In all of these films and shows, Grainger has managed not only to prove her professionalism, but also to make historical periods vivid and alive, as she puts her own touch on each project, making the viewer interested and involved.

Manchester beginnings

Holliday Grainger was born on March 27, 1988, in Didsbury, Manchester, England. This actress is not just a professional, but has a lot to tell; her biography tells her story. As Grainger started acting quite early – in her childhood, so now, having become a popular actress, she can give more to her roles, having already mastered acting craft and being more mature at the time of performing roles. In her roles, an experienced actress does not need long scenes or special phrases; she usually uses small facial expressions, making them tell everything. This feature makes her stand out in the crowd of modern actresses and also proves her great talents and professional skills.

The actress developed an unusual technique, which she used in all her later works. It was necessary that her appearance be convincing, elegant, but also smart and attractive enough. At any point, her expression always suggests much – that her characters have some secrets and problems that will be revealed later. Therefore, the actress usually needs only small details, gestures, expressions for the viewer to believe everything she tells in her roles.

Breakthrough on screen

Grainger made her breakthrough in the movie industry in 2011 with The Borgias. Her first leading role was played here – that of Lucrezia Borgia, a legendary woman from Italian history. It is necessary to say that playing historical characters is one of the advantages of this actress due to their complexity and the necessity to look beautiful on the screen at any moment. Besides, the actress had already had experience in playing historical roles and therefore was quite successful in them. This role made her gain huge popularity in America – in 2011 the series became quite popular and viewers became crazy about her roles and talent as an actress.

Following the previous success, the actress played another literary character in 2012 – Estella from the movie Great Expectations, based on one of Charles Dickens' novels. Playing such characters as Estella or Lucrezia Borgia is something quite peculiar to this talented actress; she was able to show her acting abilities here successfully, impressing all the viewers. That year she starred in two more successful movies – Bel Ami and Anna Karenina.

In 2014, the actress played a completely new character for her roles in a movie called The Riot Club, which tells about excess, luxurious living, and high status. Later she acted in one of the Disney films called Cinderella, where the actress played the role of one of the sisters, Anastasia Tremaine. She played it perfectly, adding a lot of humour to the image of the heroine.

Some of her best known roles include:

  • playing Lucrezia Borgia in The Borgias in 2011
  • playing Estella in Great Expectations in 2012
  • playing a role in Bel Ami in 2012
  • playing a role in Anna Karenina in 2012
  • playing a role in The Riot Club in 2014
  • playing Anastasia Tremaine in Cinderella in 2015
  • playing the role of Robin Ellacott in Strike from 2017

Range and recognition

It became clear after watching these films featuring her that this wonderful actress cannot act only in historical or literary works. For example, her next great performance was seen by the audience in the BBC adaptations of the Cormoran Strike novels called Strike. Here the actress played detective Robin Ellacott – the main female lead of this series.

Being a practical, clever girl, the actress showed in her role all these characteristics of the character. Besides, in this particular role, she was also able to develop the inner emotions of the character very well; thus, viewers are able to watch the development of the character throughout the series. This is what makes such a good impression about the movies of the actress as there are not long dialogues in them, but a lot of nuances are shown during the movies.

Also, the actress played a great role in The Trial of Christine Keeler, where she was Mandy Rice-Davies. Again, it was a complex role to play, and the actress did it really well – showing all the subtleties of the character with her wit, charm, and self-protection.

What can be concluded is that Holliday Grainger is a great choice for roles where women have something to hide, protect, or be judged for. Such characters are perfect to show the range and talent of the actress.

What makes Holliday Grainger stand out is the great variety of works that she has performed in. Having played many times such difficult, but at the same time very interesting parts like historical personages, the actress still continues to surprise her viewers with her roles and talent. For those curious about this amazing actress's biography, here is the summary: she is a British actress who was born and raised in Manchester.