People

Sally Hawkins

Acting · follow into films and chains

Biography

Sally Cecilia Hawkins (born 27 April 1976) is an English actress of stage and screen. She began her career on stage and then moved into film, for which she has received several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two British Academy Film Awards. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she started her career as a stage actress in productions such as Romeo and Juliet (playing Juliet), Much Ado About Nothing, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Her first major role was in Mike Leigh's All or Nothing in 2002. She continued working with Leigh, appearing in a supporting role in Vera Drake (2004) and taking the lead in Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), for which she won several awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and the Silver Bear for Best Actress. Hawkins appeared in two Woody Allen films, Cassandra's Dream (2007) and Blue Jasmine (2013); for the latter, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She went on to play lead roles in Made in Dagenham (2010), Paddington (2014), Maudie (2016), and Paddington 2 (2017). She appeared in Godzilla (2014), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Wonka (2023). For starring as Elisa Esposito, a mute cleaning woman in the fantasy film The Shape of Water (2017), she earned critical acclaim. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She has also appeared in stage productions with the Royal Court Theatre in London, and in 2010 made her Broadway debut in Mrs. Warren's Profession. In 2012, she starred in Constellations at the Royal Court Theatre, which later moved to the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End. On television, she appeared in the BBC adaptations of Tipping the Velvet (2002) as Zena Blake and Fingersmith (2005) as Sue Trinder. She also appeared as Anne Elliot in Persuasion (2007), ITV's adaptation of Jane Austen's novel. In 2025, Hawkins appeared in Bring Her Back, an Australian supernatural horror film directed by Danny and Michael Philippou. Description above from the Wikipedia article Sally Hawkins, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Notable films

Where to start

Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.

The Shape of Water

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Paddington 2

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Wonka

As Willy's Mother

Bring Her Back

As Laura

Godzilla

As Dr. Vivienne Graham

Paddington

As Mary Brown

Layer Cake

As Slasher

Blue Jasmine

As Ginger

Chains

KinoChain journeys

Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.

Browse all chains

Open Doors: Cinema That Sees Everyone

From a deaf drummer to a queer romance in space, these eight films expand who gets to be a hero, a lover, a survivor. A journey through inclusive storytelling t...

8 films

The Long Goodbye to the Small Screen

A journey through the films that turned television's intimate glow into cinema's grand spectacle, and back again.

6 films

Pure-Hearted Heroes

Sixty years after Batman '66 taught us that heroism can be bright, sincere, and utterly without irony, this chain celebrates films whose protagonists believe, s...

7 films

Growing Pains: Sequels That Leap Through Time

From a Parisian afternoon to a boxing ring, these sequels skip years ahead and find their characters changed, challenged, and achingly familiar. A journey throu...

6 films

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