url=http://bigfinish.com/403-Doctor-Who-Nevermore|title=Doctor Who: Nevermore|publisher=Big Finish Productions|access-date=1 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030085648/http://bigfinish.com/403-Doctor-Who-Nevermore|archive-date=30 October 2011|url-status=dead}}
In 2015, she appeared as Julia Swetlove in the BBC's dramatisation of J. K. Rowling's book The Casual Vacancy. The following year, she appeared in series 2 of The Tunnel as Vanessa Hamilton.
In 2016–18 she starred as Sam Vincent in Delicious, a Sky television drama. Silent Witness, in which Fox stars, resumed on BBC1 in January 2018.
In 2019, Fox co-presented the BBC documentary Jack the Ripper – The Case Reopened, alongside criminologist David Wilson.{{cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2019/03/26/emilia-fox-unmasks-key-jack-ripper-suspect-new-documentary-right-conclusion-9020629/|title=Emilia Fox unmasks key Jack The Ripper suspect in new documentary: 'It was the right conclusion'|website=Metro|last=Yeates|first=Cydney|date=26 March 2019|access-date=5 January 2023}} In 2021,{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2021/06/09/footsteps-killers-reviewhow-did-staggeringly-ill-judged-show/|title=In the Footsteps of Killers, review: how did this staggeringly ill-judged show ever get made?|website=The Telegraph|last=Singh|first=Anita|date=9 June 2021|access-date=5 January 2023}} Fox and Wilson teamed up to present a full series of documentaries looking at cold cases, titled In the Footsteps of Killers. The second series aired in January 2023.{{cite web|url=https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/in-the-footsteps-of-killers/|title='It is all about hope, a hope for answers, a hope for justice': Silent Witness star Emilia Fox on seeking the truth for real-life victims|website=Sunday Post|last=McDonald|first=Sally|date=2 January 2023|access-date=5 January 2023}}
Personal life
In 2000, Fox was engaged to comedian Vic Reeves; she subsequently dated Toby Mott.{{cite news|title=Interview: Emilia Fox|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Interview%3A+Emilia+Fox+-+The+truth+about+Vic,+his+lesbian+wife,+her...-a060285004|access-date=19 December 2017|newspaper=The Mirror|date=11 March 2000|archive-date=22 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222105749/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Interview%3A+Emilia+Fox+-+The+truth+about+Vic,+his+lesbian+wife,+her...-a060285004|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Emilia Fox Profile|url=https://alibi.uktv.co.uk/people/emilia-fox/|publisher=alibi|access-date=19 December 2017|archive-date=22 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051853/https://alibi.uktv.co.uk/people/emilia-fox/|url-status=live}}
In July 2005, she married British actor Jared Harris, the son of Irish actor Richard Harris. The couple announced their separation in 2008, and Harris filed for divorce in January 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.tmz.com/2009/01/13/the-curious-benjamin-button-divorce/|title=The Curious Benjamin Button Divorce|publisher=TMZ|date=13 January 2009|access-date=19 December 2017|archive-date=22 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222073829/http://www.tmz.com/2009/01/13/the-curious-benjamin-button-divorce/|url-status=live}} The divorce followed the breakdown of their long-distance relationship and her 2007 miscarriage.{{Cite news|url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news/fox-sought-therapy-after-miscarriage_1105947|title=Fox Sought Therapy After Miscarriage|work=contactmusic.com|date=9 June 2009|access-date=19 December 2017|archive-date=3 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903080128/http://www.contactmusic.com/news/fox-sought-therapy-after-miscarriage_1105947|url-status=live}}
Following her separation from Harris, Fox began a relationship with actor Jeremy Gilley, and in May 2010 it was reported that Fox was pregnant with their child.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/7780613/Emilia-Fox-is-pregnant-less-than-two-years-after-divorce.html|title=Emilia Fox is pregnant less than two years after divorce|date=29 May 2010|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=19 December 2017|location=London|archive-date=27 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227185252/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/7780613/Emilia-Fox-is-pregnant-less-than-two-years-after-divorce.html|url-status=live}} In November 2010, Fox gave birth to a daughter.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/8404769/Actress-Emilia-Fox-takes-her-cub-to-work.html|title=Actress Emilia Fox takes her cub to work|date=25 March 2011|author=Walker, Tim|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=19 December 2017|location=London|archive-date=23 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923191252/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/8404769/Actress-Emilia-Fox-takes-her-cub-to-work.html|url-status=live}} Fox and Gilley split up in 2011.{{Cite web|last=Storey|first=Katie|date=25 October 2020|title=Emilia Fox confirms she split from fiancé Luc Chaudhary five months ago|url=https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/25/emilia-fox-confirms-she-split-from-fiance-luc-chaudhary-five-months-ago-13476744/|access-date=12 May 2021|website=Metro|language=en}}
She dated chef Marco Pierre White from 2012 to 2016 and Luc Chaudhary from 2019 to 2020. She is currently in a relationship with TV producer Jonathan Stadlen.{{Cite web |last=Power |first=Vicki |date=2023-01-01 |title=Sunday with Emilia Fox: 'Rowing on the Thames with my daughter and all the dogs' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jan/01/sunday-with-emilia-fox-rowing-on-the-thames-with-my-daughter-and-the-dogs |access-date=2023-01-01 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}
Fox is a patron of the drug, alcohol, and gambling addiction charity DrugFam.{{cite web|title=DrugFam Patrons|url=https://www.drugfam.co.uk/patrons-ambassadors/|publisher=Drug Fam|access-date=24 May 2022}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1999
|{{sortname|The|Rat Trap|nolink=1}} |Pippa |Short film |
| 2000
|{{sortname|The|Magic of Vincent|nolink=1}} |Gina |Short film |
| rowspan="3" |2002
|{{sortname|The|Pianist|The Pianist (2002 film)}} |Dorota | |
| Hideous Man
|Girl on swing |Short film |
| {{sortname|The|Soul Keeper}}
| |
| rowspan="2" |2003
|Claire Bligh | |
| {{sortname|The|Republic of Love}}
|Fay | |
| rowspan="2" |2004
|{{sortname|The|Life and Death of Peter Sellers}} |Lynne Frederick (uncredited) | |
| Cashback
|Sharon |Short film later expanded into a full-length feature film |
| rowspan="3" |2005
|Things to Do Before You're 30 |Kate | |
| {{sortname|The|Tiger and the Snow}}
|Nancy Browning | |
| Keeping Mum
|Rosie Jones | |
| rowspan="2" |2006
|Bettina |Voice (English version) |
| Cashback
|Sharon Pintey | |
| 2007
|Honeymoon |Dawn |Short film |
| 2008
|Sister Jean | |
| 2009
|Lady Victoria Wotton | |
| rowspan="2" |2010
|{{sortname|The|Man Who Married Himself|nolink=1}} |Sarah |Short film |
| Ways to Live Forever
|Amanda McQueen (Mum) | |
| 2011
|Doris | |
| rowspan="2" |2013
|Suspension of Disbelief |Claire Jones | |
| Not Ever
|Emily |Short Film |
| 2014
|Nadya | |
| 2016
|The Carer |Sophia | |
| 2017
|Mum's List |Kate Greene | |
| 2021
|Violet Bradman | |
| 2022
| The Beachcombers | Narrator | Short film |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1995
|Georgiana Darcy |TV miniseries |
| rowspan="3" |1997
|The Second Mrs de Winter |TV film |
| Bright Hair
|Ann Devenish |TV film |
| {{sortname|The|Temptation of Franz Schubert|nolink=1}}
|Karoline von Esterhazy |TV film |
| rowspan="3" |1998
|Vanessa Ratcliffe |TV serial |
| Blink
|Nicki |TV short |
| Verdict
|Charlie Moyes |Episode: "The Doctor's Opinion" |
| rowspan="4" |1999
|{{sortname|The|Round Tower|nolink=1}} |Vanessa Ratcliffe |TV film |
| Shooting the Past
|Spig |TV film |
| {{sortname|The|Scarlet Pimpernel|The Scarlet Pimpernel (TV series)}}
|Minette Roland |Episode: "The Scarlet Pimpernel" |
| David Copperfield
|Clara Copperfield |TV film |
| rowspan="2" |2000
|Dale |Episode: "1.3" |
| {{sortname|The|Wrong Side of the Rainbow|nolink=1}}
| |TV series |
| 2000–2001
|Jeannie |11 episodes |
| 2001
|Bad Blood |Jackie Shipton |TV film |
| 2002
|Wilma Lettings |Episode: "Faithless" |
| rowspan="2" |2003
|TV film |
| Henry VIII
|TV film |
| 2004
|Lady Margaret |TV film |
| 2004–present
|Dr Nikki Alexander |156 episodes |
| rowspan="3" |2006
|{{sortname|The|Virgin Queen|The Virgin Queen (TV serial)}} |TV miniseries |
| Agatha Christie's Marple
|Joanna Burton |Episode: "The Moving Finger" |
| Born Equal
|Laura |TV film |
| rowspan="2" |2007
|Angel |Episode: "The Four Last Things" |
| Ballet Shoes
|Sylvia Brown |TV film |
| rowspan="2" |2008
|Consuming Passion: 100 Years of Mills & Boon |Kirstie, a 30-something university English lecturer |TV film dramatising Mills and Boon |
| {{sortname|The|Game's Up|nolink=1}}
| |TV film |
| 2009
|Episode: "Sisters" |
| 2009–2011
|11 episodes |
| 2010
|Herself, reading a book |Episode: "The Spider and the Fly" |
| rowspan="2" |2012
|Lady Portia Alresford |Episode: "A Perfect Specimen of Womanhood" |
| Falcón
|Ines |Episode: "The Blind Man of Seville" |
| 2013
|Scarlett | |
| rowspan="2" |2014
| |Episode: "The Lie" |
| Would I Lie to You?
|Herself |Series 8, Episode 4 |
| rowspan="2" |2015
|Julia Sweetlove | |
| Bear Grylls: Mission Survive
|Herself, contestant |Six-part TV series |
| rowspan="3" |2016
|Penny Dillon |Pilot and BBC One sitcom |
| Kew's Forgotten Queen
|Presenter |BBC Four documentary |
| The Tunnel
|Vanessa Hamilton |Series 2 |
| 2016–2019
|Sam Vincent |Sky1 series |
| 2016–2018, 2021 |Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway{{cite news|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/news/a820148/ant-dec-mystery-saturday-night-takeaway-missing-crown-jewels/|title=Ant & Dec will unravel another mystery in Saturday Night Takeaway's 'Missing Crown Jewels'|first=Ben|last=Lee|website=Digital Spy|date=30 January 2017|access-date=19 December 2017|archive-date=22 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222065347/http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/news/a820148/ant-dec-mystery-saturday-night-takeaway-missing-crown-jewels/|url-status=live}} | Herself | 11 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2018
|Natasha |Series 4 Episode 3 "Once Removed" |
| Strangers
| Sally Porter |ITV drama |
| rowspan="3" |2019
|The Snow Wolf: A Winter's Tale |Narrator |BBC Two Drama |
| Jack the Ripper – The Case Reopened
|Presenter |BBC One Documentary |
| Celebrity Juice
|Herself, Team Captain | Series 21, Episode 6 |
| rowspan="2" |2019–2020
|The Trial of Christine Keeler |BBC One series |
| Celebrity Gogglebox
|Herself | Series 1 (With Laurence Fox) & Series 2 (With Joanna David) |
| rowspan="4" |2020
|Herself | Series 28, Episode 4 |
| VE Day: The Lost Films
|Herself |Narrator |
| Richard & Judy: Keep Reading and Carry on
|Herself |Episode 5 |
| Blankety Blank
|Herself |Episode: "Christmas Special" |
| rowspan="3" |2021
|Saturday Knight Takeaway |Herself |TV Short |
| Paul Sinha's TV Showdown
|Herself |Contestant – ITV |
| Between the Covers
| Herself | BBC2 |
| 2021–present
|In the Footsteps of Killers | Herself | |
| rowspan="2" |2022
| Murdertown | Herself | Crime & Investigation |
| Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
| Herself | Dame Sue Black: 1. Dead Body |
| 2022–present
| Sylvia Fox | Acorn TV / AMC series |
Theatre
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1996–1997
|Anya |
| 1998
|Katherine Howard |
| 1999
|Good | |
| rowspan="2" |2000
|Queen Isabel |
| Coriolanus
|Virgilia |
| 2003–2004
|Madame de Tourvel |
| 2014
|Rapture, Blister, Burn | Catherine |
| 2017
|Sex with Strangers |Olivia |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{IMDb name|0288976}}
{{Robin Fox family tree}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Emilia}}
Category:English film actresses
Category:English stage actresses
Category:English television actresses
Category:English radio actresses
Category:English voice actresses
Category:English Shakespearean actresses
Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members
Category:Actors educated at Bryanston School
Category:Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford
Category:People educated at Francis Holland School
Category:20th-century English actresses
Category:21st-century English actresses
Category:Actresses from London
Category:People from Hammersmith
Category:English video game actresses
Category:Actors from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham