Talulah Riley is an English model and actress who has appeared in several films, including Pride & Prejudice, The Boat That Rocked, St Trinian’s, Inception, and St. Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold.
Besides being a famous movie star herself, she was also in the news for her marriage to billionaire industrialist Elon Musk. Although the couple was the talk of the town, their relationship was solid. However, to view Talulah as just the wife of Musk would be unjust to the very talented actress, who, apart from being a part of several movies, has also done stage plays and performed on television.
The British actress is often pitted to be the next big thing in Hollywood, along with compatriots such as Kendall Jenner and Anya Wu. Despite being divorced and having a complicated personal life, Talulah has kept her professional flag flying high even in a ruthlessly competitive place like the film industry.
Childhood & Early Life of Talulah Riley
Talulah Jane Riley-Milburn was born on September 26, 1985, to Una Riley and Doug Milburn. The only child to her parents, Taluah grew up in Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, England.
Talulah comes from a wealthy and respected family. His father, Doug Milburn, is a screenwriter with quite a few well-known scripts in his portfolio. He has written many episodes for famous television shows such as Silent Witness, Prime Suspect, and The Bill.
Before turning to screenwriter, he was the head of the National Security Squad. Riley’s mother, Una Riley, is also a well-known personality in her field. She has established and runs two companies- a security firm and a PR company.
Riley has been brought up entirely in England. She attended the Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls and Berkhamsted Collegiate School. She went to college at the Cheltenham Ladies College. She also attended the Open University while pursuing acting in London.
The Career of Talulah Riley In A Nutshell
Riley’s on-screen career started in 2003 when she was just 18. Her first role was minor in the screen adaption of Agatha Christie’s famous detective, Poirot. She appeared in one of the episodes of the TV series- Five Little Pigs.
Her first real break came in 2005 when she was cast in Joe Wright’s adaption of Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’. She played the role of Mary Bennet, one of the protagonist’s sisters, essayed brilliantly by Penelope Cruz. Although she was not the lead in the movie, her performance grabbed the attention of moviemakers, and she has not looked back since.
Many roles, both big and small, came her way after ‘Pride and Prejudice’. In the next couple of years, she played minor roles in movies and TV shows such as Agatha Christie’s ‘Marple’, ‘Friends Forever’ and ‘Phoo Action. She became involved with the St. Trinian’s franchise, where she played the role of Annabelle Fritton. She also appeared in the same role in St. Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold.
Riley also played a significant role in the 2007 TV series ‘Nearly Famous’, where she essayed the character of Lila Reed. She appeared in all six episodes of the series. In 2008, she played the role of Miss Evangelista in the famous show ‘Doctor Who.’
In 2009, she was the lead actress in a short film called ‘The Summer House’. The movie was received worldwide and achieved the pole position on many rating charts, including iTunes.
The biggest film in her portfolio came in 2010 in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster ‘Inception’. Riley not only got to work with the brilliant filmmaker, she also shared screen space with Leonardo Di Caprio in the movie.
Post Inception, Riley has worked in many movies such as ‘The Dilemma’, ‘White Frog‘, ‘The Knot‘, ‘The Liability‘ and ‘In a World’. She played the role of a nurse in Marvel’s ‘Thor: The Dark World’.
While these were mainly small roles, Riley bagged a repeat role in the Westworld’s hit TV series, directed by Christopher Nolan’s brother, Jonathan Nolan. The show was a runaway hit, and Riley appeared in six of the ten episodes aired in season one. In the sci-fi show, Riley plays the role of Angela, one of the ‘hosts’ that welcome the ‘guests’ into the world of robots. She is also set to appear in the show’s second season, which is estimated to air in 2018.
Her latest work is ‘The Last Witness’, where she is portrayed as Jeanette Mitchell. The movie is set to release in the later part of 2017.
Apart from movies and TV shows, Riley has also worked on the stage in London. Her first work on stage came in 2005 in ‘The Philadelphia Story at the prestigious Old Vic theatre in London. She has also worked in the stage adaption of Tennessee Williams’ ‘Summer and Smoke’ in 2006.
Trivia about Talulah Riley
Riley has been featured on the cover of Esquire’s fashion magazine in their March 2010 issue.
She was also named by BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Art) as one of the Brits to Watch in 2011.
Awards & Recognition of Talulah Riley
Rіlеу hаѕ wоrkеd іn ѕеvеrаl ѕhоrt fіlmѕ аnd mоvіеѕ thrоughоut hеr саrееr, whісh hаѕ gаіnеd mаnу rесоgnіtіоn аnd рорulаrіtу. Ѕоmе оf hеr mајоr соntrіbutіоn tо hеr саrееr аrе аѕ fоllоwѕ:
Nоmіnаtеd fоr Іntеrnаtіоnаl аwаrdѕ fіvе tіmеѕ.
- Ѕсrееn Асtоr Guіld Аwаrdѕ
- Рhоеnіх Fіlm Сrіtісѕ Ѕосіеtу Аwаrdѕ
- Nоmіnаtеd fоr thе Аudіеnсе Аwаrd аt thе Еdіnburgh Іntеrnаtіоnаl Fіlm Fеѕtіvаl (2015)
Net Worth of Talulah Riley
Rіlеу’ѕ соntrіbutіоn tо thе fіlm іnduѕtrу hаѕ gаіnеd hеr а lоt оf fаmе аnd рорulаrіtу. Тhе mајоrіtу оf hеr еаrnіngѕ соmе frоm thе mоvіеѕ аnd ѕhоrt fіlmѕ fоr whоm ѕhе wоrkеd. Аftеr ѕрlіttіng uр wіth thе ‘Теѕlа’ fоundеr, Еlоn Мuѕk, fоr thе fіrѕt tіmе, ѕhе wаѕ аllоttеd wіth $4.2 mіllіоn оf ѕеttlеmеnt. Аftеr thе ѕесоnd dіvоrсе, ѕhе lаndеd оn а fоrtunе оf $16 mіllіоn. Тhаt mаdе hеr nеt wоrth tаllу tо аn еvеn grеаtеr hеіght. Неr tоtаl nеt wоrth іѕ саlсulаtеd tо bе аrоund $25 mіllіоn аѕ оf Ѕерtеmbеr 2021.
Talulah Riley Relationship with Elon Musk
Elon Musk met actress Talulah Riley right after his divorce from Justine Wilson. And it proved to be one of his most intimate relationships, as he and Riley married and divorced twice. So, what happened between them — and where do they stand now? Here’s what we know.
Musk stated in the past that he never wants to be alone, and he cherishes the feeling of being in love. When it comes to Riley, he was undoubtedly infatuated. Business Insider notes Ashlee Vance’s book, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, details how the Tesla CEO first met Riley. And it was all thanks to a trip to London with a SpaceX investor.
Musk and the investor were out at a bar when Musk saw Riley for the first time. Vance noted the two hit it off immediately. And Riley explained what it was like first meeting her future husband.
“I remember thinking that this guy probably didn’t get to talk to young actresses a lot and that he seemed quite nervous,” she said. “I decided to be really nice to him and give him a nice evening. Little did I know that he’d spoken to a lot of pretty girls in his life.” Vance then noted that Musk wanted nothing to do with other women after meeting Riley — and their relationship progressed from there.
(Video) Elon Musk to Divorce Wife a Second Time
They got married in 2010 and divorced in 2012
It was marital bliss for Musk and Riley back in 2010. But just two years later, they decided to go their separate ways. Musk took to Twitter at the time to express how much he still adored Riley, so it’s clear the impending divorce was amicable, and there was no bitterness between them.
“It was an amazing four years. I will love you forever. You will make someone very happy one day,” Musk tweeted.
So, why did Elon Musk and Talulah Riley divorce? Musk said he “simply fell out of love” with the actress after spending four years together. “We took some time apart for several months to see if absence makes the heart grow fonder, and unfortunately it did not,” Musk said. “I still love her, but I’m not in love with her. And I can’t really give her what she wants.“
Even so, he vowed he’d still stay friends with her, but staying married was “far too difficult. Every day was just too difficult.”
Musk and Riley married again in 2013 and divorced in 2016
It seems Musk may have had more lingering feelings for Riley than he thought. Just 18 months after their divorce, Musk, and Riley reconciled and married again. But it didn’t last, as Musk filed for divorce in 2014 on New Year’s Eve — though Musk didn’t follow through with the plan initially. He withdrew the petition seven months after the filing.
It was Riley who pulled the plug next. She filed the petition after Musk. While the couple took time apart yet again to figure things out, they finally and amicably agreed to split for good. They divorced for the second time in 2016.
Despite scrutiny and questioning from the public, Musk and Riley remained friends through it all. They accepted to occasionally still see each other, though it seems like their romance did, indeed, fizzle out.
Neither Riley nor Musk have married since though it looks like Grimes and Musk are getting serious in their relationship. We will have to wait and see if Musk will walk down the aisle once again!