Emma Mackey has been named the winner of the EE Rising Star Award for 2023. It is the only award presented at the EE BAFTA Film Awards that is determined by a public vote.
Mackey is a BAFTA nominated French / British actor with multiple film and television projects in development. Next, she features in Barbie opposite Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, scheduled for worldwide release in July. Currently, audiences in the UK can see Mackey as the titular character in Emily, a film re-imagining the life of Emily Brontë. Emily had its World Premiere when it opened the Platform Competition at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and will release in the US this spring. Perhaps best known for her BAFTA-nominated leading role as ‘Maeve Wiley’ in the television series, Sex Education alongside Ncuti Gatwa and Aimee Lou Wood last year Mackay starred in her first French language role, that of ‘Adrienne Bourgès’ in the César nominated Eiffel, and also appeared as ‘Jacqueline de Bellefort’ in Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile, starring Gal Gadot, Tom Bateman and Ali Fazal.
Reacting to the win, she said:
“Thank you to everyone who voted for me! It’s such an honour to receive this award. Some wonderful actors have taken home the BAFTA mask in previous years and it’s a really special feeling to be amongst such great company. A massive thank you to both EE and BAFTA, I am very proud to be this year’s EE Rising Star.”
The other 2023 nominees were: Naomi Ackie, Sheila Atim, Aimee Lou Wood and Daryl McCormack.