Kelly Reilly

Jessica Kelly Siobhán Reilly was born on July 18, 1977, in Chessington, Surrey, England, to a hospital receptionist mother and a police officer father. She attended Tolworth Girls’ School in Kingston, where she pursued drama for her GCSEs. Demonstrating early initiative, Reilly wrote to the producers of the television drama ‘Prime Suspect’ to seek work. This effort led to her first screen role at age 16 in an episode of ‘Prime Suspect 4: Inner Circle,’ broadcast in 1995. This early exposure to the industry set the foundation for her acting journey, which quickly extended to the English stage. She further honed her craft through various theatrical productions, notably working with director Terry Johnson on multiple occasions, including ‘Elton John’s Glasses’ (1997) and ‘Piano/Forte’ (2006). Her stage work in ‘After Miss Julie’ at the Donmar Warehouse in 2003 earned her a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress, making her the youngest actress to receive such a nomination at the age of 26.

Reilly transitioned into prominent film roles in the early 2000s, including appearances in ‘Last Orders’ (2001) and ‘L’Auberge espagnole’ (2002), where she played Wendy, an English Erasmus student. She reprised this role in subsequent sequels, ‘Les Poupées russes’ (2005) and ‘Casse-tête chinois’ (2013). Her performances in films such as ‘Mrs Henderson Presents’ and ‘Pride & Prejudice’ (both 2005) further solidified her presence in the film industry, with ‘Mrs Henderson Presents’ earning her the Empire Award for Best Newcomer. Reilly took on her first lead film role in the horror film ‘Eden Lake’ (2008) and gained significant recognition for her role as Mary Morstan in Guy Ritchie’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ (2009) and its sequel, ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’ (2011).

In American productions, Reilly starred as Nicole Maggen in Robert Zemeckis’ ‘Flight’ (2012) opposite Denzel Washington, a role for which she received the Spotlight Award at the 2012 Hollywood Film Festival. Her television career continued to flourish with lead roles in series such as ABC’s ‘Black Box’ (2014) as Dr. Catherine Black and HBO’s ‘True Detective’ (2015) as Jordan Semyon. Since 2018, Reilly has starred as Beth Dutton in the critically acclaimed Paramount Network series ‘Yellowstone,’ a role for which she has garnered widespread recognition and nominations, including a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2022. She has also taken on executive producer roles for upcoming TV series like ‘Under Salt Marsh’ and ‘The Dutton Ranch’.