Emily Mortimer
Biography
Emily Kathleen Anne Mortimer, born 6 October 1971 in London, England, is a British actress and filmmaker. She began her career in stage productions before moving into film and television, accumulating numerous credits. In 2003 she received the Independent Spirit Award for her performance in Lovely and Amazing. She is recognized for portraying Mackenzie McHale in the HBO series The Newsroom from 2012 to 2014, co‑creating and co‑writing the series Doll & Em (2014–2015), and writing and directing the 2021 miniseries The Pursuit of Love, which earned her a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress. Mortimer also supplied the English voice of Sophie in the 2004 film Howl’s Moving Castle.
Career overview
Emily Kathleen Anne Mortimer was born on 6 October 1971 in London, England. She began her career in stage productions before moving into film and television, amassing more than ninety credited performances. Early on she provided the English‑language voice for the character Sophie in the animated film Howl’s Moving Castle (2004). Her work in film was recognised in 2003 when she received an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in Lovely and Amazing.
On television Mortimer is perhaps best known for playing Mackenzie McHale in the HBO series The Newsroom, which aired from 2012 to 2014. She expanded her creative role by co‑creating and co‑writing the series Doll & Em, which ran from 2014 to 2015. In 2021 she wrote and directed the miniseries The Pursuit of Love, a project that earned her a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress. Throughout her career she has been credited under variations of her name, including Emily Kathleen Mortimer and Emily Kathleen A. Morti, and is noted for both her acting and filmmaking contributions.
Ask the Vault
Ask anything about Emily Mortimer.
Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full filmography
- Ladies First (2026) as Sunny Black
- The Testament of Ann Lee (2025) Thanks
- Jay Kelly (2025) as Candy
- Jay Kelly (2025) Writer
- Jay Kelly (2025) Executive Producer
- Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes (2025) as Cressida Dick
- The Making of Jay Kelly (2025) as Self - Candy / Writer
- Paddington in Peru (2024) as Mary Brown
- The New Look (2024) as Elsa Lombardi
- Be My Guest with Ina Garten (2022) as Self - Guest
- The Spirit of 1926 (2022) as Nettie
- The Pursuit of Love (2021) as The Bolter
- The Pursuit of Love (2021) Director
- The Pursuit of Love (2021) Writer
- The Pursuit of Love (2021) Creator
- With/In Volume 2 (2021) as (segment "Neighborhood Watch")
- Don't Look Deeper (2020) as Sharon
- Relic (2020) as Kay
- I Am A Town (2020) Producer
- Mary (2019) as Sarah
- Good Posture (2019) as Julia Price
- Phil (2019) as Alicia
- To Dust (2019) Producer
- Lost Holiday (2019) as NPR Commentary (voice)
- Mary Poppins Returns (2018) as Jane Banks
- Head Full of Honey (2018) as Sarah
- Write When You Get Work (2018) as Nan Noble
- One Cambodian Family Please for My Pleasure (2018) as Hanka
- The Bookshop (2017) as Florence Green
- The Party (2017) as Jinny
- The Sense of an Ending (2017) as Sarah Ford
- Wig Shop (2017) as Chaya
- Spectral (2016) as Fran Madison
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015) as Self
- 10,000 Saints (2015) as Diane Urbanski
- Ladygrey (2015) as Olive
- Off Camera with Sam Jones (2014) as Self
- Doll & Em (2014) as Em
- Doll & Em (2014) Writer
- Doll & Em (2014) Creator
- Rio, I Love You (2014) as Dorothy (segment "La Fortuna")
- The Newsroom (2012) as MacKenzie McHale
- Cars 2 (2011) as Holley Shiftwell (voice)
- Hugo (2011) as Lisette
- Our Idiot Brother (2011) as Liz Rochlin Byng
- Conan (2010) as Self
- Shutter Island (2010) as Rachel 1
- Leonie (2010) as Leonie
- Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (2009) as Self - Guest
- Harry Brown (2009) as DI Alice Frampton
- The Pink Panther 2 (2009) as Nicole
- City Island (2009) as Molly Charlesworth
- TransSiberian (2008) as Jessie
- Chaos Theory (2008) as Susan Allen
- Redbelt (2008) as Laura Black
- The Graham Norton Show (2007) as Self
- Lars and the Real Girl (2007) as Karin
- 30 Rock (2006) as Phoebe
- The Pink Panther (2006) as Nicole
- Paris Je T'aime (2006) as Frances (Père-Lachaise)
- Rabbit Fever (2006) as Self
- The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2005) as Self
- Match Point (2005) as Chloe Hewett Wilton
- Dear Frankie (2004) as Lizzie
- A Foreign Affair (2004) as Angela Beck
- The Sleeping Dictionary (2003) as Cecil
- Young Adam (2003) as Cathie Dimly
- Bright Young Things (2003) as Nina Blount
- Celebrity Naked Ambition (2003) as Self (archive footage)
- Nobody Needs to Know (2003) as Emily
- Lovely & Amazing (2002) as Elizabeth Marks
- Jeffrey Archer: The Truth (2002) as Lady Diana - Princess of Wales
- Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (2001) as Self - Guest
- The 51st State (2001) as Dakota Parker
- Scream 3 (2000) as Angelina Tyler
- The Kid (2000) as Amy
- The Miracle Maker (2000) as Mary of Nazareth (voice)
- Love's Labour's Lost (2000) as Katherine
- Notting Hill (1999) as Perfect Girl
- Killing Joe (1999)
- Noah's Ark (1999) as Esther
- Elizabeth (1998) as Kat Ashley
- Coming Home (1998) as Judith Dunbar
- Coming Home (1998) as Judith Dunbar
- Cider with Rosie (1998) as Miss Flynn
- Midsomer Murders (1997) as Katherine Lacey
- The Saint (1997) as Woman on Plane
- A Dance to the Music of Time (1997) as Polly Duport
- Silent Witness (1996)
- The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) as Helena Patterson
- No Bananas (1996) as Una
- The Last of the High Kings (1996) as Romy Thomas
- Lord of Misrule (1996) as Emma
- Sharpe's Sword (1995) as Lass
- The Glass Virgin (1995) as Annabella Lagrange
- A Very Open Prison (1995) as Amanda Ellis
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993) as Self - Guest
- LIVE with Kelly and Mark (1988) as Self - Guest
- Screen Two (1985) as Amanda Ellis
- Dennis Director
- Dennis Writer
- Dennis Producer