Anna Maxwell Martin has been a regular fixture on our screens over the past few months, thanks to her roles in Ludwig, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, and the upcoming ITV true-crime drama, Until I Kill You, in which she stars opposite Shaun Evans.
The BAFTA-winning actress shot to fame after playing Esther Summerson in the BBC's 2005 adaptation of Bleak House, which led to later roles in Line of Duty, Hollington Drive and Motherland. But how much do you know about the Yorkshire-born star's life away from the cameras? Here's what we know…
Anna's late husband, director Roger Michell
From 2010 to 2020, Anna was married to director Roger Michell, who was best known for directing Notting Hill, Venus, The Duke, and the BBC's 1995 film adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion.
The couple met back in 2004 when Roger directed the actress in an adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel, Enduring Love. At the time, Anna was 26 and Roger was 48.
© Dan Wooller/ShutterstockThey wed in 2010 and went on to welcome two daughters together, Maggie and Nancy, who are both now teenagers.
In 2020, Anna and Roger went their separate ways but remained friends, with Anna describing her former husband as her "friend and sounding board" in a recent interview.
Opening up about their close relationship, she told The Telegraph in September: "I didn't fall out of love with Roger. But sometimes a marriage can't continue for certain reasons and for me it couldn't continue. I still love Roger very much and I miss him desperately.
© Matt Frost"He was my friend and my sounding board. He was also a lot older than me. He was my boss when I met him. It all sounds inappropriate now but it was a different time [then]. He was the person I would go to, to ask, 'Is this all right?'"
In September 2021, Roger died suddenly at the age of 65. Anna, who had appeared in his final film The Duke, opened up about her loss in 2022. The actress, who was developing a new project with her ex-husband at the time of his death, told The Guardian: "We didn't have grudges. I don't operate like that, Roger didn't really operate like that.
"It's very sad if you separate, it's devastating, and you hope you'll come back around, after a period of time, where you'll be … When Roger died, I lost one of my best friends. I see it as that."
© BBCExpanding on their separation, she recently told The Telegraph: "It was mutual, and he knew I was there for him. There are a lot of complicated things around losing a loved one when you are separated. What your place is and who you are. But your grief is the same, you know, as if [you are still together.] A lot of my focus was on our children."
Anna on life after Roger's death
During a recent interview on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, Anna revealed she experienced "financial terror" after Roger passed away. "My husband died three years ago and things were really difficult in every aspect of our lives," the actress began. "One of those was financial terror and then there are real practicalities around your children and their mental health and supporting them, which is your priority.
"Looking back, I was probably in a state of shock and fear, and a heightened state for a long time, actually until very recently," she continued.
© Tristan Fewings"I've trod this road before of grief and sudden traumatic death," said Anna, referring to the death of her father Ivan Martin when she was 24. "In a way, I can pick myself up and do it again. It was horrible to have to see my children walk that road. But I'm pretty gritty, pretty strong and thinking I'm quite deft at navigating life and I thought, 'I've just got to keep the motor chugging on'," she added.
Anna's new boyfriend
Anna was first linked to camera operator Rich Cornelius in August 2022. The pair reportedly met on the set of Sky comedy, Code 404.
© @annamaxwellmartin/InstagramOpening up about her long-term romance in a recent interview, she told The Telegraph: "He's a very practical person – a very solid, steady guy. A super person. Just what I need."
While Anna hasn't publicly named her partner, she often shares snaps of her and Rich on Instagram, including one of the pair on a group holiday with fellow actor Jason Watkins and his wife, Clara Francis, and another of the Bleak House star planting a kiss on Rich's cheek.
