ACTOR
Daisy Ridley
33 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (33)
- #001
Although she is a talented singer, Daisy Ridley admitted that singing is one of her worst habits. During the production of Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015), she once lost a bet she had made with J. J. Abrams that she could not go a whole day without singing. Abrams later recommended Ridley to Barbra Streisand, who made an album featuring well-known actors.
- #002
Daisy Ridley learned she had been cast in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) while she was at the theatre with a friend. Before the play began, she received an email and a voicemail from J. J. Abrams, who asked if he could call her. When he did, he told her she would be in Star Wars, news that left her speechless and excited. She returned to the theatre just as the play was starting and had to watch it without telling her friend what had happened.
- #003
After being cast in a role in Star Wars, Daisy Ridley told only her family. The first thing she did was prepare for the role. When people asked her why she was doing it, she simply said she was doing it for an audition.
- #004
Daisy Ridley is left-handed. As demonstrated in Star Wars, she could also be considered "cross-dominant": she writes and eats with her left hand but shoots and uses her staff with her right.
- #005
Even after her Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) audition, Daisy Ridley was convinced her acting career was over, since she had not been given a new role at the time. She continued working as a bartender before she was cast in the film.
- #006
In 2016, Daisy Ridley began an undergraduate degree in the social sciences.
- #007
Daisy Ridley holds a green belt in kickboxing.
- #008
Daisy Ridley trained as a dancer and singer at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts.
- #009
In July 2016, Daisy Ridley visited Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London dressed as Rey over the course of a weekend.
- #010
Before acting, Daisy Ridley worked as a bartender in London. She also worked as an elf at a shopping centre during the Christmas season (later becoming a fairy princess).
- #011
Daisy Ridley is a passionate reader and a passionate fan of the theatre.
- #012
When Prince William and Prince Harry visited the set of Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) at Pinewood Studios, Daisy Ridley was assigned to accompany them on a VIP tour of the Star Wars sound stage facilities.
- #013
On her 24th birthday, Daisy Ridley won the "Best Breakthrough Performance" award at the MTV Movie Awards.
- #014
While filming the Star Wars films, Daisy Ridley was praised by her stunt trainers for her natural ability with a lightsaber and how quickly she learned. She once had to work on a complex series of lightsaber moves for a scene in Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017). According to stunt coordinator Liang Yang, learning these moves usually takes three days, but Ridley managed to nail them in only 90 minutes.
- #015
The first time Daisy Ridley watched the trailer for Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015), she was so overwhelmed that she cried.
- #016
Since August 2016, a wax figure of Daisy Ridley has been on display at Madame Tussauds. The figure is based on her character Rey and was unveiled in July 2016 during the European Star Wars Celebration.
- #017
Daisy Ridley is the youngest of five sisters. Two of them are half-sisters from her father's previous marriage.
- #018
In 2012, about a year before her acting career began, Daisy Ridley appeared in a TV commercial for the British supermarket chain Morrisons.
- #019
Daisy Ridley's likeness was used for the concept art of Cara Dune, a character from The Mandalorian (2019).
- #020
Daisy Ridley's great-uncle is the actor Arnold Ridley, who played Godfrey in the long-running British sitcom Dad's Army (1968).
- #021
Her character Rey appears on a Star Wars postage stamp issued by the United Kingdom's Royal Mail postal service in October 2015.
- #022
She is allergic to cats.
- #023
She has an alto singing voice.
- #024
She was cast in a role in the film Youngers (2013) right after school. Coincidentally, the only scene in which she appears mentions Star Wars.
- #025
She has three stars tattooed on her left foot, which she had done at age 15, an air alchemy symbol tattoo on the upper part of her right thigh, and a peace symbol tattoo behind her right ear.
- #026
One of her first roles was a brief part as a stagehand in Toast of London (2012). Matt Berry really wanted to bring her back to the series but could not reach her. The reason was that she had recently appeared in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) and was therefore temporarily unavailable. Berry expressed his satisfaction with the cast and admitted that his show could not compete with Star Wars.
- #027
She and her two older sisters were named after flowers (Poppy-Sophia and Kika-Rose).
- #028
She appears in the music video for Wiley's (feat Angel & Tinchy Stryder) song "Lights On". The song premiered in 2013.
- #029
One of her biggest dreams is to appear in a musical.
- #030
She had a role in The Inbetweeners 2 (2014), but her scenes were later cut from the film. The director later tried to bring her back to the film, but contractual obligations prevented it because she had recently appeared in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015).
- #031
One of her favorite films since childhood is Matilda (1996), and she cited Mara Wilson's performance in that film as an inspiration for her role as Rey in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015). She later narrated the audiobook based on the original story.
- #032
Her mother's family were Fawkner-Corbett landed gentry. Her maternal great-great-grandfather, William Victor Fawkner-Corbett, was born with the surname Corbett and added Fawkner- to his surname from his mother's name.
- #033
She is of Irish descent. Her father is Irish and her great-grandparents came from Ennis, Ireland. She is also 1/32 German.
Continue through the archive
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb kaydı
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work