# Emma Corrin
**Emma Corrin** (Emma-Louise Corrin) is an English actor best known for playing Lady Diana Spencer in the fourth season of Netflix's historical drama *The Crown*, a performance that won a Golden Globe and turned a then-little-known Cambridge graduate into a star.[1](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/stars-on-stage/emma-corrin) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emma_corrin) Born in 1995 in [Royal Tunbridge Wells](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-tunbridge-wells), Kent, Corrin uses they/them pronouns and has since worked across television, film, and the London stage, including a starring turn as the Marvel villain [Cassandra Nova](https://www.edgepedia.org/cassandra-nova) in *Deadpool & Wolverine* (2024).[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emma_corrin) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/nov/15/crown-emma-corrin-gender-swapping-time-travelling-orlando-woolf-queer) • [4](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/emma-corrin-bald-deadpool-and-wolverine-feather-covered-bird-blazer-fashion-week-schiaparelli-2026)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1995, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emma_corrin) |
| Education | Education with English and Drama, University of Cambridge, 2015–2018[5](https://profile.tagmin.com/3wbcd6mxi724043quc48lpo5km2j01zvywa) |
| Breakout role | Lady Diana Spencer, *The Crown* season 4 (2020)[1](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/stars-on-stage/emma-corrin) |
| Major award | Golden Globe for playing Diana; also a Critics Choice Award and SAG nomination[6](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Emma-Corrin/) |
| Notable films | *Misbehaviour* (2020), *My Policeman* (2022), *Lady Chatterley's Lover* (2022), *Nosferatu* (2024), *Deadpool & Wolverine* (2024)[5](https://profile.tagmin.com/3wbcd6mxi724043quc48lpo5km2j01zvywa) |
| Stage roles | Anna in *Anna X* (2021), Orlando (2023), Nina in *The Seagull* (2025)[5](https://profile.tagmin.com/3wbcd6mxi724043quc48lpo5km2j01zvywa) |
| Pronouns | They/them; has become a prominent figure for non-binary identity[3](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/nov/15/crown-emma-corrin-gender-swapping-time-travelling-orlando-woolf-queer) |
| Upcoming | Elizabeth Bennet in Netflix's *Pride & Prejudice*, written by Dolly Alderton[7](https://www.wallpaper.com/fashion-beauty/emma-corrin-for-miu-miu-miutine-fragrance) |
## Early life and training
Corrin grew up in the Tunbridge Wells area of Kent, the oldest child of a speech therapist mother, Dr Juliette Corrin, and a businessman father, both of whom are from South Africa; the family traveled between England and South Africa during Corrin's childhood.[8](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/mix/penny) • [9](https://julietrieden.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/emma-corrin.pdf) They developed a passion for acting at an all-girls boarding school in Surrey, then chose Cambridge University for its theater scene, studying education with English and drama at St John's College from 2015 to 2018.[8](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/mix/penny) • [5](https://profile.tagmin.com/3wbcd6mxi724043quc48lpo5km2j01zvywa)
**Modeling and early acting.** While a student, Corrin also worked as a model, and abandoned it in 2016 after a designer at London Fashion Week said their calf muscles, developed through running, were too big for runway work; they then focused entirely on acting.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emma_corrin) A university summer tour of Japan in *Romeo and Juliet* preceded their early television work.[8](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/mix/penny) • [5](https://profile.tagmin.com/3wbcd6mxi724043quc48lpo5km2j01zvywa)
## Becoming Diana
Corrin's path to *The Crown* was indirect. After graduating in 2018, small television roles including a recurring part as Esme in the Epix series *Pennyworth* (2019) led to a first feature role as a South African contestant in the 1970 [Miss World](https://www.edgepedia.org/miss-world) competition in *Misbehaviour* (2020).[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emma_corrin) • [5](https://profile.tagmin.com/3wbcd6mxi724043quc48lpo5km2j01zvywa) They first tried out for *The Crown* for the roles of Camilla and a maid, and during the Camilla call-backs were asked to read off-camera as Diana opposite actors auditioning for Camilla Parker-Bowles; Corrin had also worked as an audition reader for the series before being cast.[8](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/mix/penny) • [10](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/emma-corrin-princess-diana-the-crown-podcast-interview-72602/)
Offered the role in 2019, when they were still relatively unknown, Corrin carried out extensive research on the late princess, including meeting Diana's former private secretary Patrick Jephson.[11](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/princess-diana-films-kristen-stewart-emma-corrin-b2153136.html) In the fourth season (2020), Corrin's Diana, appearing as a young woman entering the life of Prince Charles ([Josh O'Connor](https://www.edgepedia.org/josh-oconnor)) alongside [Olivia Colman](https://www.edgepedia.org/olivia-colman)'s Queen and [Tobias Menzies](https://www.edgepedia.org/tobias-menzies)'s Prince Philip, drew strong early reviews.[11](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/princess-diana-films-kristen-stewart-emma-corrin-b2153136.html) • [12](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/princess-diana-the-crown-emma-corrin-naomi-watts-b1721678.html) The Independent's ranking of the series' performances later scored the portrayal 28 out of 40 across look, voice, mannerisms, and watchability.[13](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/the-crown-netflix-series-6-worst-best-actors-b2463208.html) Elizabeth Debicki took over the role for the final two seasons of the show.[12](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/princess-diana-the-crown-emma-corrin-naomi-watts-b1721678.html)
The casting had a measurable public effect: when season 4 aired in 2020, Google searches for Emma Corrin increased by 330 percent.[14](https://assets.ctfassets.net/4cd45et68cgf/6AHE9VkJ2aL3518yYeKwfi/3733ba057f48001ea3abf36e8a6cde64/Netflix_-_The_Crown_Report.pdf)
## Screen career after The Crown
Corrin moved between period roles and contemporary work. They starred in the Netflix film adaptations *Lady Chatterley's Lover* (2022), directed by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, and *My Policeman* (2022), directed by Michael Grandage, opposite [Harry Styles](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-styles) and David Dawson, and appeared in Dan Levy's *Good Grief* (2023).[5](https://profile.tagmin.com/3wbcd6mxi724043quc48lpo5km2j01zvywa) • [15](https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1356129/emma-corrin-sees-similarities-between-roles-in-lady-chatterleys-lover-and-the-crown) • [16](https://www.vogue.com/article/emma-corrin-august-2022-cover) On television, they played the hacker Darby Hart in [Brit Marling](https://www.edgepedia.org/brit-marling) and [Zal Batmanglij](https://www.edgepedia.org/zal-batmanglij)'s FX mystery series *A Murder at the End of the World* (2023), and appeared in season 7 of *Black Mirror*.[5](https://profile.tagmin.com/3wbcd6mxi724043quc48lpo5km2j01zvywa)
In 2024, Corrin joined two major studio productions in one year: [Robert Eggers](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-eggers)'s *Nosferatu* for [Focus Features](https://www.edgepedia.org/focus-features), as Anna Harding, and Marvel's *Deadpool & Wolverine*, in which a bald Corrin played the villain Cassandra Nova, a character connected to [Professor X](https://www.edgepedia.org/professor-x).[5](https://profile.tagmin.com/3wbcd6mxi724043quc48lpo5km2j01zvywa) • [4](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/emma-corrin-bald-deadpool-and-wolverine-feather-covered-bird-blazer-fashion-week-schiaparelli-2026) Their next announced project is Elizabeth Bennet in Netflix's *Pride & Prejudice*, adapted by Dolly Alderton.[7](https://www.wallpaper.com/fashion-beauty/emma-corrin-for-miu-miu-miutine-fragrance)
## Stage work
Corrin made their professional stage debut as Anna in *Anna X*, a Sonia Friedman Productions staging, in 2021.[6](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Emma-Corrin/) • [5](https://profile.tagmin.com/3wbcd6mxi724043quc48lpo5km2j01zvywa) In 2023 they played the gender-swapping, time-traveling title role in *Orlando*, adapted from [Virginia Woolf](https://www.edgepedia.org/virginia-woolf)'s novel, at the Garrick Theatre in London, a role the *Guardian* noted made Corrin, who had by then become a prominent figure for non-binary identity, a natural fit for the part.[5](https://profile.tagmin.com/3wbcd6mxi724043quc48lpo5km2j01zvywa) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/nov/15/crown-emma-corrin-gender-swapping-time-travelling-orlando-woolf-queer) In 2025 they played Nina in a Barbican staging of Chekhov's *The Seagull* opposite [Cate Blanchett](https://www.edgepedia.org/cate-blanchett).[7](https://www.wallpaper.com/fashion-beauty/emma-corrin-for-miu-miu-miutine-fragrance)
## Identity and public profile
Corrin, who goes by they/them pronouns, has spoken openly about their gender fluidity, describing Diana as "so queer in many ways" in terms of the royal's otherness and embrace of fellow outsiders.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/nov/15/crown-emma-corrin-gender-swapping-time-travelling-orlando-woolf-queer) • [16](https://www.vogue.com/article/emma-corrin-august-2022-cover)
Corrin is also a long-standing face of the fashion house [Miu Miu](https://www.edgepedia.org/miu-miu), having walked its runways, appeared in its campaigns and its *Women's Tales* short-film series, and fronted the Miutine fragrance campaign.[7](https://www.wallpaper.com/fashion-beauty/emma-corrin-for-miu-miu-miutine-fragrance)
## References
1. [Emma Corrin – Stars on Stage, London Theatre](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/stars-on-stage/emma-corrin)
2. [Emma Corrin Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emma_corrin)
3. ['It's relatable' … The Crown's Emma Corrin on playing gender-swapping, time-travelling Orlando, The Guardian (15 November 2022)](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/nov/15/crown-emma-corrin-gender-swapping-time-travelling-orlando-woolf-queer)
4. [Emma Corrin Went Bald In Deadpool And Wolverine, CinemaBlend (July 2026)](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/emma-corrin-bald-deadpool-and-wolverine-feather-covered-bird-blazer-fashion-week-schiaparelli-2026)
5. [Emma Corrin CV, Insight Management & Productions (20 Coronet Street)](https://profile.tagmin.com/3wbcd6mxi724043quc48lpo5km2j01zvywa)
6. [Emma Corrin – Theatre Credits, News, Bio, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Emma-Corrin/)
7. [Emma Corrin on their fresh venture into fragrance with Miu Miu, Wallpaper*](https://www.wallpaper.com/fashion-beauty/emma-corrin-for-miu-miu-miutine-fragrance)
8. [In for a Penny, Television Academy / Emmy magazine (September 2019)](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/mix/penny)
9. ["Even though The Crown is the story of…" interview PDF, julietrieden.com](https://julietrieden.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/emma-corrin.pdf)
10. [Emma Corrin Details Her Inside-Out Approach to Princess Diana on 'The Crown', Backstage (4 February 2021)](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/emma-corrin-princess-diana-the-crown-podcast-interview-72602/)
11. [The many portrayals of Diana, Princess of Wales, from Emma Corrin to Kristen Stewart, The Independent (26 August 2022)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/princess-diana-films-kristen-stewart-emma-corrin-b2153136.html)
12. [The Crown finally gets Princess Diana right – why did it take so long?, The Independent (15 November 2020)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/princess-diana-the-crown-emma-corrin-naomi-watts-b1721678.html)
13. [The 30 best and worst performances in The Crown, ranked, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/the-crown-netflix-series-6-worst-best-actors-b2463208.html)
14. [The Crown Inspires a Wave of Royal Research, Netflix report](https://assets.ctfassets.net/4cd45et68cgf/6AHE9VkJ2aL3518yYeKwfi/3733ba057f48001ea3abf36e8a6cde64/Netflix_-_The_Crown_Report.pdf)
15. [Emma Corrin Sees Similarities Between Roles in Lady Chatterley's Lover and The Crown, E! Online](https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1356129/emma-corrin-sees-similarities-between-roles-in-lady-chatterleys-lover-and-the-crown)
16. [Emma Corrin of "The Crown" On Their Breakout Year and Gender Fluidity for Vogue's August Cover Story, Vogue (6 July 2022)](https://www.vogue.com/article/emma-corrin-august-2022-cover)
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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; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license