Phoebe Waller-Bridge
In 2016, the comedy series Fleabag introduced audiences to a character and creative voice that would soon attract significant critical attention: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who created, wrote, and starred in the show, had delivered something that earned her some of the most prestigious honours in television.
Born in London in 1985, Waller-Bridge attended St Augustine's Priory in Ealing before going on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Those foundations in formal dramatic training informed a career that spans acting on stage and screen, screenwriting, directing, theatre directing, and work as an executive producer and showrunner. She works in the English language across these multiple professional capacities, establishing herself as a practitioner who operates on both sides of the camera and on the stage.
Fleabag, which ran from 2016 to 2019, became the focus of considerable award recognition. Waller-Bridge received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, contributing to a total of three Primetime Emmy Awards. She also received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy, part of two Golden Globe wins overall, as well as a BAFTA TV award. Her work on the spy thriller series Killing Eve, which ran from 2018 to 2022 and for which she served as a writer and producer, brought further Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
The recognition Waller-Bridge received across writing, performance, and production for Fleabag — three Primetime Emmys, two Golden Globes, and a BAFTA TV award — reflects the breadth of her contribution to that single project, encompassing the roles of creator, writer, and lead actor simultaneously. Her additional Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Killing Eve extended that recognition into her work as a writer and producer on a separate series.
Quotes by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
No one would touch me with a barge pole as an actress. It hit hard. I thought, 'What am I doing? This is a stupid idea!' It's like throwing yourself into a massive pond, and you feel like you're going to drown so quickly.
I always knew that if I was ever going to perform something that I wrote in front of an audience, I was going to do the thing I most like to experience as an audience member, which is to be tricked.
I just kind of like to feel myself into stuff by writing scenes and seeing what characters end up saying.
I think it's part of human nature, that we want to achieve. It's definitely a kind of cosmopolitan nature, wanting to achieve in the fast lane.
This world of 'Star Wars' is just so accepting and beautiful that the idea a droid and a human are trying to waddle their way into a relationship is something that's celebrated.
I've been so obsessed with 'Game of Thrones,' and there's so much about nobility and duty that I think about a lot.
I had such a supportive family, and I think that affects your life in such a profound way; it fortifies you completely.
As women, we get the message about how to be a good girl - how to be a good, pretty girl - from such an early age. Then, at the same time, we're told that well-behaved girls won't change the world or ever make a splash.
Every time I see the rails of my photo shoots, it's like Dr. Seuss, or as if they've skinned Muppets.
Throughout a lot of my 20s, my sexual allure and power was one of the most important things about me, my currency.