Phoebe Mary Waller-Bridge (born 14 July 1985) is an English actress, writer, and television producer. She is best known as the creator, head writer, and star of the BBC tragicomedy series Fleabag (2016–2019). She was showrunner, head writer and executive producer for the first series of Killing Eve (2018–present), which she adapted for television. Both Fleabag and Killing Eve are highly acclaimed and have been named among the 100 greatest television series of the 21st century by The Guardian, with the former ranked at No. 8 and the latter at No. 30. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.
For Fleabag, Waller-Bridge received the British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance, three Primetime Emmy Awards (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Comedy Series), and two Golden Globe Awards (Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy and Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy).
Waller-Bridge created, wrote and starred in the 2016 Channel 4 comedy series Crashing. She starred in the comedy series The Café (2011–2013) and the second series of crime drama series Broadchurch (2015). She has appeared in films such as Albert Nobbs (2011), The Iron Lady (2011), Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017), and as L3-37 in the Star Wars film Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). Waller-Bridge also contributed to the screenplay of the upcoming James Bond film No Time to Die (2021).
Early life
Phoebe Mary Waller-Bridge was born in West London on 14 July 1985, the daughter of Theresa Mary Waller-Bridge (née Clerke) and Michael Cyprian Waller-Bridge. Her father founded the electronic trading platform Tradepoint, while her mother works for the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers. The Waller-Bridge family were landed gentry of Cuckfield in Sussex. On her father’s side, she is also a descendant of Egerton Leigh, Conservative MP for Mid Cheshire from 1873 to his death in 1876. Her maternal grandfather was Sir John Edward Longueville Clerke, 12th Baronet, of Hitcham, Buckinghamshire.
Waller-Bridge grew up in London’s Ealing district, and has two siblings: an older sister named Isobel Waller-Bridge, a composer with whom she has collaborated, and a younger brother named Jasper, a music manager. Her parents are divorced. She was educated at St Augustine’s Priory, a Catholic independent school for girls, followed by the independent sixth form college DLD College London in the Marylebone area of London. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Career
In 2009, Waller-Bridge starred in the play Roaring Trade at Soho Theatre. In 2013, Waller-Bridge appeared in one episode of Bad Education as “India”. She appeared in the second series of drama Broadchurch in 2015. In addition to acting she is a playwright, having written work such as the series Good. Clean. Fun.
In 2016, she wrote and starred in the Channel 4 sitcom Crashing and BBC Three’s adaptation of Fleabag. After an initial release on BBC Three, Fleabag was broadcast on BBC Two from August 2016. It was picked up by the on-demand Amazon Video service and premiered in the United States in September 2016. For her performance in the series she won the British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance and was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. Fleabag’s second and final series aired in 2019. For the second series, Waller-Bridge received Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Comedy Series.
Waller-Bridge (centre) at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2013
Waller-Bridge is the co-artistic director, with Vicky Jones, of DryWrite Theatre Company. The two women met and became friends while working on theatre productions.
She voiced and performed droid L3-37 in the Star Wars film Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018).
Waller-Bridge wrote and produced the thriller television series Killing Eve based on novels by Luke Jennings, she was also the showrunner for season 1. The BBC America series stars Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer and premiered in April 2018 to critical acclaim. For her work on the series, she received nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Drama Series, the latter as a producer.
In March 2019, HBO ordered the series Run, which was executive-produced by Waller-Bridge and starred Domhnall Gleeson and Merritt Wever in lead roles. Waller-Bridge also featured in the series with a recurring role as the character Laurel. It was cancelled after one season.
In 2019, Waller-Bridge co-wrote the screenplay for No Time to Die (2021), the 25th James Bond film, along with Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Cary Joji Fukunaga. It was stated she was brought on to introduce “more humour and the offbeat style of writing she is best known for.”
In 2020, Waller-Bridge recurred in season 2 of His Dark Materials where she voices Sayan Kötör.
Personal life
Waller-Bridge lives in the Shoreditch area of London. She married Irish presenter and documentary filmmaker Conor Woodman in 2014. By 2017, they had separated and filed for divorce, which was finalised in 2018. Since early 2018, she has been in a relationship with English-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh.
She describes herself as an atheist, although she says she “hopped around a bit from religion to religion” while growing up in London.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | The Reward | Charlotte | Short film |
| 2011 | Beautiful Enough | Composer (voice) | Short film |
| Meconium | Lorna | Short film | |
| Albert Nobbs | Viscountess Yarrell | ||
| The Iron Lady | Susie | ||
| 2015 | Man Up | Katie | |
| 2017 | Goodbye Christopher Robin | Mary Brown | |
| 2018 | Solo: A Star Wars Story | L3-37 (voice) | |
| 2019 | National Theatre Live: Fleabag | Fleabag | Also writer |
| 2021 | No Time to Die | N/A | Co-screenwriter (with Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Cary Joji Fukunaga) |
Television
| Year | Title | Credited as | Role | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actress | Creator | Writer | Executive Producer |
||||
| 2009 | Doctors | Yes | No | No | No | Katie Burbridge | Episode: “Chef’s Secret” |
| 2010 | How Not to Live Your Life | Yes | No | No | No | Felicity | Episode: “Don’s Posh Weekend” |
| 2011 | The Night Watch | Yes | No | No | No | Lauren | Television film |
| 2011–2013 | The Café | Yes | No | No | No | Chloe Astill | 13 episodes |
| 2013 | Coming Up | Yes | No | No | No | Karen | Episode: “Henry” |
| London Irish | Yes | No | No | No | Steph | Episode: “#1.2” | |
| Bad Education | Yes | No | No | No | India | Episode: “Drugs” | |
| 2014 | Blandings | Yes | No | No | No | Felicity | Episode: “Custody of the Pumpkin” |
| Glue | Yes | No | No | No | Bee Warwick | 2 episodes | |
| Drifters | No | No | Yes | No | None | 3 episodes | |
| 2015 | Broadchurch | Yes | No | No | No | Abby Thompson | 8 episodes |
| Flack | Yes | No | No | No | Eve | Television film | |
| 2016 | Crashing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Lulu | 6 episodes |
| 2016–2019 | Fleabag | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Fleabag | 12 episodes |
| 2018–present | Killing Eve | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | None | 24 episodes |
| 2019 | Saturday Night Live | Yes | No | No | No | Herself (host) | Episode: “Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift” |
| 2020 | Run | Yes | No | No | Yes | Laurel Halliday | 3 episodes |
| His Dark Materials | Yes | No | No | No | Sayan Kötör (voice) | 2 episodes | |
| 2021 | Staged | Yes | No | No | No | Herself | Episode: “The Loo Recluse” |
| 2022 | Mr. & Mrs. Smith | Yes | No | No | Yes | Jane Smith | |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Is Everyone OK? | Performer | Latitude Festival, Suffolk | |
| Crazy Love | Billie | Paines Plough | ||
| 2008 | Twelfth Night | Viola | Sprite Productions | |
| 2009 | Roaring Trade | Jess | Soho Theatre, London | |
| 2 May 1997 | Sarah | The Bush Theatre, London | ||
| Rope | Leila Arden | Almeida Theatre, London | ||
| 2010 | Like a Fishbone | Intern | The Bush Theatre, London | |
| Tribes | Ruth | Royal Court Theatre, London | ||
| 2011 | Hay Fever | Sorel Bliss | Noël Coward Theatre, London | |
| 2012 | Mydidae | Marian | Soho Theatre, London | |
| Trafalgar Studios, West End | ||||
| 2013 | Fleabag | Fleabag | Underbelly, Cowgate | |
| 2014 | The One | Jo | Soho Theatre, London | |
| 2015 | Fleabag | Fleabag | Salisbury Playhouse | |
| 2019 | SoHo Playhouse | |||
| Wyndham’s Theatre |
Music video appearances
| Year | Title | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | “Savior Complex” | Phoebe Bridgers | Director only |
| 2021 | “Treat People With Kindness” | Harry Styles |
Works and publications
- Waller-Bridge, Phoebe (1 January 2013). Fleabag. London: Nick Hern Books. ISBN 978-1-84-842364-0. OCLC 894546593.
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Evening Standard Award | Most Promising Playwright | Fleabag | Nominated | |
| 2014 | Critics’ Circle Theatre Award | Most Promising Playwright | Won | ||
| Laurence Olivier Award | Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre | Nominated | |||
| The Off West End Theatre Award | Best Female Performance | Won | |||
| Most Promising New Playwright | Won | ||||
| 2016 | Critics’ Choice Television Award | Best Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
| Best Comedy Series | Nominated | ||||
| 2017 | Royal Television Society Award | Breakthrough Star | Won | ||
| Writer – Comedy | Won | ||||
| BAFTA TV Craft Award | Best Writer – Comedy | Nominated | |||
| Breakthrough Talent Award | Crashing / Fleabag | Nominated | |||
| BAFTA TV Award | Best Female Performance in a Comedy | Fleabag | Won | ||
| Best Scripted Comedy | Nominated | ||||
| Gold Derby Award | Best Comedy Actress | Nominated | |||
| Best Breakthrough Performer of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Best Comedy Series | Nominated | ||||
| TCA Award | Individual Achievement in Comedy | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Achievement in Comedy | Nominated | ||||
| Gotham Award | Breakthrough Series – Long Form | Nominated | |||
| 2018 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | Killing Eve | Nominated | |
| Gotham Award | Breakthrough Series – Long Form | Won | |||
| 2019 | Golden Globe Award | Best Television Series – Drama | Nominated | ||
| BAFTA TV Craft Award | Best Writer – Drama | Nominated | |||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Solo Performance | Fleabag | Nominated | ||
| Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance | Nominated | |||
| TCA Award | Individual Achievement in Comedy | Won | |||
| Program of the Year | Won | ||||
| Outstanding Achievement in Comedy | Won | ||||
| Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Won | |||
| Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series | Won | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Won | ||||
| Outstanding Drama Series | Killing Eve | Nominated | |||
| Gold Derby Award | Best Comedy Actress | Fleabag | Won | ||
| Best Comedy Episode of the Year (“Episode 2.1”) | Won | ||||
| Best Comedy Episode of the Year (“Episode 2.6”) | Nominated | ||||
| Performer of the Year | Won | ||||
| Best Comedy Series | Won | ||||
| Best Drama Series | Killing Eve | Nominated | |||
| Britannia Award | British Artist of the Year | Herself | Won | ||
| 2020 | Satellite Award | Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Series | Fleabag | Won | |
| Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy | Won | ||||
| Golden Globe Award | Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy | Won | |||
| Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy | Won | ||||
| Best Television Series – Drama | Killing Eve | Nominated | |||
| Critics’ Choice Television Award | Best Actress in a Comedy Series | Fleabag | Won | ||
| Best Comedy Series | Won | ||||
| Dorian Award | TV Comedy of the Year | Won | |||
| TV Performance of the Year—Actress | Won | ||||
| Wilde Wit of the Year | Herself | Won | |||
| Wilde Artist of the Decade | Nominated | ||||
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series | Fleabag | Won | ||
| Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Nominated | ||||
| BAFTA TV Craft Award | Best Writer – Comedy | Nominated | |||
| BAFTA TV Award | Best Female Performance in a Comedy | Nominated | |||
| Best Scripted Comedy | Nominated | ||||
| Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Nominated | |||
| Best New Comedy | Nominated | ||||
| Gold Derby Award | Best Comedy Guest Actress | Saturday Night Live | Nominated | ||
| Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Drama Series | Killing Eve | Nominated | |||
| Time 100 | Artists | N/A | Included |