Emilia Clarke became a household name playing Daenerys Targaryen in “Game of Thrones,” but her path to that role involved plenty of waiting tables and calling in sick to catering jobs for auditions. She’s now one of Britain’s most recognizable actresses, though her journey included health scares that could have ended everything before it really began.
Her career spans blockbuster films, Broadway, and advocacy work for brain injury survivors. At 39, she’s moved beyond the character that made her famous and continues choosing roles that challenge her rather than simply trading on past success.
Who Is Emilia Clarke?
Emilia is a British actress who spent eight seasons playing Daenerys Targaryen on HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” earning four Primetime Emmy nominations for the role. Beyond that defining performance, she’s appeared in major films including “Terminator Genisys,” “Me Before You,” and “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”
She’s also a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), recognized for services to drama and charity. In 2019, she founded SameYou, a charity dedicated to improving neurorehabilitation access for brain injury survivors, after surviving two life-threatening brain aneurysms herself.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Emilia Isobel Euphemia Rose Clarke |
| Date of Birth | October 23, 1986 |
| Age | 39 years old (as of January 2026) |
| Birthplace | London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Profession | Actress |
| Known For | Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones |
| Height | 5’2″ (157 cm) |
Early Life and Education
She was born Emilia Isobel Euphemia Rose Clarke on October 23, 1986, in London. Her father, Peter “Rick” Clarke, worked as a theatre sound engineer. Her mother, Jennifer Clarke, is a businesswoman who became vice-president for marketing at a global management consultancy.
The family lived in Oxfordshire, where she grew up with her younger brother Bennett, who later worked in the camera department on “Game of Thrones.” Her father’s theatre work meant she spent time around productions from age three, when she saw “Show Boat” and decided she wanted to act.
She’s of partial Indian descent through her maternal grandmother, who was born to her great-grandmother and a man from British India. She’s mentioned this background gave her family a “history of fighters,” as her grandmother had to hide her skin color to fit in.
She attended Rye St. Antony School and later St. Edward’s School in Oxford, both private boarding schools. She’s said she “wasn’t the posh girl at the posh boarding schools,” feeling somewhat like an outsider among students from Conservative backgrounds.
After finishing school in 2005, she applied unsuccessfully to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She took a gap year working and traveling before being accepted at Drama Centre London, where she graduated in 2009.
Breakthrough with Game of Thrones
After drama school, she worked various non-acting jobs while auditioning. Her first credited TV role was a 2009 episode of the BBC soap “Doctors.” In 2010, she appeared in the TV movie “Triassic Attack,” a low-budget film about killer dinosaurs.
Her agent called about auditioning for a new HBO series. She was working for a catering company at the time and called in sick to attend the audition. That audition was for “Game of Thrones,” and she was cast as Daenerys Targaryen, replacing Tamzin Merchant who had played the role in the unaired pilot.
According to her IMDb profile, the role transformed her from an unknown actress into an international star. The show premiered in 2011 and ran for eight seasons until 2019, becoming one of the most-watched series in television history.
Her portrayal showed a young woman evolving from frightened bride sold into marriage to a determined leader. The character’s complexity—showing both compassion and ruthlessness—required range she developed over eight years of playing the role.
Career After Game of Thrones
While still filming “Game of Thrones,” she pursued film work. She made her big-screen debut in “Spike Island” (2012), then played Sarah Connor in “Terminator Genisys” (2015) opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film underperformed commercially despite her solid work.
“Me Before You” (2016) became a box office hit, with her playing a caretaker to a paralyzed man. The romantic drama connected with audiences and showed her ability to carry a film beyond fantasy epics.
She joined the Star Wars universe in “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (2018) as Qi’ra, Han Solo’s childhood friend. The film made nearly $400 million worldwide but was considered disappointing by Star Wars standards.
In March 2013, she made her Broadway debut as Holly Golightly in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Theatre work has remained part of her career, including a West End production of “The Seagull” that was suspended due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
More recently, she appeared in Marvel’s “Secret Invasion” (2023) miniseries as G’iah, showing her continued appeal for major franchise work.
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Health Challenges and Personal Strength
In March 2019, she wrote a personal essay for The New Yorker revealing she’d suffered two brain aneurysms during the early years of “Game of Thrones.”
The first occurred in 2011, right after filming the first season. She was working out when severe head pain struck. At the hospital, doctors diagnosed a subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm. She underwent emergency surgery that lasted three hours.
Afterward, she developed aphasia—she couldn’t remember her own name or speak properly. For an actress, this was terrifying. Her speech returned after about a week, but she filmed season two while dealing with ongoing headaches and morphine-based painkillers.
In 2013, a routine brain scan showed another aneurysm had grown and needed treatment. This second surgery was more invasive and required a month-long hospital stay. She contemplated suicide during recovery due to the pain and uncertainty.
The fact that she continued working through all this, keeping it private while millions watched her perform, shows remarkable strength. Most people wouldn’t have been able to function, let alone deliver award-nominated performances.
Personal Life and Relationships
She’s been romantically linked to various people over the years, including director Charlie McDowell, actor Seth MacFarlane, and others. As of January 2026, she appears to be single after a brief relationship with DJ Sebastian Fox ended in late 2024.
She’s never been married and has maintained significant privacy around her romantic life despite tabloid attention. When relationships have been reported, she typically doesn’t comment publicly.
She lives primarily in London and has expressed strong attachment to her hometown. She enjoys reading science fiction and fantasy novels, painting, and spending time with animals.
Family, Values, and Charity Work
In 2019, after revealing her aneurysms publicly, she founded SameYou, a charity dedicated to improving neurorehabilitation for brain injury and stroke survivors.
She serves as ambassador for the Royal College of Nursing and was the first ambassador for the global Nursing Now campaign, advocating for better working conditions for nurses in the UK.
In 2017, she joined Open Doors, an organization helping aspiring actors get drama school auditions. Her charitable work reflects understanding that not everyone has the same opportunities she had.
Her mother remains involved in charity work through The Anima Foundation, which helps young people in Ghana. Family values around helping others clearly influenced her own advocacy.
Read Also: Hudson Williams: Biography, Personal Life, Net Worth and Public Profile
Net Worth and Professional Earnings
Her estimated net worth is approximately $20 million. The bulk of that came from “Game of Thrones,” where she earned around $1.1 million per episode in the final seasons, making her one of television’s highest-paid actresses.
Film salaries for “Terminator Genisys,” “Solo,” “Me Before You,” and other projects added substantially to her earnings. Her Broadway work and theatre roles typically pay less than screen work but contribute to overall income.
She has endorsement deals and brand partnerships, though she’s more selective about commercial work than many actors at her level. Her focus seems more on choosing interesting roles than maximizing income through every available avenue.
Real estate investments and smart financial management have helped maintain her wealth. She owns property in London and has invested in assets beyond just acting income.
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