# Eleanor Worthington Cox
**Eleanor Worthington Cox** (also credited Eleanor Worthington-Cox) is a British actress from [Merseyside](https://www.edgepedia.org/merseyside), England, born in 2001, best known for playing [Matilda Wormwood](https://www.edgepedia.org/matilda-wormwood) in *Matilda the Musical* in London's West End and Janet Hodgson in the television drama *[The Enfield Haunting](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-enfield-haunting)*.[1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1462923-eleanor-worthington-cox?language=en-US) At the age of 10 she became the youngest recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, shared for Best Actress in a Musical with the three other girls rotating in the title role of *Matilda*.[1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1462923-eleanor-worthington-cox?language=en-US) • [2](https://www.timminchin.com/matilda/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 2001, Merseyside, England, UK[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/eleanor_worthington_cox) |
| Breakthrough | One of four young actresses sharing the title role of *Matilda the Musical* in the West End from 2011[2](https://www.timminchin.com/matilda/) |
| Olivier Award | Best Actress in a Musical, 2012, shared with Cleo Demetriou, Kerry Ingram, and Sophia Kiely; at age 10, the youngest Olivier Award holder[2](https://www.timminchin.com/matilda/) • [1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1462923-eleanor-worthington-cox?language=en-US) |
| Television | Janet Hodgson in *The Enfield Haunting* (2015), with a British Academy Television Award nomination[1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1462923-eleanor-worthington-cox?language=en-US) |
| Film credits | Young Princess Aurora in *Maleficent* (2014), title role in *Gwen* (2018), Boogie in *Action Point* (2018)[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/eleanor_worthington_cox) |
| Television series | Cait in *Britannia*, 27 episodes (2018)[1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1462923-eleanor-worthington-cox?language=en-US) |
| Recent stage work | Natalie Goodman in *Next to Normal* in the West End (2024-2025); multiple roles including Cynthia Lennon and Cilla Black in *Please Please Me* at the Kiln Theatre (2026)[1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1462923-eleanor-worthington-cox?language=en-US) • [4](https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/interview-the-more-i-learn-about-him-the-more-extraordinary-i-find-him-actor-eleanor-worthington-cox-on-the-story-of-brian-epstein-the-beatles-in-please-please-me-20260414) |
## Matilda and the Olivier Award
Her first professional role came about through a family connection. She had seen *Matilda* during its original run at [Stratford-upon-Avon](https://www.edgepedia.org/stratford-upon-avon), where the [Royal Shakespeare Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-shakespeare-company) premiered the musical on November 9, 2010, and her brother signed her up when casting opened for the West End transfer; she went through eleven auditions to win the part.[5](https://www.filminquiry.com/interview-eleanor-worthington-cox/) The show transferred to the Cambridge Theatre, previewing from October 25, 2011, with opening night on November 24, 2011.[2](https://www.timminchin.com/matilda/)
The title role was shared among four young actresses: Cleo Demetriou, Kerry Ingram, Sophia Kiely, and Eleanor Worthington Cox.[2](https://www.timminchin.com/matilda/) At the 2012 Laurence Olivier Awards, *Matilda the Musical* won a record seven awards, and all four girls jointly received the award for Best Actress in a Musical, becoming the youngest Olivier Award-holders on record; Worthington Cox, at 10, is described as the youngest person to win the award.[2](https://www.timminchin.com/matilda/) • [6](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/i-ll-scream-and-i-ll-scream-matilda-star-can-really-cause-a-scene-as-possessed-schoolgirl-10018253.html) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2012/apr/16/monday-theatre-roundup-matilda-oliviers) She performed the role for a year, extended from an initial six-month contract, and later returned as a Matilda alternate in the 2021 West End transfer.[5](https://www.filminquiry.com/interview-eleanor-worthington-cox/) • [8](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Eleanor-Worthington-Cox/) In late October 2011 she and composer [Tim Minchin](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-minchin) appeared on the front cover of *Time Out London*'s Halloween issue.[2](https://www.timminchin.com/matilda/)
Her training was at the Formby School of Dance and Performing Arts, and her earlier stage credit was *Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat* at the Liverpool Empire.[8](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Eleanor-Worthington-Cox/)
## Television and film
In 2014 she played the young Princess Aurora in Disney's *Maleficent*, alongside [Angelina Jolie](https://www.edgepedia.org/angelina-jolie) and [Elle Fanning](https://www.edgepedia.org/elle-fanning).[6](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/i-ll-scream-and-i-ll-scream-matilda-star-can-really-cause-a-scene-as-possessed-schoolgirl-10018253.html) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/eleanor_worthington_cox) In 2015, at age 13, she starred as Janet Hodgson, the 11-year-old girl at the center of the alleged poltergeist activity, in the three-part [Sky Living](https://www.edgepedia.org/sky-living) drama *The Enfield Haunting*, acting alongside Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson, and Matthew Macfadyen.[6](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/i-ll-scream-and-i-ll-scream-matilda-star-can-really-cause-a-scene-as-possessed-schoolgirl-10018253.html) The performance brought a British Academy Television Award nomination.[1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1462923-eleanor-worthington-cox?language=en-US) The same year she appeared as Molly Whitaker in eight episodes of the Channel 4 series *Cucumber*.[1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1462923-eleanor-worthington-cox?language=en-US)
She played Cait in the [Sky Atlantic](https://www.edgepedia.org/sky-atlantic) series *Britannia*, filmed in the Czech Republic for eight months during the first series and running to 27 episodes by 2018.[9](https://archiv.zlinfest.cz/en/26654n-interview-with-festival-young-star-eleanor-worthington-cox) • [1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1462923-eleanor-worthington-cox?language=en-US) Her film work includes the gothic drama *Gwen* (2018), in which she played the title character, a teenage farmhand in 1855 [Snowdonia](https://www.edgepedia.org/snowdonia); the Guardian's review called her performance star-making and compelling.[10](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jul/21/gwen-review-maxine-peake-eleanor-worthington-cox) On Rotten Tomatoes, *Gwen* is her highest-rated film at 71 percent, while *Action Point* (2018), the [Johnny Knoxville](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnny-knoxville) comedy in which she played Boogie, is her lowest at 16 percent.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/eleanor_worthington_cox)
## Later stage work
She returned to musical theater as Natalie Goodman in the 2024 West End production of *Next to Normal* at the Gielgud Theatre, opposite Caissie Levy and Jack Wolfe, and appears on the show's original London cast recording released by Ghostlight Records.[1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1462923-eleanor-worthington-cox?language=en-US) • [11](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Eleanor-Worthington-Cox-1/) In 2026 she plays multiple roles, including [Cynthia Lennon](https://www.edgepedia.org/cynthia-lennon) and [Cilla Black](https://www.edgepedia.org/cilla-black), in *Please Please Me*, Tom Wright's play about Beatles manager [Brian Epstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-epstein), at the Kiln Theatre in London.[4](https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/interview-the-more-i-learn-about-him-the-more-extraordinary-i-find-him-actor-eleanor-worthington-cox-on-the-story-of-brian-epstein-the-beatles-in-please-please-me-20260414)
## References
1. [Eleanor Worthington-Cox, The Movie Database (TMDB)](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1462923-eleanor-worthington-cox?language=en-US)
2. [Tim Minchin: The Matilda the Musical Story](https://www.timminchin.com/matilda/)
3. [Eleanor Worthington-Cox Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/eleanor_worthington_cox)
4. [Interview: Actor Eleanor Worthington-Cox on Please Please Me, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/interview-the-more-i-learn-about-him-the-more-extraordinary-i-find-him-actor-eleanor-worthington-cox-on-the-story-of-brian-epstein-the-beatles-in-please-please-me-20260414)
5. [Interview With Gwen Star Eleanor Worthington-Cox, Film Inquiry](https://www.filminquiry.com/interview-eleanor-worthington-cox/)
6. [Matilda star can really cause a scene as possessed schoolgirl, London Evening Standard](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/i-ll-scream-and-i-ll-scream-matilda-star-can-really-cause-a-scene-as-possessed-schoolgirl-10018253.html)
7. [Monday theatre roundup, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2012/apr/16/monday-theatre-roundup-matilda-oliviers)
8. [Eleanor Worthington Cox, BroadwayWorld profile](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Eleanor-Worthington-Cox/)
9. [Interview with festival young star: Eleanor Worthington-Cox, Zlín Film Festival](https://archiv.zlinfest.cz/en/26654n-interview-with-festival-young-star-eleanor-worthington-cox)
10. [Gwen review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jul/21/gwen-review-maxine-peake-eleanor-worthington-cox)
11. [Eleanor Worthington-Cox, BroadwayWorld profile (news page)](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Eleanor-Worthington-Cox-1/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames C*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
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