Rise to Fame
The Mummy in 1999 put her face in front of a global audience, but it was almost an accident. She auditioned several times before director Stephen Sommers cast her opposite Brendan Fraser in what became a $417 million franchise opener. The blockbuster credibility bought her the freedom to go smaller, and she used it. The Constant Gardener (2005) got her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and quietly reframed what she was: not a popcorn actress, but a serious one who happened to make a very popular adventure film.
In the Spotlight
The Favourite (2018) showed what she does when the director lets her be genuinely unsympathetic. As the scheming Lady Sarah Churchill in a Yorgos Lanthimos period piece, she won a BAFTA and earned an Oscar nomination. She skipped The Mummy 3 entirely, then came back for the fourth film with Brendan Fraser returning. The Netflix series Vladimir premiered in 2026 with her also executive producing. Whatever she does, it doesn't feel like a career in maintenance mode.
Side Notes
At Cambridge, she co-founded a theater company called Talking Tongues that won the Guardian Award at the Edinburgh Festival. The industry took note before she made a single film. She spent nine years with director Darren Aronofsky, had their son Henry, and reportedly got engaged in 2005, but never married. When she met Daniel Craig, they wed in secret six months later with four guests. The public curiosity about her private life is directly proportional to how little she feeds it.