Eliza Hope Bennett born 17 March 1992 is an English actress and singer. Her most notable roles have been those of Meggie Folchart in the film Inkheart, Tora in the film Nanny McPhee, Susan in From Time to Time and Holly Manson in the West End musical Loserville. Bennett starred on the MTV black comedy series Sweet/Vicious as Jules Thomas.
Early and personal life
Bennett was born and grew up in Reading, Berkshire with her older brother and sister and attended Leighton Park School.
Career
Film
Bennett landed her first role as Jemima in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium in 2002 aged nine. She got her first film role playing Princess Arabella in 2004’s The Prince & Me. In 2005 Bennett landed one of her biggest film roles, playing Tora in Nanny McPhee.
In 2005, she played Hayley in the TV movie Supernova, Young Anne in the 2006 film Victims, Emily in The Contractor with Wesley Snipes and television work as Nora in the Agatha Christie’s Marple episode “By the Pricking of My Thumbs”.
In 2006, she played the role of Meggie Folchart in the film Inkheart, based on the novel by Cornelia Funke. In 2009, Eliza went on to land the role of Susan in Julian Fellowes’ film From Time to Time.
In 2010, she played the role of Kate Anderson in Johannes Roberts’ thriller film F, Roadkill. In 2012, Eliza portrayed the psychopathic character of Kayleigh in the thriller film Confine; a role for which she received a best supporting actress nomination at the Wild Rose Independent Film Festival, eventually receiving a distinctive achievement award. and also winning Best Actress Award for Confine at CYIFF 2013
In 2012 she played the role of Kayleigh in the film Confine, Alex/Brittany in the 2015 film H8RZ and Agathe Von Trapp in the 2015 film The von Trapp Family: A Life of Music.
Music
Bennett performed a song for Inkheart’s soundtrack, called “My Declaration”, originally written and performed by Tom Baxter.
In 2012, Eliza then went back to musical theatre when she was cast as Holly in the West End musical Loserville. This was first performed at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, before getting a West End transfer to the Garrick Theatre in 2012.
Bennett released her new single “Stole Me” in September 2019.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Prince & Me | Princess Arabella | ||
| 2005 | Nanny McPhee | Tora Brown | ||
| 2005 | Supernova | Haley Richardson | TV film | |
| 2006 | Agatha Christie’s Marple | Nora Johnson | Episode; By the Pricking of My Thumbs | |
| 2007 | The Contractor | Emily Day | ||
| 2008 | Inkheart | Meggie Folchart | Credited as Eliza Hope Bennett | |
| 2009 | From Time to Time | Susan Oldknow | ||
| 2009 | Perfect Life | Young Anne | ||
| 2010 | F | Kate Anderson | ||
| 2011 | Roadkill | Hailey | ||
| 2012 | Grimm’s Snow White | Snow White | ||
| 2012 | Confine | Kayleigh | ||
| 2013 | The Midnight Beast | Amy | ||
| 2014 | BBC Comedy Feeds | Sofie | Flat TV | |
| 2014 | Plebs | Ambrosia | Episode; The Candidate | |
| 2015 | Valentine’s Kiss | Lily Whiteley | ||
| 2015 | Broadchurch | Lisa Newbery | Series 2 | |
| 2015 | Strike Back | Chloe Foster | Series 5 | |
| 2015 | H8RZ | Alex Thomas / Brittany Tammand | ||
| 2015 | The von Trapp Family: A Life of Music | Agathe Von Trapp | ||
| 2016 | Grantchester | Kitty Lawson | Season 2 | |
| 2016–17 | Sweet/Vicious | Jules Thomas | Main role | |
| 2019 | This Is Us | Miss Cunningham | Episode; The Graduates | |
| 2019 – | The Conners | Odessa | Recurring (Season 2-) |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2002 | Chitty Chitty Bang Bang | Jemima Potts | London Palladium | |
| July 2012 | Loserville | Holly Manson | West Yorkshire Playhouse | |
| 2012–13 | Loserville | Holly Manson | Garrick Theatre |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Category | Award | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Best Young Ensemble in a Feature Film for Nanny McPheeShared with Thomas Sangster, Raphaël Coleman, Jennifer Rae Daykin, Holly Gibbs & Samuel Honywood. | Young Artist Award | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Best Supporting Actress for Confine | Wild Rose Independent Film Festival | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Best Leading Actress in a Musical for Loserville | Broadwayworld West End Awards | Nominated | |
| 2013 | Best Actress Award for “Confine” | CYIFF | Won |