Maisie Williams

Margaret Constance Williams was born in Bristol and has been known as Maisie since childhood, a nickname inspired by the comic-strip character Maisie from The Perishers. She grew up in Clutton, Somerset, and attended Clutton Primary School and Norton Hill School in Midsomer Norton.

Williams trained at BDC Bath Dance College in Radstock, studying musical theatre, ballet, pointe, tap, street dance, freestyle, gymnastics, and trampolining. She originally hoped to become a professional dancer. She left school at 14 after her acting career began successfully and was subsequently home educated.

At 13, Williams made her professional acting debut as Arya Stark in HBO's Game of Thrones. She appeared in all eight broadcast seasons, portraying Arya's transformation from a determined noble child into a highly skilled fighter and assassin. Although Williams is naturally right-handed, she performed Arya's sword work left-handed to match the character in the novels, and she undertook much of her own stunt and fight work.

Her performance brought critical praise and two Primetime Emmy nominations. She won the 2012 Portal Awards for Best Supporting Actress in Television and Best Young Actor, becoming the youngest actress to win the supporting-actress category at age 15. She also won the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series in 2015 and again for the show's final season. Williams appeared alongside Sophie Turner, who played Arya's sister Sansa Stark, and the two were described as good friends.

During this period, Williams also appeared as Loren Caleigh in The Secret of Crickley Hall, played Casey Jacobs in the BAFTA-nominated television film Cyberbully, and portrayed Ashildr in four episodes of Doctor Who in 2015. Her feature-film debut came with Lydia in The Falling, a role that earned her the London Film Critics' Circle Award for Young Performer of the Year, the Evening Standard British Film Award for Rising Star, and the European Shooting Stars Award.

After Game of Thrones, Williams took on a range of film and television roles. She led the dark comedy miniseries Two Weeks to Live as Kim Noakes, a young woman raised in isolation who pursues revenge, and played Rahne Sinclair, also known as Wolfsbane, in the superhero horror film The New Mutants. She also appeared in the psychological thriller The Owners.

In Pistol, Williams portrayed punk figure Jordan, the stage name of Pamela Rooke, in a six-episode FX miniseries about the Sex Pistols. She later played Catherine Dior in Apple's historical drama series The New Look, which was released in 2024. Her other work includes voicing Cammie MacCloud in Gen:Lock, voicing Arya Stark in MultiVersus, and appearing in films including Mary Shelley, Early Man, and Then Came You.

Williams has worked beyond acting in production, technology, and creative development. She established Daisy Chain Productions with Dom Santry and Bill Milner to develop UK short films, theatrical features, and television drama, with a focus on opportunities for young British talent. The company's first production was the short film Stealing Silver, which Williams executive produced and acted in.

With Santry, she co-developed and launched Daisie, a social networking platform intended to help artists showcase work, find projects, and collaborate. The platform was designed around creative partnerships rather than follower counts and was introduced through Williams's 2019 TEDx talk, "Don't strive to be famous, strive to be talented." She also worked with Lowri Roberts and Delaval Film as an executive producer on the stop-motion short Salvation Has No Name and co-hosted the film podcast Frank Film Club with Roberts and Hannah Marie Williams.

Williams has also appeared in music videos for artists including Seafret, Pentatonix, Alice Phoebe Lou, Freya Ridings, and Madeon. Lena Headey directed Williams in the videos for Freya Ridings's "You Mean the World to Me" and Madeon's "Miracle".

Williams has supported environmental, animal-welfare, anti-bullying, anti-racism, and clean-water campaigns. She became an ambassador and campaigner for the Dolphin Project, participated in protests against dolphin hunts, and supported organisations including Greenpeace and WaterAid.

In 2021, Williams was appointed the World Wildlife Fund's first global ambassador for climate and nature. She delivered the opening address at the Glasgow premiere of David Attenborough's The Green Planet during the COP26 period. She has also supported Bristol-based animal and youth charities and worked with WaterAid, Zoe Sugg, and Adwoa Aboah on a period-product campaign addressing period poverty.