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Joely Kim Richardson (born 9 January 1965) is a British actress. She is notable for her roles as Julia McNamara in the FX drama series Nip/Tuck (2003–2010), Katherine Parr in the Showtime series The Tudors (2010), and Ethel Cripps in the Netflix series The Sandman (2022). Her film credits include Drowning by Numbers (1988), King Ralph (1991), 101 Dalmatians (1996), Event Horizon (1997), The Patriot (2000), Anonymous (2011), the Hollywood film adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Endless Love (2014), Red Sparrow (2018), The Turning (2020), and Little Bone Lodge (2023).
Joely appeared as an extra at the age of three in the 1968 version of The Charge of the Light Brigade, directed by her father. Richardson and her sister Natasha's early education began at the independent St Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith. At age 14, Richardson moved to boarding school at the independent Harry Hopman in Tampa, Florida. In 1983, she graduated from the Thacher School in Ojai, California, then returned to London to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and graduated in 1985.
A year later she appeared in Shining Through alongside her future brother-in-law, Liam Neeson, with both actors playing .
In 1993, Richardson appeared in the BBC's Lady Chatterley opposite Sean Bean. In 1996, she appeared with Ted Danson in the film Loch Ness and also played fashion designer Anita Campbell-Green in the Disney live-action remake of the animated 101 Dalmatians opposite Glenn Close as Cruella de Vil. In 1998, in the television drama The Echo, she played Amanda Powell. The next year, she played in the science fiction horror film Event Horizon as Lieutenant Starck, executive officer of the research and rescue ship Lewis and Clark, sent to rescue crew of the long-lost experimental ship Event Horizon.
One year later, Richardson appeared opposite Mel Gibson in the film The Patriot, an American film set in the American Revolution. Also in 2000, she appeared opposite Hugh Laurie in Maybe Baby, Ben Elton's film adaptation of his book Inconceivable. She was cast in the 2001 film The Affair of the Necklace after director Charles Shyer noticed her resemblance to doomed 18th century French Queen Marie Antoinette.
In 2003, Richardson took on the role of Julia McNamara in the television drama Nip/Tuck, based on the complicated lives of two plastic surgeons filled with romance in Miami. Her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, appeared in several episodes, playing her character's mother.
In 2005, Richardson starred in Lies My Mother Told Me, based on a true story about a murderous con artist. In 2007, she played the mother in The Last Mimzy with Timothy Hutton and Chris O'Neil. She also starred in the television drama Wallis & Edward, playing the lead role of Wallis Simpson, lover of Edward, Prince of Wales.
In 2009–10, Richardson appeared as Katherine Parr, sixth wife of Henry VIII, in the fourth (and final) season of Showtime's hit period drama The Tudors. The role reunited her with her former husband Tim Bevan, who was part of the show's production team.
Joely joined the cast of TV series in which she played the role of Countess Markievicz. In 2015 she co-starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the zombie thriller film Maggie''.
Richardson is an ambassador for The Children's Trust, the UK's leading charity for children with brain injury and neurodisability, as well as Save the Children.
| 1968 | The Charge of the Light Brigade | Extra | Uncredited |
| 1985 | Wetherby | Young Jean Travers | |
| 1987 | Body Contact | Dominique | |
| 1988 | Drowning by Numbers | Cissie Colpitts 3 | |
| 1989 | A proposito di quella strana ragazza | Giovanna Serafin (Maria) | aka About That Foreign Girl in English |
| 1991 | King Ralph | Princess Anna | |
| 1992 | Rebecca's Daughters | Rhiannon | |
| Shining Through | Margrete Von Eberstein | ||
| 1994 | Sister My Sister | Christine Papin | |
| 1994 | I'll Do Anything | Cathy Breslow | |
| 1996 | Loch Ness | Laura McFetridge | |
| 101 Dalmatians | Anita Campbell-Green-Dearly | ||
| Hollow Reed | Hannah | ||
| 1997 | Event Horizon | Lt. Starck | |
| 1998 | Under Heaven | Eleanor Dunston | |
| Wrestling with Alligators | Claire | ||
| The Tribe | Emily | ||
| 2000 | Maybe Baby | Lucy Bell | |
| Return to Me | Elizabeth Rueland | ||
| The Patriot | Charlotte Selton | ||
| 2001 | The Affair of the Necklace | Marie-Antoinette | |
| 2004 | Fallen Angel | Katherine Wentworth | |
| The Fever | Woman at 30 | ||
| 2007 | The Last Mimzy | Jo Wilder | |
| The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey | Susan McDowel | ||
| 2011 | Anonymous | Elizabeth I | |
| The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Anita Vanger/Harriet Vanger | ||
| 2012 | Red Lights | Monica Handsen | |
| Thanks for Sharing | Katie | ||
| 2013 | The Devil's Violinist | Ethel Langham | |
| 2014 | Vampire Academy | Queen Tatiana Ivashkov | |
| Endless Love | Ann Butterfield | ||
| Maggie | Caroline Vogel | ||
| 2015 | Mary Hemingway | ||
| 2016 | Snowden | Janine Gibson | |
| Fallen | Sophia Bliss | ||
| 2017 | The Hatton Garden Job | Erzebet Zslondos | |
| The Time of Their Lives | Lucy | ||
| 2018 | Red Sparrow | Nina | |
| In Darkness | Alix | ||
| The Aspern Papers | Miss Tina | ||
| Surviving Christmas with the Relatives | Lyla | ||
| 2019 | Color Out of Space | Theresa Gardner | |
| 2020 | The Turning | Darla | |
| 2022 | The Lost Girls | Jane | |
| Lady Chatterley's Lover | Mrs. Bolton | ||
| 2023 | Little Bone Lodge | Mama | |
| 2025 | Sarah, Lady Petersfield |
| 1988 | The StoryTeller | Princess | Episode: "The Three Ravens" |
| 1989 | Behaving Badly | Serafina | 4 episodes |
| Agatha Christie's Poirot | Joanna Farley | Episode: "The Dream" | |
| 1991 | Heading Home | Janetta Wheatland | Television film |
| 1993 | Lady Chatterley | Lady Chatterley | 4 episodes |
| 2003–2010 | Nip/Tuck | Julia McNamara | Main role, 72 episodes |
| 2003 | Fallen Angel | Katherine Wentworth | Television film |
| 2005 | Lies My Mother Told Me | Laren Sims | Television movie |
| Wallis & Edward | Wallis Simpson | Television movie | |
| 2006 | Dr. Iris Varnack | Television movie | |
| 2007 | Freezing | Rachel | Episode: "1.1" |
| 2009 | The Day of the Triffids | Jo Playton | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | The Tudors | Katherine Parr | Main role (season 4), 5 episodes |
| 2012 | Countess Markievicz | Episode: "Stained Steel" | |
| 2012 | BBC Shakespeare Uncovered | Host | Episode: "The Comedies" ("Twelfth Night", "As You Like It") |
| 2017 | Emerald City | Glinda | Main role |
| 2019 | The Rook | Lady Farrier/King | Main role; 8 episode miniseries |
| 2020, 2022 | The Blacklist | Cassandra Bianchi | Episodes: "Cornelius Ruck" and "Genuine Models, Inc." |
| 2022 | The Sandman | Ethel Cripps | 11 episodes |
| Suspect | Jackie Sowden | Main role | |
| 2024 | Renegade Nell | Lady Moggerhanger | Main role |
| One Day | Helen Cope | 1 episode | |
| 2024–present | The Gentlemen | Lady Sabrina Halstead | Main role |
| 1999 | Independent Spirit Award | Best Supporting Female | Under Heaven | ||
| 2004 | Golden Globe Award | Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama | Nip/Tuck | ||
| Satellite Award | Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama | Nip/Tuck | |||
| 2005 | Golden Globe Award | Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama | Nip/Tuck | ||
| Satellite Award | Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama | Nip/Tuck |
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