Edward John David Redmayne was born 6 January 1982 and is an English actor and model.
He was born in the London borough of Westminster. His mother, Patricia (née Burke), runs a relocation business, and his father, Richard Redmayne, is a businessman in corporate finance. His paternal great-grandfather was Sir Richard Redmayne, a civil and mining engineer. He has an older brother, a younger brother, and an older half-brother and half-sister. From the age of 10, Redmayne attended Jackie Palmer Stage School, where he found his love for acting and singing, alongside fellow star James Corden.
He attended Eaton House, Colet Court, and then Eton College, where he was in the same year as Prince William. He went on to read History of Art at Trinity College, Cambridge, from where he graduated with 2:1 Honours in 2003. Despite being colourblind, Redmayne wrote his dissertation on Yves Klein’s signature colour, International Klein Blue.
Redmayne began his professional acting career as a youth in West End theatre, before making his screen debut in 1998 with guest television appearances. His first film roles came in 2006 with Like Minds and The Good Shepherd, and he went on to play supporting roles in several films.
On stage, Redmayne starred in the productions of Red from 2009 to 2010 and Richard II from 2011 to 2012. His film breakthrough came with the roles of Colin Clark in the biographical drama My Week with Marilyn (2011) and Marius Pontmercy in Tom Hooper’s musical Les Misérables (2012).
In 2014, Redmayne portrayed Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. The following year, he played Lili Elbe, in Hooper’s The Danish Girl. In 2016, he began starring as Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts film series.
Prior to becoming a full-time actor, Redmayne modeled for Burberry in 2008 with Alex Pettyfer, and in 2012 with Cara Delevingne.
Redmayne was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2015 Birthday Honours for services to drama.
In August 2014, he was appointed ambassador of film education charity Into Film.
In 2020, Redmayne starred as Tom Hayden in The Trial of the Chicago 7.
