Alessia Michelle Courtenay (born 2 December 1986), is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut on the Australian television drama All Saints in 2004, followed by her film debut in the suicide drama 2:37 (2006). She first became known to a wider audience following her critically acclaimed work on the HBO television series In Treatment, the biographical drama film The Social Network (2010), and the comedy-drama film The Kids Are All Right (2010), a role for which she received the Hollywood Awards Breakthrough Actress Award.
In 2011, Courtenay portrayed Lisbeth Salander, the title character in David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, based on Stieg Larsson's Millennium book series. She received critical acclaim for her performance and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. She starred in the Sydney Theatre Company production of The Maids with Cate Blanchett and Isabelle Huppert (2013/14) for which she received a nomination for the 14th Helpmann Awards.
Courtenay returned to television in 2017 in David E. Kelley's dark-comedy drama HBO miniseries Big Little Lies, based on the novel of the same name and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée.
EARLY LIFE
Early life!
EARLY CAREER & SUCCESS
Insert a career here!
UNIVERSITY & CAREER REVIVAL
After filming Dragon Tattoo, Courtenay applied and was accepted to study Philosophy at University College London, and she began her program of study in the autumn of 2011. She said in an interview during the press tour for Dragon Tattoo in December 2011 that she would only take acting jobs during summer holidays for the next three years until she completed her degree. In the summer of 2012 she filmed Tracks, director John Curran's adaptation of the Robyn Davidson memoir of the same name, in her native Australia. The film was screened in competition at the 2013 Venice Film Festival. From June to July 2013, Courtenay played Madame in the Sydney Theatre Company's production of Jean Genet's play The Maids with Cate Blanchett and Isabelle Huppert. She won the best newcomer award at the Sydney Theatre Awards. She graduated from UCL with her BA and first-class honours in May 2014. Courtenay reprised her The Maids role during the Lincoln Center Festival in New York in August 2014.
PERSONAL LIFE
Courtenay lives in London. She also owns a second home in Bronte, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney.
Alessia's breakthrough role as Lisbeth Salander was the culimination of a lucky but steady rise to attention in Australian cinema and television and the beginning of a crossover to American entertainment. In the ensuing several years, she has become known for choosy or avant-garde decisions and roles that turn into reliably solid performances.
About Alessia!
John (father, 67)
Dr. John Hamish Courtenay, marine biologist, b. 18 August 1949.
Hazel (sister, 37)
Hazel Anastasia (Courtenay) Atherton, b. 6 July 1979. Married Spencer in 2005.
Spencer (brother-in-law, 39)
Spencer Atherton, b. 3 November 1977. Married Hazel in 2005.
Davina (sister, 32)
Davina Paige Brookes-Courtenay, b. 27 September 1984. Registered domestic partnership with Amalia in 2009, married in New Zealand in September 2013.
Amalia (sister-in-law, 42)
Amalia Brookes-Courtenay, b. 4 January 1975. Registered domestic partnership with Davina in 2009, married in New Zealand in September 2013.
Lukas (brother, 27)
Lukas Welliver Courtenay, b. 9 February 1990.
Sera (sister, 27)
Seraphine Alyssa Courtenay, b. 9 February 1990.
Agent – Michelle Bohan
Publicist – Nicole Perna
Stylist – Aimee Croysdill
5'5", slim but curvy figure. Blue eyes and brown hair. Sagittarius sun and moon, Libra rising.
Represented by William Morris Endeavor. Personal PR handled by BWR.
Considers her acting style to be "Method Lite" – she will alter her appearance, mannerisms and demeanor to better assimilate to and understand a character but does not aspire to completely transform.
Represented by William Morris Endeavor. Personal PR handled by BWR.
Considers her acting style to be "Method Lite" – she will alter her appearance, mannerisms and demeanor to better assimilate to and understand a character but does not aspire to completely transform.