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Michelle Suzanne Dockery (born 15 December 1981) is an English actress and singer-songwriter, best known for starring as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV television period drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She reprised her role in the films Downton Abbey (2019), (2022) and (2025).
After graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Dockery made her professional stage debut in His Dark Materials in 2004. For her role as Eliza Doolittle in a 2007 London revival of Pygmalion, she was nominated for the Evening Standard Award. For her role in the 2009 play Burnt by the Sun, she earned an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Dockery has appeared in the films Hanna (2011), Anna Karenina (2012), Non-Stop (2014), and The Gentlemen (2019). She has also played lead roles in the western miniseries Godless (2017), for which she received her fourth Emmy nomination, and the drama miniseries Defending Jacob (2020) and Anatomy of a Scandal (2022).
She attended the Finch Stage School, and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 2004.
She won second prize at the Ian Charleson Awards for her performance as Eliza Doolittle in Peter Hall's production of Pygmalion at the Theatre Royal, Bath, which toured the UK and transferred to The Old Vic in 2008, Dockery review in Pygmalion , Guardian.co.uk, 17 May 2008. and for the same production was nominated Best Newcomer at the Evening Standard Awards 2008. The 2008 ES Theatre Awards shortlist, thisislondon.co.uk, 24 November 2008
In 2010, she played Ophelia in Hamlet at the Crucible Theatre alongside John Simm. First Night: Hamlet, Sheffield Crucible , independent.co.uk, 23 September 2010.
Dockery came to public prominence in 2010 when she played Lady Mary Crawley in Julian Fellowes' series Downton Abbey. The series ran from 2010 to 2015. Each year it was filmed from February to August and broadcast on ITV from September to November, with a special Christmas night episode each year beginning in 2011. It later aired in the U.S. on PBS.
For her role as Lady Mary Crawley in the Downton Abbey series, Dockery received three consecutive Emmy Award nominations in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress In a Drama Series in 2012, 2013, and 2014. She also earned a Golden Globe nomination in 2013.
Dockery's first big screen role was as False Marissa in Hanna (2011). In 2012, she appeared as Princess Myagkaya in the film adaptation of Anna Karenina and starred with Charlotte Rampling in a two-part dramatisation of William Boyd's spy thriller Restless on BBC One. In January 2014, she appeared in the action thriller feature film Non-Stop alongside co-stars Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, and Lupita Nyong'o.
In 2014, Dockery was made Fellow of the Guildhall School in recognition of her achievements in television. In 2014, Dockery was listed in The Sunday Times Britain's 500 Most Influential People, which is a compilation of the most significant individuals in the UK who have demonstrated outstanding qualities of influence, achievement and inspiration. Profile , debretts.com; accessed 6 July 2016.
In a departure from her portrayal of Lady Mary in Downton Abbey, Dockery advanced her Hollywood career with a 2015 performance in the sci-fi thriller feature film Self/less, with Ryan Reynolds.
Beginning in November 2016, Dockery starred in the lead role of Letty Raines in Good Behavior, an American drama series based on the novella series by Blake Crouch. Letty is a drug-addicted thief and con-artist who, released early from prison on good behaviour, is attempting to get her life under control. Her efforts are complicated by a chance meeting and subsequent entanglement with a charismatic hitman, played by Juan Diego Botto. The 10-episode first season, airing on a U.S. basic-cable network TNT, was filmed in and around Wilmington, North Carolina. In January 2017, the show was picked up for a second season. In November 2018, the series was cancelled after two seasons.
In 2017, Dockery appeared alongside Jim Broadbent, Charlotte Rampling, Harriet Walter, and Emily Mortimer in the British film The Sense of an Ending from CBS Films, based on the Booker-winning novel of the same name by Julian Barnes. She plays Susie Webster, the daughter of Tony Webster (Jim Broadbent), a man who lives in quiet unquestioning solitude until he confronts secrets of his past. "The film is a beautiful adaptation of the book which I love. And I jumped at the chance to work with director Ritesh Batra, who also filmed The Lunchbox (2013)", explained Dockery.
Later that year, Dockery had a lead role in the Netflix western miniseries Godless. In 2019, Dockery reprised her lead role as Lady Mary Crawley in the Downton Abbey film, alongside Hugh Bonneville and Maggie Smith. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was a financial success, grossing $192 million. She continued to portray Lady Mary in the films' subsequent sequels. Later in 2019, Dockery appeared in The Gentlemen, directed by Guy Ritchie, as the wife of a drug baron played by Matthew McConaughey. The film opened in wide release in 2020 and has grossed over $100 million worldwide. It was met with mixed to positive reviews.
In 2014, Dockery was one of nine British celebrities featured in a short film promoting Stand Up to Cancer UK.
Dockery began a relationship with Jasper Waller-Bridge, brother of Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge and composer Isobel Waller-Bridge, in 2019. They announced their engagement in January 2022 and married on 22 September 2023. In September 2025, at the Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale premiere, Dockery revealed that she and Waller-Bridge are expecting their first child.
| 2011 | Hanna | False Marissa | |
| 2012 | Anna Karenina | Princess Myagkaya | |
| 2014 | Non-Stop | Nancy Hoffman | |
| 2015 | Self/less | Claire Hale | |
| 2017 | The Sense of an Ending | Susie Webster | |
| 2019 | Downton Abbey | Lady Mary Talbot | |
| The Gentlemen | Rosalind "Roz" Pearson | ||
| 2022 | Lady Mary Talbot | ||
| 2023 | Boy Kills World | Melanie van der Koy | |
| 2024 | Please Don't Feed the Children | Clara | |
| Here | Mrs Harter | ||
| 2025 | Flight Risk | Madolyn Harris | |
| Lady Mary Talbot | |||
| TBA | Alexandra Shulman | Post-production |
| 2005 | Fingersmith | Betty | Miniseries |
| 2006 | Hogfather | Susan | Television film |
| 2007 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Aimee Hobbs | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Heartbeat | Sue Padgett | Episode: "Take Three Girls" |
| Poppy Shakespeare | Dawn | Television film | |
| 2009 | Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974 | Kathryn Taylor | |
| Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1983 | Kathryn Taylor | ||
| The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler | Ewa Rozenfeld | ||
| The Turn of the Screw | Ann | ||
| Waking the Dead | Gemma Morrison | 2 episodes | |
| Return to Cranford | Erminia Whyte | ||
| 2010–2015 | Downton Abbey | Lady Mary Crawley/Talbot | Main cast; 52 episodes |
| 2012 | Restless | Ruth Gilmartin | Miniseries |
| 2012 | American Dad! | Margaret Watkins (voice) | 1 episode |
| 2012 | The Hollow Crown | Lady Kate Percy | "Henry IV, Part I and Part II" |
| 2013 | Family Guy | Lady Mary Crawley (voice) | Episode: "Boopa-dee Bappa-dee" |
| 2015 | Narrator | BBC2 Documentary Series | |
| 2016–2017 | Good Behavior | Letty Raines | Main cast; 20 episodes |
| 2017 | Angie Tribeca | Victoria Nova | 1 episode |
| 2017 | Godless | Alice Fletcher | Miniseries; 7 episodes |
| 2019 | Tuca & Bertie | Lady Netherfield (voice) | Episode: "The Deli Guy" |
| 2020 | Defending Jacob | Laurie Barber | Miniseries; 8 episodes |
| 2020–2022 | Amphibia | Lady Olivia (voice) | 9 episodes |
| 2022 | Anatomy of a Scandal | Kate Woodcroft | Miniseries; 6 episodes |
| 2024 | This Town | Estella | Main cast |
| 2004 | His Dark Materials | Jessie | National Theatre |
| 2005 | Henry IV, Parts I and II | Carrier | |
| The UN Inspector | Female activist | ||
| Pillars of the Community | Dina | ||
| 2007 | Dying for It | Kleopatra | Almeida Theatre |
| Pygmalion | Eliza Doolittle | UK tour | |
| 2008 | Uncle Vanya | Yelena | |
| Pygmalion | Eliza Doolittle | Old Vic Theatre | |
| 2009 | Burnt by the Sun | Maroussia | National Theatre |
| 2010 | Hamlet | Ophelia | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2017–2018 | Network | Diana Christensen | National Theatre, London |
| 2005 | Ian Charleson Awards | Best Actress | Pillars of Community | |
| 2007 | Best Performance by an Actor – 2nd Prize | Pygmalion | ||
| 2008 | Evening Standard Award | Outstanding Newcomer | ||
| 2010 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Burnt by the Sun | |
| 2011 | Monte-Carlo Television Festival | Outstanding Actress Drama Series | Downton Abbey | |
| 2012 | ||||
| Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Drama Actress | |||
| Glamour Awards | Editor's Special Award | |||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | ||
| Satellite Awards | Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama | |||
| 2013 | Golden Globe Award | Best Actress – Television Series Drama | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series | |||
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | |||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | |||
| Huading Awards | Best Global Actress | |||
| Online Film and Television Association Awards | Best Actress in a Drama Series | |||
| 2014 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | |||
| 2015 | Harper's Bazaar Women of the Year Awards | Television Icon Award | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | ||
| 2016 | ||||
| Online Film and Television Association Awards | Best Actress in a Drama Series | |||
| 2017 | Critics' Pick Awards | Godless | ||
| 2018 | Canneseries | Variety Icon Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting | ||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series | Godless |
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