Anya Taylor-Joy is an American-born Argentine-British actress who is well-known for playing the role of Casey Cooke in the psychological horror-thriller films Split (2016) and Glass (2019). In 2020, she rose to fame for her performance in the Netflix miniseries The Queen’s Gambit (2020) as Beth Harmon. The character and the plot of the show were loved by the critics and they really appreciated her acting.
Wiki/Biography
Anya Taylor-Joy was born as Anya Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy on Tuesday, April 16, 1996 (age 25 years; as of 2021), in Miami, Florida. The family moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina when Anya was very young, and they stayed there till she was six years old. The family then moved to London, United Kingdom, but Anya didn’t approve of the move and decided to not learn English for two years hoping her parents will consider moving back to Argentina. Before moving to London, Anya attended Northlands School in Argentine. After moving to London, she went to Hill House International Junior School in Chelsea, and then went to Queen’s Gate School, South Kensington for higher education. At the age of 16, Anya dropped out of school and decided to pursue acting. After getting scouted for modeling, Anya made her debut as an actress in an episode of the detective drama series ‘Endeavour’ in 2014.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Black
Family & Ethnicity
Anya Taylor-Joy is an American born with her parental roots of Spanish and Scottish descent.
Parents & Siblings
Anya’s father’s name is Dennis Alan Taylor who is of Scottish-Argentine heritage. He was an international banker who changed his career and became a professional racer in offshore powerboat racing. Anya’s mother’s name is Jennifer Marina Joy, and she is a psychologist. She was born in Zambia in a family of English and Spanish descent. She has five elder brothers and sisters.
Anya Taylor (right) with her parents and siblings
Anya Taylor-Joy with her mother, Jennifer Marina Joy
Relationships & Boyfriends
Anya is in a relationship with Ben Seed. He is a photographer by profession.
Anya Taylor-Joy with her boyfriend, Ben Seed
Career
Films
Anya began working in the movies, and she was appreciated by the critics for her lead role as ‘Thomasin’ in the horror film ‘The Witch.’ The film premiered during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and it was released in the theatres in 2016. In 2016, Anya Taylor starred in a science fiction horror film ‘Morgan’ which was directed by Luke Scott. Later, she starred in Vikram Gandhi’s drama film ‘Barry,’ in which she played the role of Charlotte Baughman, one of Barack Obama’s close friends. The film was based on the life of a young Barack Obama in New York City in 1981. In 2017, Anya Taylor-Joy got the opportunity to play the lead role in M. Night Shyamalan’s horror thriller movie ‘Split.’ After the movie Split, Anya also starred in the horror mystery film Marrowbone, and in the dark comedy thriller Thoroughbreds (2017). In 2019, Anya reprised her role of Casey Cooke from the movie ‘Split,’ and she worked in the movie ‘Glass.’
Anya has also appeared in several documentary films like ‘Love, Antosha,’ and she played the role of Irene Curie in the biographical drama film, Radioactive. In 2020, she played the character of Emma Woodhouse in a comedy-drama film Emma, which was a film adaption of Jane Austin’s novel ‘Emma.’ She then starred in the film ‘Here Are the Young Men,’ and she also starred as the fictional character Magik in the superhero horror movie ‘The New Mutants.’ The film was released in August 2020, and it is the final installment in the X-Men film series.
Anya Taylor-Joy in the Poster of ‘The New Mutants’
Digital/OTT
Anya made her digital debut with the British television detective drama series Endeavour. She also appeared in several episodes of the fantasy adventure drama series Atlantis. In December 2017, Anya Taylor-Joy starred in The Miniaturist, a BBC One drama miniseries. Anya also got the opportunity to play in the BBC One crime drama series Peaky Blinders and the Netflix fantasy drama series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance in 2020. In 2020, Anya played the lead role of Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy in the Netflix miniseries, The Queen’s Gambit. The series and Anya’s performance in the series was critically acclaimed.
Music Videos
Anya featured in the music video of the song ‘Red Lips’ by the artists GTA and Sam Bruno. The song is a remixed version of the original track and the remix is done by American DJ Skrillex. She was also a part of the music video for Hozier’s song ‘Dinner & Diatribes.’
Awards/Honors
- Won the Gotham Independent Film Awards in the ‘Breakthrough Actor’ category for the movie ‘The Witch’ in 2016.
Anya Taylor-Joy holding the Gotham Independent Film Award for ‘Breakthrough Actor’
- Won the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award in the ‘Breakthrough Performance’ category for the movie ‘The Witch’ in 2016.
- Won the Fright Meter Awards in the ‘Best Actress in a Leading Role’ category for the movie ‘The Witch’ in 2016.
- Won the New Mexico Film Critics Award in the ‘Best Young Actress’ category for the movie ‘The Witch’ in 2016.
- Won the Empire Awards in the ‘Best Female Newcomer’ category for the movie ‘The Witch’ in 2017.
Anya Taylor-Joy with the Empire Award for the ‘best female newcomer’
- Won the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards in the ‘Best Actress’ category for the movie ‘The Witch’ in 2017.
- Won the Seattle Film Critics Society Award in the ‘Best Youth Performance’ for the movie ‘The Witch’ in 2017.
- Won the Cannes Film Festival Award in the ‘Trophee Chopard’ category in 2017.
Anya Taylor-Joy (middle) receiving the Trophee Chopard with George MacKay (right) and Charlize Theron (left)
Favorite Things
- Singer: Rihanna, Beyonce
Facts/Trivia
- Anya’s father was an investment banker, but he switched careers and became a professional powerboat racer. He won 2 Union Internationale Motonautique world championships.
- The Netflix series ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ is based on the novel by American novelist Walter Tevis. It became the most-watched scripted series by Netflix in 2020. In reaction to the news, Taylor-Joy said-
I get overwhelmed quite easily. My brain can’t picture more people than 5,000, so 62 million households having seen it is something I can’t grasp. When things become this successful, it’s not about you any more – it belongs to everybody. I prefer that, I think.”
- Anya had to read the novel ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ by novelist Walter Tevis to understand and prepare herself for the character. After reading the book, she felt connected to the character; however, she had never played a single game of chess before in her life. To teach Anya chess, former Chess World Champion Garry Kasparov and famous chess coach Bruce Pandolfini were invited as consultants.
The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis
- While working for the movie ‘Emma,’ Anya filmed an unforgettable scene in which her character was supposed to suffer a sudden nosebleed during a moment of high emotion. However, Taylor-Joy managed to bleed from her right nostril and the crew was concerned at first, but they decided to continue with the shot and capture it on film.
- Anya Taylor-Joy has worked with many brands, and she is the brand ambassador of the ‘Flowerbomb’ collection launched by the brand Viktor and Rolf Fragrances.
Anya Taylor-Joy promoting the ‘Flowerbomb’ collection from Viktor and Rolf Fragrances
- Anya Taylor-Joy never took care of her skin, however, during the COVID-19 lockdown period, Anya started taking care of her skin. She is a big fan of toners, and she usually prepares a mix herself. The most often mix used by her is almond oil and rose water mixed together because these two ingredients are easily available. Anya’s self-care routine also involves taking long baths in the tub with oils and salts infused water. She is a spiritual person, and the act of getting into a bathtub and cleaning herself is therapeutic for her.
- During the first lockdown, Anya was stuck in London, and to keep herself calm and relaxed; she would often go out for morning walks. The longest walk she did during the lockdown period was for almost nine hours. Anya also spent her lockdown reading books to keep herself busy.
- During an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, Anya talked about her love for perfumes and fragrances. Anya told the interviewer that she has terrible eyesight and because of this her sense of smell is very acute. She is obsessed with scents, and several scents often take her back to her childhood.
- Anya Taylor-Joy has been a vegetarian since she was eight years old. She follows a vegan diet whenever she can since she travels a lot because of her movie shootings and schedules. She also uses cruelty-free beauty products as she believes in making environmentally conscious choices as a consumer.
- When Anya decided to drop out of her school, she wrote a note informing her parents of her decision, and her parents were thrilled with her decision. During an interview, Anya told about this incident and said-
My youngest older sister is seven years older than me so I said to them, ‘look, I’m your youngest child, I’ve dropped out of school and you have no obligation to be here anymore. Go out and travel the world! Enjoy yourselves and spend time together.’ I stayed at home in South West London with my sister – and my parents are still traveling to this day.”
- Anya Taylor-Joy is working with the English director Edgar Wright in the upcoming psychological horror film ‘Last Night in Soho.’ The movie is set to release in April 2021. In October 2020, she became a part of the cast for Furiosa, a spin-off of Mad Max: Fury Road. She will also work with the filmmaker Robert Eggers for his upcoming historical revenge film ‘The Northman.’ The other members of the cast are Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, and Willem Dafoe.
Poster of ‘Last Night In Soho’
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