The Joy of Living

Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy (; born 16 April 1996) is an actress. Born in Miami, she grew up in Buenos Aires and London. She began pursuing an acting career at the age of 16. After a series of small television roles, her breakthrough came with a leading role in the horror film The Witch (2015). She had roles in the horror film Split (2016) and its sequel Glass (2019), the black comedy film Thoroughbreds (2017), and the television crime drama series Peaky Blinders (2019–2022). Taylor-Joy also played Emma Woodhouse in the period drama Emma (2020). She gained wide recognition for playing Beth Harmon in the period drama miniseries The Queen's Gambit (2020), receiving the Golden Globe and SAG Award for Best Actress, and a nomination for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress. Then she starred in the horror film Last Night in Soho (2021), the action films The Northman (2022) and The Gorge (2025), the black comedy The Menu (2022); and the apocalyptic film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) as Imperator Furiosa. She voiced Princess Peach in the animated films The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026).