Gwendoline Christie

She was told by her agent she'd probably never work because she didn't look like most actors. After HBO didn't bother with Emmy consideration, she submitted herself and got the nomination. At 6'3", Christie spent years on stage after Drama Centre London before finding Brienne of Tarth through an internet fan theory. She has said she read about the speculation, sought out the character, read the books, and fought for the role. Brienne made her a franchise staple across seven seasons of Game of Thrones and the first two Star Wars sequels.

The post-Game of Thrones career could have stalled at franchise bit parts. It didn't. Christie walked the Maison Margiela couture closing look for John Galliano's spring 2024 collection, opened Thom Browne's Paris show, and fronted Vivienne Westwood's unisex campaign. Miuccia Prada reportedly watched her rehearse and said "now that's a walk." On screen, she played Larissa Weems in Wednesday with enough presence to get written back as a ghost in Season 2, and picked up an Emmy nomination for Severance in 2025.

Before the career happened, she thought becoming a nun was a reasonable fallback. Walking dogs for her mentor Simon Callow was another life stage. From 2002 to 2008, she posed for Australian photographer Polly Borland's "Bunny" series, mostly nude, as a way to make peace with her body after years of being bullied for her height. Her partner since around 2013 is British designer Giles Deacon, who made Billy Porter's Oscars gown and Pippa Middleton's wedding dress. A gymnast as a kid, until a spinal injury at 11 ended that path.