A British-American actress, model, and fashion designer, Sienna Miller, rose to fame for her prominent roles in movies like Layer Cake and Alfie in 2004, Factory Girl in 2006, The Edge of Love in 2008 and the 2009 science fiction film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra , Her exemplary performance in The Edge of Love won her the ShoWest Award for Best Supporting Actress, while her role of Tippi Hedren in the 2012 TV film The Girl made her popular among audiences and got her nominated for BAFTA TV Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.
Early life
Born in New York City to a South African-born former English model, Josephine, and an American banker and Chinese art dealer, Edwin Miller, the actress’ family moved to London when she was around one year old. She has one sister, Savannah, two half-brothers, Charles and Stephen, and a step brother, Tanner. Miller studied at the Heathfield School in Ascot, Berkshire, post which she attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York City for a year.
The actress dedicated her teenage years to study acting and modelling in New York City. She gained popularity while modelling for Coca-Cola, Italian Vogue, and created a lot of buzz when she posed topless in the 2003 Pirelli Calendar. Not only this, she also modelled for Pepe Jeans London.
Personal life
Miller started to date her Alfie co-star Jude Law and later got engaged to him on Christmas 2004. This did not last long as Law was found having an affair with the nanny of his children, which forced Miller to separate from him, ending their relationship in November 2006. Then in 2008, the actress was rumored to have an affair with married actor Balthazar Getty. 2009 saw Law and Miller get back together, but this too didn’t work out well, and so they split again in February 2011. After this, the actress started dating actor Tom Sturridge, with whom she has a daughter, Marlowe Ottoline Layng Sturridge.
Theatre career
Miller has been actively involved in theatre plays. In 2005, she featured in the stage production of William Shakespeare's As You Like It, directed by David Lan, at the Wyndham Theatre. In 2009, she was seen in the play After Miss Julie at the American Airlines Theatre. She followed this up with Flare Path in 2011 at Theatre Royal Haymarket, and Cabaret in 2015 in the role of Sally Bowles at Studio 54, Broadway.
Movie career
Sienna Miller stepped into the film industry in 2001 with the Italian-British romantic comedy film South Kensington, under the direction of Carlo Vanzina, co-starring Elle Macpherson and Rupert Everett. She appeared in High Speed in 2002, and then featured in the British crime thriller Layer Cake directed by Matthew Vaughn, the screenplay of which was adapted by J. J. Connolly from his novel of the same name. This movie revolves around a London-based criminal portrayed by Daniel Craig, in which Miller co-stars with Tom Hardy and Colm Meaney.
The actress' next was the 2004 romantic comedy-drama Alfie, based on the 1966 British film of the same name, alongside Jude Law. In this film, written, directed, and produced by Charles Shyer, Miller portrayed the role of a beautiful young woman Nikki. It also starred Marisa Tomei, Susan Sarandon and Renée Taylor in important roles. In her 2005 release Casanova, she was seen as the female lead opposite Heath Ledger, after which she was seen in the role of a socialite Edie Sedgwick in Factory Girl. Steve Buscemi's 2007 film Interview, which was a remake of Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh's 2003 movie of the same name, starred Miller in the role of a soap opera star, Katya. It also featured Steve Buscemi, Tara Elders and Molly Griffith. For Interview, she was nominated for Best Female Lead at Independent Spirit Awards, and British Actress of the Year at London Film Critics Circle Awards. In the same year, she was seen in the romantic fantasy adventure film Stardust, directed by Matthew Vaughn, based on Neil Gaiman's 1999 novel of the same name. The movie featured an ensemble cast including Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, Sienna Miller, Jason Flemyng, Mark Strong, Robert De Niro, and Peter O'Toole. It earned positive reviews and won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form in 2008. It was certified fresh, and won a handful of awards.
In 2008, Gregory Mackenzie's romantic comedy Camille starred Miller and James Franco as two ill-matched newlyweds and revolved around their honeymoon trip to Niagara Falls. In the year, she also starred in The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, the film version of writer Michael Chabon's novel. She essayed the role of Jane Bellwether, who is a minor character in the novel, but plays a leading lady in the movie version. The movie, produced and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, received negative reviews. Miller then featured in a voice role in A Fox's Tale for the character of Darcey. She followed this up with The Edge of Love, directed by John Maybury, co-starring Keira Knightley, Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys. For The Edge of Love, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at British Independent Film Awards and won Best Supporting Actress at ShoWest Awards.
The year 2009 saw her feature in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, in the role of Ana Lewis / Anastascia DeCobray / The Baroness, opposite an ensemble cast including Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lee Byung-hun and Rachel Nichols. The film performed well at the box office and received moderate reviews. She was then seen in Bernard Rose's Two Jacks, Just Like a Woman co-starring Golshifteh Farahani, and Nick Cassavetes’ drama Yellow, in 2012, which were all moderate successes. Later, she starred in the comedy-romance A Case of You, which is about a young writer who tries to impress a girl he meets online, but gets into trouble when she falls in love with him.
Miller's 2014 release was the biographical war drama American Sniper, under the direction of Clint Eastwood, in which she plays Bradley Cooper's wife. For her performance in the film, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at Denver Film Critics Society Awards. The actress had five releases in 2015 out of which only Mississippi Grind and High Rise were successful and received positive reviews. Her 2016 movie was Live by Night in the role of Emma Gould, mistress of the notorious gangster Albert White played by Robert Glenister. The film starred Ben Affleck in the lead role, and also Elle Fanning, Brendan Gleeson and Chris Messina in important roles. This Ben Affleck directorial, based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane, received mixed reviews from critics.
Her 2017 release includes the action adventure biographical film The Lost City of Z directed by James Gray co-starring Charlie Hunnam and Robert Pattinson. The movie is based on the 2009 book of the same name by David Grann, and is produced by Brad Pitt.
Television career
Miller's television career started off in 2002 with The American Embassy, followed by the British series Bedtime in the role of Stacey, for four episodes. Between 2003 and 2004 he played the role of Fiona Bickerton in the American comedy-drama television series Keen Eddie that aired on Fox Network. In 2012, she appeared in the British television film The Girl, under the direction of Julian Jarrold. For The Girl, she was nominated for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film at Golden Globe Award, BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress, and Best Movie/Miniseries Supporting Actress at Critics' Choice Television Award.