anna popplewell at a glance
Anna Katherine Popplewell was born on December the 16th, 1988 in London, England, UK. Her parents named Anna after the character Anna Arkadyevna Karenina of Russian author Leo Tolstoy's famous 1877 novel, Anna Karenina. Her parents - Andrew (a lawyer) and Debra (an immunologist) - had two other children besides Anna, Laura "Lulu" (b. 1991) and Freddie (b. 1994), who are also actors. In 1994, Anna began taking classes at the Allsorts Drama School. The school was one of the few that offered classes in dramatic theatre for children, so Anna's parents put her into the program. After a short time of study, Anna was lucky enough to get an agent in the acting business, and in 1998 she had her first professional acting job as Henrietta in the television production Frenchman's Creek (1998). It may have been a small role, but it was enough to get Anna noticed and exposed to other potential parts in the future.1999 saw the release of Mansfield Park - based on the book by author Jane Austen - and the filming of The Little Vampire, which was released in 2000. From 2001 to 2002, Anna starred in small roles in Me Without You and Thunderpants, which subsequently landed her a role in the film Girl with a Pearl Earring along side American actress Scarlett Johansson. Anna's big break came in 2004 after 18 long months of auditioning for a role in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. From hundreds of girls who auditioned, Anna was cast as Susan Pevensie in the film, and the movie went on to gross over £450,000,000 (approximately $740,000,000 USD) over the course of its theatrical release in 2005 through 2006. The second installment of the Narnia films, Prince Caspian, was widely received by critics after its release in 2008 and went on to earn over £250,000,000 (approximately $400,000,000 USD) in theatres.
After the worldwide releases of Prince Caspian from May to August 2008, Anna began to refocus her time on furthering her education. Anna previously attended the North London Collegiate School, a girls-only International Baccalaureate World School that is known for its academic success. Famous alumni include fellow actress Rachel Weisz, and Anna Wintour, editor of the American branch of Vogue magazine. In 2007, Anna was admitted to the University of Oxford and has been studying English Literature at the Magdalen College, south of the main campus grounds. Oxford has been ranked as the top university in the United Kingdom for the past eight years by Times Good University Guide.
Even though Anna has been more so active in her educational career in the past several years, she has not let her dramatic ambitions pass her by. Before heading to Oxford, Anna began doing dramatic theatrical productions on stage. Her first was as the title character in Bugsy Malone at North London Collegiate School for an all-girls reworking of the 1976 musical. In fall of 2007, Anna's performance in a student-produced version of Five Kinds of Silence by British playwright Shelagh Stephenson earned her the praise of not only the media, but also her peers at the University of Oxford. She won the Cuppers Prize (Best Supporting Actress) in the 2007 "competition" between undergraduate freshmen involved in theatre/drama. The student Cuppers Prize is most known for being awarded in sporting events, such as soccer/football, lacrosse, and cricket, but has expanded into other fields such as drama and ballroom dancing in recent years. Late 2007 brought Anna's portrayal of Lady Macbeth, wife to the title character of Macbeth, in a student production of the famous William Shakespeare play that was performed for a 5-day run at the OFS Studio. Another play Anna performed at the OFS Studio was Indian Ink, written by Sir Tom Stoppard, as the character Flora Crewe in 1930's India. The play was performed in February 2008.
Spring of 2008 was perfect timing for Anna's next theatrical role as Wendla Bergmann in the controversial play Spring's Awakening (or Fruhlings Erwachen in the original German) by Frank Wedekind. The production was staged at Oxford Playhouse during a four-day run from May 28th to May 31st. After Spring's Awakening, Anna then took a small break from stage but soon returned on March 3rd - March 7th, 2009 in an Oxford production of the Pulitzer Prize winning play Buried Child by Sam Shepard. Anna portrayed the matriarch, Halie, of a dysfunctional and disillusioned 1970's farming family caught up in the expectations of what the "American Dream" should be in Illinois, USA.
Anna's presence on film was felt once again in late 2010 with the release of the third Chronicles of Narnia film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Though reprising her role as Susan Pevensie for only a few key parts of the film, Narnia fans the world over were certainly glad to see her. Anna is currrently still continuing her studies at Oxford as she nears graduation, and splits her time between Oxfordshire (for university) and the Highbury area in the London Borough of Islington, which is about 7km (or about 4.5mi) away from the centre of London at Charing Cross. With her interest in acting still going strong, we sincerely hope Anna will return to the big screen once she finishes her schooling. Until then, we will have to keep looking and listening for Anna with her theatre productions and any other endeavors she chooses. Good luck, Anna!
other notes of interest
- Anna is one of 13 grandchildren of Sir Oliver Bury Popplewell (b. 1927), former High Court Judge (retired in 2000) and Cambridge University cricket player. Sir Oliver Popplewell released part one of his autobiography Benchmark: Life, Laughter and the Law in 2003, followed by the second part Hallmark: A Judge's Life at Oxford in 2009.- Anna and her parents are members of the famous Anglican St Bride's Church on Fleet Street in London. Though rebuilt after The Blitz in 1940, the original church was designed in the 17th century.
- During the promotional tours for the Chronicles of Narnia films in 2005 and 2008, Anna was able to meet many internationally famous people, such as Charles, Prince of Wales, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark. Anna met Queen Elizabeth II of England at the premiere of the third Chronicles of Narnia film in 2010.
- Anna started attending the University of Oxford's Magdalen College to study English Literature in 2007. Author C.S. Lewis, who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia books, attended the Magdalen College in his youth before teaching as a fellow from 1925 to 1954. The Narnia books were written during his last five years teaching at the college.
- Freddie Popplewell, Anna's younger brother, starred as Michael Darling in the 2003 live-action version of Peter Pan, while Anna's younger sister Laura "Lulu" played Daisy - the daughter of Emma Thompson's character Karen - in the 2003 film Love Actually.
- Anna auditioned for the part of Wendy Darling in Peter Pan (2003) but the role was given to fellow British actress Rachel Hurd-Wood. Hurd-Wood was later cast as Sibyl Vane alongside Anna's Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian costar, Ben Barnes, in the 2009 film Dorian Gray.