Mia Wasikowska: biography, career, personal life

Start of a film career

The first film in which Mia took part was an Australian-made crime drama called Murder in the Suburbs. The girl was only 15 years old at the time. Wasikowski's acting talent was noticed by filmmakers, and in 2007 she was offered to star in two low-budget films, Cosette and Skin. In the same year, she was invited to more serious roles in such films as “September” and “Crocodile”.

First steps in Hollywood

Mia’s debut on American television took place in 2008: she played one of the roles in the TV series “Treatment”. The work of the young actress was appreciated by both viewers and critics.

Mia Wasikowska, whose filmography already included about a dozen films, played her first starring role in 2009 in an independent project directed by Scott Tims called “That Evening Sun.” The work of the young actress was recognized as brilliant, and therefore Hollywood filmmakers became seriously interested in her. In the same year, she was offered to play the main role in the film “Amelia”.

At the top of success: the main role in the film "Alice in Wonderland"

That same year, the actress played a key role in her career. Mia Wasikowska, whose height is 162 centimeters, played Alice in the science-fiction film directed by Tim Burton “Alice in Wonderland,” which is one of the film adaptations of Lewis Carroll's fairy tale. On the set, she had the honor of working with such famous actors as Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and Helena Boham Carter. After the role of Alice, Mia literally woke up famous. As for the picture itself, viewers all over the world loved it very much. Children, teenagers, and adults watched it with pleasure, and everyone found something surprising and interesting for themselves in the film.

After the role of Alice, Mia Wasikowski was literally showered with flattering reviews from critics, as well as numerous offers to star in various films. The next film in which the actress took part was the film “Don’t Give Up.” Moreover, for the sake of this role, the newly minted Hollywood star refused to work in “The Conspirator” directed by Robert Redford.

Mia Wasikowska, whose filmography was replenished with three films in 2011 (“The Mysterious Albert Nobbs”, “Don’t Give Up” and “Jane Eyre”), was in demand more than ever. In 2012, she began filming in the film directed by Richard Ayoade called “The Double.” This project is based on the work of the same name by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. However, the film cannot be called an adaptation of the story of the great Russian classic in its pure form. Rather, it was her free reading. The plot of the film tells the story of an official whose life changed dramatically after he encountered his own double. Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska. In the same year, another film with the participation of the actress called “The Drunkest District in the World” was released.

Biography of Mia Wasikowski

Creative family

Polish Majena and her husband John Reed had three children - two daughters and a son. The surname “Wasikowska” was glorified by the middle child, the youngest daughter Mia. She was born in the heart of the Green Continent - the capital of Australia, Canberra, and grew up as a very lively child.

Both parents are very creative people and are engaged in artistic photography. And Mia liked ballet classes, which she started as a baby. But gradually this serious hobby faded into the background - classical dancing was replaced by classes in the acting studio.

First roles: it all starts small

At the age of 17, Mia made her film debut. It was just a tiny role in the Australian low-budget film “Mayhem on the Outskirts,” but Wasikowska, thanks to this filming, realized that cinema was her calling. Participation in TV series and short films was only a preliminary stage that helped to better get used to this not yet very familiar world.

She was not even 20 years old when she found herself in the same film crew with A-list stars - twice Oscar-winner Hilary Swank, charismatic Richard Gere, talented Ewan McGregor. It was a retro biopic about the famous pilot "Amelia".

The turning point of 2010

But 2010 became a turning point in the fate of the young actress. Two completely different films were released that aroused genuine public interest.

Still would! One of them was shot by Tim Burton himself using unimaginable new “sophisticated” technologies - it was a reimagined story of Lewis Carroll’s heroine. The grown-up Alice is not interested in boring “high society,” and as if in response to her silent request to sneak away from the next party, the rabbit takes the girl to a country where she has already visited. She has a lot to remember and a lot to learn. “Alice in Wonderland” glorified the performer of the title role - after all, the fantasy box office revenue amounted to more than $1 billion. True, the sequel to the film was not so successful, despite the new charismatic hero played by Sacha Baron Cohen.

The second film of 2010 turned out to be no less interesting and claimed the title of best film of the year. In The Kids Are All Right, Mia and Josh Hutcherson portrayed teenagers growing up in an unconventional family: their lesbian mothers conceived them through artificial insemination. And when the younger brother wanted to find his biological father, the older sister was inevitably drawn into this confusion.

Further – everything becomes more interesting!

The newly minted star was noticed. Soon Cary Fukunaga invited her to the joint British-American project “Jane Eyre”. And Mia became the title character of this famous classic story - along with Michael Fassbender-Rochester.

Then everything only got more interesting: work on the underrated film “The Mysterious Albert Nobs” (a real benefit for Glenn Close), filming with Jim Jarmusch in the arthouse fantasy drama “Only Lovers Left Alive.” In this film, next to Mia there were luminaries: the wonderful Tilda Swinton and the young Briton Tom Hiddleston, who had already become a star of the first magnitude.

Cronenberg’s “Maps to the Stars” is one of Wasikowski’s last notable works, which opened worldwide in late spring 2020. The film was included in the program of the Cannes Film Festival, and Julianne Moore, who plays the title role, received a prize at this film forum.

At the end of 2015, del Toro's gothic drama Crimson Peak was released. This was the second meeting on the set between Wasikowska and Hiddleston, who played her character’s husband. Young writer Edith arrives at the gloomy British estate of her American husband and encounters frightening oddities.

Last works

In 2013, a film called “Paths,” directed by John Curran, was released. Mia Wasikowska played the lead role in it, playing Robyn Davidson, who is also Australian. In the story, the heroine travels through the desert alone for more than six months. She had only her faithful dog and four camels for company. The film takes place in 1977. Interestingly, the heroine of the picture is not a fictional character. Robert Davidson actually took such a trip, after which she decided to write first an article for National Geographic magazine, and then a book called “Paths,” which very quickly became a bestseller.

In the same year, viewers had the opportunity to watch the performance of Mia Wasikowski in another film - “Madame Bovary” directed by Sofia Barthez. Along with the young actress, Ezra Miller played the main role in the film.

In 2014, the film “Carol” is expected to be released, which tells the story of the love story of a saleswoman from New York and her client. The film stars Cate Blanchett and Mia Wasikowski. In the same year, a film called “Map to the Stars” was released in wide release, where the actress’s partners on the set were Julianne Moore and Carrie Fisher.

Mia Wasikowska: personal life

In the mid-2000s, some Australian publications spread information that the actress was in an intimate relationship with one of her friends, thereby hinting at her non-traditional sexual orientation. However, journalists were unable to provide reliable facts confirming this. Mia Wasikowska herself did not comment on this situation.

However, rumors about the actress’s unconventional sexual orientation were refuted by her affair with Jesse Eisenberg, who became famous after his roles in the films “The Social Network” and “Now You See Me.” They met on the set of the film “The Double”, and their relationship continues to this day.

The childhood and youth of Mia Wasikowska

Mia Wasikowska was born in the capital of Australia into a family of immigrants from Poland. Her father John Reed was a famous avant-garde photographer. Her mother, Marchena Wasikowska, also excelled in this field, and also presented the world with a whole scattering of remarkable artistic photographs.

When Mia was eight years old, her parents, as well as her older sister and younger brother, had to move back to Poland. Here they spent a whole year collecting documents and waiting for permission from the Australian authorities to return to Canberra permanently.

Mia Wasikowska played Alice. In the end, the coveted permission was received. The Reed-Wasikowski family moved back to the Green Continent, and from that moment everything went smoothly. They were an ordinary family, and therefore the Hollywood actress’s memories of her childhood are always extremely rosy.

At an early age, Mia traveled a lot with her family. In addition, her favorite hobby at an early age was ballet. Dreaming of becoming a ballerina, Mia Wasikowska spent five hours a day twirling in front of the mirror on pointe shoes. To some extent, it was he who led the girl to the profession of an actress.

Mia began attending acting classes at the insistence of one of the teachers, who believed that a modern ballerina should not only dance well, but also be able to beautifully convey emotions. Initially, Wasikowska was quite skeptical about studying in a theater group. However, over time I simply fell in love with theater and cinema.

According to the youngest diva, a real discovery for her was the films “Three Colors” by Krzysztof Kieslowski, as well as the film “My Brilliant Career” by Gillian Armstrong. These unusual films inspired the future actress and made her seriously think about a career in cinema.

Interesting facts about the actress

• Mia Wasikowska was one of the contenders for the role of Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher's film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which is an adaptation of the novel of the same name. However, in the end, the actress refused to audition due to being busy with other projects.
• Mia Wasikowska also turned down filming in Robert Redford's "The Conspirator" in order to play the main role in the film "Don't Give Up."
• Mia Wasikowska was the first of all the actors involved in the film “Alice in Wonderland” to be cast in the role. This happened 4 months before the start of filming. Thanks to the role of Alice, Mia was recognized as the most successful young actress in Australia.
• Due to the fact that the mother of the Hollywood star is Polish, and Wasikowska herself lived in this country for some time, she was officially invited to accept Polish as a second citizenship. However, the actress refused without commenting on her decision.
• In 2008, Mia won the prestigious Australian Independent Spirit film award in the Breakthrough of the Year category.

Awards and nominations

Mia Wasikowska at the AACTA Awards in 2012
List according to IMDb

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