Emma Mackey

Tachard-Mackey^[5] was born 4 January 1996^[6][7][1] in Le Mans, the daughter of a French father and an English mother.^[8][9] Her father is a school headmaster.^[7] She grew up in Sablé-sur-Sarthe,^[8] and received her baccalauréat in 2013 in l'académie de Nantes, a French school district,^[1] subsequently moving to England to study English language and literature at the University of Leeds.^[8] She graduated in 2016.^[10]

Mackey was cast in her first professional role with the Netflix comedy-drama series Sex Education^[11][12] as Maeve Wiley, an intelligent, quick-witted, business-savvy "bad girl" who persuades fellow student Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) to start an underground sex therapy business at their school.^[13][14] She said, "For me, this is my first piece of work ... It was—and still is—a really happy time."^[15] Mackey's work on the series earned her acclaim.^[16] The Hindustan Times wrote, "Emma Mackey, as Maeve, is a revelation; perhaps the best performance by a young British actress I've seen since I discovered Florence Pugh. She's alluring yet distant, pragmatic yet emotional, whip-smart yet foolishly in love."^[16] For the role, she received a British Academy Television Award nomination in 2021^[3] and won a National Comedy Award in 2022.^[17]

In 2021, Mackey appeared in the independent romantic drama film Eiffel,^[18] which premiered at the Alliance Française French Film Festival and earned numerous international theatrical releases;^[19] it grossed $13.6 million worldwide.^[20] Review site DoItInParis wrote that Mackey "radiates mischief in the boots of a rebellious and entire provincial bourgeoisie, a bit capricious but madly endearing."^[21] In 2022, she starred in the mystery thriller film Death on the Nile,^[22] a sequel to 2017's Murder on the Orient Express, in the supporting role of Jacqueline de Bellefort.^[23][24] Mackey had her first lead film role as the novelist Emily Brontë in the partly fictional 2022 film Emily,^[25][26] focusing on Brontë's early life.^[27] In 2023, she appeared in the fantasy comedy film Barbie^[28] and became the brand ambassador for Burberry's Goddess perfume, in print^[29] and commercials.^[30] in 2025, she played the title role in the romantic comedy Ella McCay, directed by James L. Brooks. In April 2025, Mackey was cast as the White Witch in Greta Gerwig's 2026 adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia.^[31]

Mackey lives in London as a dual French-British citizen.^[32]

• List of British actors