Ridley was born on 10 April 1992 in the London borough of Westminster, and grew up in Maida Vale. She is the youngest of three daughters born to Christopher Ridley, a photographer, and Louise (née Fawkner-Corbett), who works for a bank. She has two older sisters, Kika Rose and Poppy Sophia, as well as two older half-sisters. Her mother's family, the Fawkner-Corbetts, were landed gentry with a military and medical background. Her great-uncle Arnold Ridley was a playwright and actor, and played Private Godfrey in the television sitcom Dad's Army. Growing up, Ridley's favourite film was Matilda (1996), and she viewed the character Matilda as a role model.
Ridley began her career with roles in the television programmes Youngers, Toast of London, Silent Witness, Mr Selfridge and Casualty. She appeared in the short film Blue Season, which was entered into the Sci-Fi-London 48-Hour Film Challenge. Ridley played the lead in the third part of Lifesaver, an interactive film which was nominated for a BAFTA Award. She also appeared in the music video for Wiley's song "Lights On", playing the character of Kim. She made her film debut in the 2015 British independent horror film Scrawl, after her scenes from the British comedy film The Inbetweeners 2 were removed in the final cut.
In April 2014, it was announced that Ridley had been cast as Rey, one of the lead characters in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). At the time of her casting she was, according to Rolling Stone, a "total unknown". Her choice by director J. J. Abrams was seen as a repeat of George Lucas' move of casting relatively unknown actors for the lead roles in the first Star Wars film in 1977.
Ridley began filming her scenes in May 2014 at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, and prior to the film's release in December 2015, she appeared at the launch of a set of Star Wars postage stamps issued by the UK postal service Royal Mail, with her character Rey featuring on a stamp along with the droid BB-8. With international revenues of over $2billion, The Force Awakens was a major box-office hit and the highest-grossing film of 2015. Her performance received critical acclaim, with Richard Roeper describing her portrayal as "a breakout performance" and adding that "[Harrison] Ford has a terrific father figure chemistry [shared] with Ridley and [John] Boyega".
2016–present: Continuing career
Ridley became the executive producer of the documentary The Eagle Huntress in January 2016, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 24 January 2016; she also recorded narration for the film's wide release. Ridley was one of several actors featured on Barbra Streisand's 2016 album Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway. Along with Anne Hathaway, Ridley and Streisand perform the song "At the Ballet" from A Chorus Line, with Ridley performing the role of Bebe, one of a trio of dancers hoping to be cast in a forthcoming show.
Daisy Ridley and producer Kathleen Kennedy discuss women who work for NASA in 2016
In 2021, Ridley co-starred in the film Chaos Walking, an adaptation of the young-adult novel series Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness. She plays Viola Eade opposite Tom Holland as Todd Hewitt. The film was released on 5 March 2021. The film had been delayed occasionally due to poor test screenings that followed the film's reshoots, and later due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It received negative reviews and was a box-office flop.
She lent her voice to the point-and-click mystery video game Twelve Minutes, alongside James McAvoy and Willem Dafoe. The game received positive reviews, with Ridley's performance being praised by critics. She also made a surprise appearance in Judd Apatow's 2022 movie, The Bubble as Kate, a horny AI. The film received negative reviews.
In July 2023, Ridley was announced as the host of a True Spies podcast miniseries about Lee Harvey Oswald.
Ridley voiced a character in the French stop motion animated film The Inventor, which was released in the United States on 15 September 2023, and set for a French theatrical release in 2024. In 2021–22, she shot an indie film titled Sometimes I Think About Dying in Astoria, Oregon, with Rachel Lambert directing and Ridley additionally serving as a first-time main producer on the project. She starred in Magpie, a noir thriller written by her partner Tom Bateman, based on Ridley's original story idea. She also starred as Gertrude Ederle in the Disney biopic Young Woman and the Sea.
Ridley was diagnosed with endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome at age fifteen, requiring her to undergo multiple laparoscopic surgery procedures. The condition left her with low self-confidence due to the acne which followed. In 2023, Ridley was diagnosed with Graves' disease, which resulted in a racing heart rate, weight loss and fatigue, among other symptoms. She has followed a vegan diet since as early as 2017, and she removed gluten from her diet following the Graves' disease diagnosis.
Following the 2016 Teen Choice Awards, which included a tribute to victims of gun violence, Ridley posted a message against gun violence on both Instagram and Facebook. Her post prompted criticism and accusations of hypocrisy in reference to the violence depicted in her Star Wars films. Due to the criticism and comments about her appearance, Ridley deleted her social media accounts. The following year, she said that social media is detrimental to people's mental health, including hers. In 2022, she returned to Instagram after a six-year hiatus.
Filmography
Film
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Denotes productions that have not yet been released
↑Krauser, Emily (12 November 2015). "9 Things You Need to Know About 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Leading Lady Daisy Ridley". Entertainment Online. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2016. The London native's full name is Daisy Jazz Isobel Ridley. As if that wasn't magical enough, her siblings also have names fit for English roses -- one quite literally. Her two older sisters are Kika-Rose and Poppy Sophia, a model and aspiring musician, respectively. Ridley grew up in an exclusive community in central London, and her great-grandfather, William Victor Fawkner-Corbett, served as a colonel in World War I.
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