Rebecca Ferguson
Born: October 19, 1983
Age: 41
Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden
Rebecca Louisa Ferguson Sundström (born 19 October 1983), known professionally as Rebecca Ferguson, is a Swedish actress. She is best known for her lead role as Elizabeth Woodville in The White Queen (2013), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination, and her starring role as Ilsa Faust in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015).
Early life
Ferguson grew up in the Vasastan district in central Stockholm. Her mother, Rosemary, is British, and moved to Sweden from the United Kingdom at the age of 25. Rebecca attended an English-speaking school in Sweden and was raised bilingual, speaking Swedish and English.
From the age of 13, she worked as a model and appeared in magazines and on television commercials for cosmetic, apparel and jewelry advertisements.
Ferguson has danced from a very early age; she did ballet, tap-dancing, jazz and street funk and Tango. She taught Argentine tango at a dance company in Lund, Sweden for a few years, while she continued her work on several short art film projects.
Ferguson attended the Adolf Fredrik's Music School in Stockholm and graduated in 1999.
Career
She came into prominence with her breakout role of upper-class girl Anna Gripenhielm in the soap-opera Nya tider. She went on to later play Chrissy in the Swedish-American soap Ocean Ave.
Swedish director Richard Hobert spotted her at the Simrishamn town market in 2011, which led to her starring in his film A One - Way to Antibes. She has also appeared in the horror film Strandvaskaren and the 2012 film Vi alongside Gustaf Skarsgård.
In August 2012, it was announced Ferguson had been cast to play Elizabeth Woodville in the ten-part BBC historical drama The White Queen, based on Philippa Gregory's The Cousins' War novels about the women of the Wars of the Roses. Ferguson's work in The White Queen has been met with praise, earning her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film.
In 2015, Ferguson played Ilsa Faust, the female lead in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, for which she was highly praised. She will reprise her role in the sixth Mission: Impossible film.
Her upcoming projects are Shamim Sarif's Despite the Falling Snow; Stephen Frears' Florence Foster Jenkins, opposite Meryl Streep; Tate Taylor's The Girl on the Train; Tomas Alfredson's The Snowman, opposite Michael Fassbender and Charlotte Gainsbourg and will play the lead in Daniel Espinosa's sci-fi Life.
Personal life
In 2007, Ferguson gave birth to a son, Isac, with former boyfriend Ludwig Hallberg. After her soap opera success and the birth of her son, she moved with her boyfriend to Simrishamn, on the Swedish south coast. The couple separated in April 2015.
Filmography
Film
Title | Year | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Strandvaskaren | 2004 | Amanda | |
Plus | 2008 | Short film | |
Irresistible | 2009 | Woman | Short film |
Flyga, inte dala | 2009 | Short film | |
Lennart | 2009 | Short film | |
Arkiv | 2010 | Short film | |
A One-Way Trip to Antibes | 2011 | Maria | |
Vi | 2012 | Linda | |
Cold Night | 2013 | ||
Hercules | 2014 | Ergenia | |
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation | 2015 | Ilsa Faust | |
Despite the Falling Snow | 2016 | Katya / Lauren | Post-production |
Florence Foster Jenkins | 2016 | Kathleen | |
The Girl on the Train | 2016 | Anna | Filming |
The Snowman | 2017 | Katrine Bratt | Filming |
Television
Title | Year | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Nya tider | 1999-2001 | Anna Gripenhielm | 54 episodes |
Ocean Ave. | 2002 | Chrissy Eriksson | Episode: "#1.5" |
Wallander | 2008 | Louise Fredman | Episode: "Sidetracked" |
The Vatican | 2013 | Olivia Borghese | Television film |
The Inspector and The Sea | 2013 | Jasmine Larsson | Episode: "Der Wolf im Schafspelz" |
The White Queen | 2013 | Elizabeth Woodville | Main role 10 episodes |
The Red Tent | 2014 | Dinah | Lifetime mini-series |
Awards and nominations
Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Golden Globe Awards | Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film | The White Queen | Nominated |
2015 | Hamptons International Film Festival | Breakthrough Performer | N/A | Won |
Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress in an Action Movie | Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation | Nominated | |
2016 | Empire Awards | Empire Award for Best Female Newcomer | Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation | Nominated |