Despite the countless promos for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, much remains mysterious about Rey, the movie's female protagonist played by Daisy Ridley. Frankly, there's still a lot that we don't know about Ridley herself, who was plucked from obscurity to star in what will surely be one of the biggest movies of all time.
While many of the actors in The Force Awakens are familiar to audiences, Ridley is likely only recognizable to eagle-eyed viewers of British television. The actress has had stints on shows like Silent Witness and Mr. Selfridge. In The Force Awakens, she plays a scavenger named Rey who is rumored to have some impressive parentage.
As the release of the film draws closer, Ridley has become more active on Instagram, letting us in on her life. She posts about her victories at the gym, as well as her obsession with The Great British Bake Off. (We're with her on that one. That show is amazing.) She's utterly charming.
Here, we've compiled 12 bits of information that you need to know become the ultimate Daisy Ridley fan.
She's had her share of disappointments.
Ridley became an overnight star when she was cast in Star Wars, but she hasn't always have that kind of professional luck. "I was kind of used to things not happening, so I just felt the whole way through [the Episode VII audition process], 'I'm going to lose the job. They're going to find someone better than me,'" she told The Hollywood Reporter.
Photo: Matt Baron/BEI/REX Shutterstock.
She's strong.
Ridley had to get buff to play Rey and she's kept up with her workout routine. She wrote on Instagram: "Initially I had to pack on some muscle to look like a desert scavenger, but have continued working out because it makes me feel really good. The female form is beautiful in all shapes and sizes, whether that's athletic, straight up straight down or curvy; you just have to do what makes you feel good, try not compare yourself to other people and LOVE YOURSELF!!! As it stands I'm of the athletic variety so I'm gonna keep pumping those weights." Her training for Stars Wars was accompanied by a diet that included "lots of fish, legumes, and spirulina shakes," the actress told Elle.
Photo: Via @daisyridley
She likes a good TV competition.
Sure, she may lift, but she's also been vocal about her TV habits. She modeled her Halloween costume after Trinity k. Bonet from RuPaul's Drag Race and has declared her love of The Great British Bake Off.
Photo: Via @daisyridley
She's a lover of pups.
She has a blind and deaf dog named Muffin.
Photo: Via @daisyridleyYou might have spotted her if you watch PBS.
Ridley mostly has British TV credits to her name, including a small role as an American (!) on the Jeremy Piven show Mr. Selfridge, which airs on PBS's Masterpiece.
Her sister has modeled.
Ridley's sister, Kika-Rose, has done modeling work. Kika-Rose said in an interview with her agency, Models 1: "I can’t live without…my sisters. They’re everything." Ridley has three other sisters as well.
Photo: Richard Young /REX Shutterstock.
Her boyfriend's also in the business.
As confirmed by Elle, Ridley is dating actor Charlie Hamblett. Hamblett snapped this shot on the set of the BBC's The Secret Agent.
Photo: Twitter/@charliehamblett
She's not the first member of her family to act.
According to The Guardian, her great-uncle, Arnold Ridley, starred in the British WWII sitcom Dad's Army, which ran from 1968 to 1977.
Photo: Associated Newspapers/REX Shutterstock.
She's still studying.
Though she'll now forever be known for her work in a galaxy far, far away, Ridley's not giving up on the real world. She told THR that if she weren't acting she would be a "psychologist or counselor," adding, "I've just signed up for a degree next year, and I'm starting with social sciences. I always felt interested in it."
Photo: Masatoshi Okauchi/REX Shutterstock.She's a singer.
Star Wars: The Musical next? Ridley has some pipes. Here is some old footage of her singing "Moon River." Elle reports that she graduated from the Tring Park School for the Performing Arts with a concentration in musical theater. Apparently her singing can get in the way sometimes, though. "Once J.J. bet me that I couldn't go a full day without singing — and I almost finished the day and I started singing again!" she told THR.
She's just as obsessed with BB-8 as you are.
It seems that working on the film did not make Ridley immune to the charms of the BB-8 droid. Here's a photo of BB-8 joining her for a Victoria sponge cake she made. (We told you she was into The Great British Bake Off.) Later, she even made a cake shaped like BB-8.
Photo: Via @daisyridley.
She loves Matilda.
Who can blame her? In a chat for Interview with her Star Wars co-star Carrie Fisher, Ridley revealed that her favorite movie as a child was Matilda. Fisher asked Ridley if she had any role models. "I'm going to say the little girl [Mara Wilson] in that," Ridley said. "I aspired to be like her. I wanted to be a girl who could make a jug of water tip into a glass." Didn't we all?
Photo: Moviestore Collection/REX Shutterstock.
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