# Viola Prettejohn
**Viola Prettejohn** (born 2003) is a British actress best known for playing the young Princess Elizabeth in the sixth season of Netflix's *[The Crown](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-crown-tv-series)* and Nancy Lee in Mona Fastvold's 2025 musical drama *The Testament of Ann Lee*, alongside [Amanda Seyfried](https://www.edgepedia.org/amanda-seyfried), Christopher Abbott, and [Thomasin McKenzie](https://www.edgepedia.org/thomasin-mckenzie)[1](https://office.wonderlandmagazine.com/2025/10/16/interview-viola-prettejohn/). She began working as a teenager and has since moved between big-budget American series and British television, including HBO's *The Nevers*, Ben Wheatley's *Generation Z*, and the BBC's *Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light*[1](https://office.wonderlandmagazine.com/2025/10/16/interview-viola-prettejohn/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 2003, United Kingdom[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10362084/) |
| Breakthrough role | Young Princess Elizabeth, *The Crown* series 6, episodes 8 and 10 (2023)[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/861203/filmo/) |
| Series regular roles | Myrtle Haplisch in *The Nevers* (2021, 12 episodes); Finn in *Generation Z* (2024, 6 episodes)[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/223587/viola-prettejohn) |
| Film | Nancy Lee in *The Testament of Ann Lee* (2025)[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/861203/filmo/) |
| Upcoming | Lisbeth Salander in Sky's *The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo* (2027)[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/861203/filmo/) |
| Also credited as | Performer on *The Testament of Ann Lee* soundtrack[5](https://www.beatport.com/artist/viola-prettejohn/1485868) |
| Representation | Insight Management & Production, represented by Maya Hambro[6](https://insightmp.co.uk/acting-clients/viola-prettejohn) |
## Early life and start in acting
Prettejohn grew up in London, where her parents took her to the theater regularly; she has said that watching leading stage performers as a child gave her her first experience of acting[1](https://office.wonderlandmagazine.com/2025/10/16/interview-viola-prettejohn/). She became set on the profession after going to the cinema alone each week: she cites seeing *Phantom Thread* at the Curzon Mayfair at age 14, watching [Daniel Day-Lewis](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-day-lewis), Lesley Manville, and [Vicky Krieps](https://www.edgepedia.org/vicky-krieps), as transformative, and names [Paul Thomas Anderson](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-thomas-anderson) her dream director[1](https://office.wonderlandmagazine.com/2025/10/16/interview-viola-prettejohn/).
In a 2021 interview she credited a school production of *The Crucible*, in which she played Abigail, with convincing her that acting was what she wanted to pursue[7](https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/interview-viola-prettejohn/). She described her entry into professional work as partly accidental: her drama teacher put her up for an open casting for a film, after which she obtained an agent and continued[8](https://www.vestalmag.com/viola-prettejohn).
## Television roles
Prettejohn's early screen work consisted of single-episode parts: Young Emily in *Counterpart* (2018) and Fake Ciri in *The Witcher* (2019)[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/861203/filmo/) • [4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/223587/viola-prettejohn). Her first substantial role was Myrtle Haplisch in HBO's Victorian fantasy series *The Nevers*, a middle-class girl who loses the ability to speak and is rescued from a family that cannot understand her; she appeared in 12 episodes[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/223587/viola-prettejohn) • [7](https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/interview-viola-prettejohn/). She has described the series as her teaching ground, the place where she learned the stamina required of a series regular on a long, taxing shoot[9](https://vmagazine.com/article/v-girls-viola-prettejohn-finds-liberation-in-the-testament-of-ann-lee/).
**The Crown.** In 2023 she played the young Princess Elizabeth in episodes 8 and 10 of the sixth and final season of *The Crown*, the Netflix historical drama, appearing in the episodes broadcast on 14 December 2023[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/861203/filmo/) • [4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/223587/viola-prettejohn). She has said that playing a real person was a valuable opportunity, and that joining a show watched by millions was overwhelming at first until the work itself took over[1](https://office.wonderlandmagazine.com/2025/10/16/interview-viola-prettejohn/) • [8](https://www.vestalmag.com/viola-prettejohn). Coverage of the season marked her as a revelation of the show's final run[8](https://www.vestalmag.com/viola-prettejohn).
She followed with Finn, a lead role in [Ben Wheatley](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-wheatley)'s Channel 4 horror-comedy *Generation Z* (6 episodes, 2024), and Mary Fitzroy in three episodes of *Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light* (2024)[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/861203/filmo/) • [4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/223587/viola-prettejohn). In 2025 she played Princess Elizabeth in the *Amadeus* miniseries[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/861203/filmo/).
## The Testament of Ann Lee
In Mona Fastvold's *The Testament of Ann Lee*, a musical drama about Ann Lee, founder of the Shaker movement, Prettejohn plays Nancy Lee[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/861203/filmo/) • [10](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10362084/news/). She landed the part while filming another project in Budapest, recording a self-tape in her hotel room with a chair balanced on a table and a friend reading lines over Zoom; about six weeks later she returned to Budapest to shoot the film[1](https://office.wonderlandmagazine.com/2025/10/16/interview-viola-prettejohn/).
The film premiered out of competition at the [Venice Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/venice-film-festival) on 3 September 2025, where the Sala Grande audience gave the cast a 15-and-a-half-minute standing ovation, at that point the longest of the festival[11](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/viola-prettejohn-the-testament-of-ann-lee-venice-film-festival). Prettejohn, attending Venice for the first time, called it the proudest she had ever been of anything and a defining chapter of her career[11](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/viola-prettejohn-the-testament-of-ann-lee-venice-film-festival). In interview she called it the greatest acting experience she had ever had[9](https://vmagazine.com/article/v-girls-viola-prettejohn-finds-liberation-in-the-testament-of-ann-lee/). The film opened in United States theaters on 25 December 2025 and streams on Hulu from 31 March 2026[10](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10362084/news/). She is credited as a performer on the film's original motion picture soundtrack, released by Milan Records[5](https://www.beatport.com/artist/viola-prettejohn/1485868).
## Upcoming work
Prettejohn is cast as [Lisbeth Salander](https://www.edgepedia.org/lisbeth-salander) in Sky's television adaptation of *The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo*, dated for 2027, with [David Oyelowo](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-oyelowo) also in a leading role[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/861203/filmo/) • [12](https://www.headliner.nl/artikelen/tags/viola-prettejohn-636726). She was also set to star in FX's series adaptation of *Never Let Me Go*, announced in 2022 with [Tracey Ullman](https://www.edgepedia.org/tracey-ullman) and Kelly Macdonald; the adaptation was subsequently abandoned[13](https://www.fernsehserien.de/viola-prettejohn/filmografie).
## References
1. [Viola Prettejohn On The Testament of Ann Lee, Wonderland Magazine](https://office.wonderlandmagazine.com/2025/10/16/interview-viola-prettejohn/)
2. [Viola Prettejohn, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10362084/)
3. [Filmografie von Viola Prettejohn, FILMSTARTS.de](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/861203/filmo/)
4. [Viola Prettejohn, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/223587/viola-prettejohn)
5. [Viola Prettejohn on Beatport](https://www.beatport.com/artist/viola-prettejohn/1485868)
6. [Viola Prettejohn, Insight Management & Production](https://insightmp.co.uk/acting-clients/viola-prettejohn)
7. [Q&A with The Nevers' Viola Prettejohn, Country & Town House](https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/interview-viola-prettejohn/)
8. [Viola Prettejohn, Vestal Magazine](https://www.vestalmag.com/viola-prettejohn)
9. [V Girls: Viola Prettejohn Finds Liberation in 'The Testament of Ann Lee', V Magazine](https://vmagazine.com/article/v-girls-viola-prettejohn-finds-liberation-in-the-testament-of-ann-lee/)
10. [Viola Prettejohn News, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10362084/news/)
11. [Viola Prettejohn Makes Stunning Venice Debut in Miu Miu Double Header, Who What Wear](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/viola-prettejohn-the-testament-of-ann-lee-venice-film-festival)
12. [Viola Prettejohn nieuws, Headliner.nl](https://www.headliner.nl/artikelen/tags/viola-prettejohn-636726)
13. [Filmografie Viola Prettejohn, fernsehserien.de](https://www.fernsehserien.de/viola-prettejohn/filmografie)
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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 N to P*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 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