Childhood
Carey Hannah Mulligan was born in London on May 28, 1985, the second child and only daughter of Liverpudlian hotel manager Steven and Welsh university lecturer Nano. Aged three, Carey moved with her family to Germany after her father took a job managing the European arm of InterContinental Hotels. But she returned to England to attend senior school in Surrey.
Early career
Her interest in acting was sparked after she saw her brother appear in a school production of The King And I. She applied to several drama schools, but various rejections left her questioning her pursuit of a career in the trade. Faced with pressure from her parents to go to university, she fibbed that she had applied – instead taking a part-time job as a barmaid while continuing to follow her dream.
Movie and Broadway success
Carey finally made it after seeking the advice of screenwriter Julian Fellowes, who gave a talk at her boarding school. He put her in touch with a casting director, and as a result, she landed the part of Keira Knightley's little sister in 2005 film Pride and Prejudice. The work flowed steadily in after that, including several TV parts and an acclaimed stint on Broadway. But it wasn't until she played a schoolgirl who falls for an older man in An Education, and the BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Oscar nods that came with it, that her star really began to rocket. With a stellar CV that includes a role opposite Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in Public Enemie and sharing the bill with Michael Douglas in Wall Street follow-up, Money Never Sleeps, there's no doubt Carey is a bona fide star.
In February 2010, Carey was vindicated when her name was read out at the Academy Award nomination ceremony. Suddenly she found herself competing with the likes of Meryl Streep and Dame Helen Mirren for the best actress Oscar. "This is beyond anything I've ever dreamed of," said Carey after witnessing the announcement of the nod from her new home in the US. "I've definitely never felt such excitement and nausea this early in the morning."
Carey's love life
Having previously dated Shia LaBeouf, Carey eventually found love with Mumford and Sons star Marcus Mumford. In August 2011, the I Will Wait hitmaker popped the question just six months after the couple confirmed their relationship.
© Photo: Getty ImagesIn April 2012 the pair said 'I do' in a quaint ceremony in the English countryside on a farm in Somerset. The happy couple is the doting parents to daughter Evelyn Grace, whom they welcomed in September 2015, and their son, Wilfred, whom they welcomed in August 2017. In January 2023, Carey and Marcus revealed they were expecting their third baby.
