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Who is Oona Chaplin?
An actress with 40 acting credits to her name, Oona Chaplin is perhaps known best for her role as Talisa Stark/Meagyr in the world-popular series “Game of Thrones”, starring Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington and Peter Dinklage, which followed the story of nine noble families fighting for control over the lands of Westeros.
To movie lovers, Oona is probably known as Eva in the 2017 film “Anchor and Hope”, which earned her the Gaudi Award for Millor Protagonista Femenina (Best Female Lead), and Apolo Award for Mejor Pareja (Best Couple), which she shares with Natalia Tena.
Briefly about her famous family
Most people, when they hear the surname ‘Chaplin’, think about the great Charlie Chaplin, who rose to fame in the era of silent film. Well, Oona is his granddaughter; Oona’s mother is Charlie’s daughter, the famous “Doctor Zhivago” actress, Geraldine Chaplin, the first of eight of Charlie’s children with his fourth wife, Oona O’Neil, also an actress – Oona is named after her.
Oona’s father is Chilean cinematographer, Patricio Castilla – he and Geraldine married in 2006. Oona has a half-brother, Shane Saura Chaplin, whose father is Spanish filmmaker, Carlos Saura, Geraldine’s ex-partner.
Early life and education
Born Oona Castilla Chaplin under the zodiac sign of Gemini on 4 June 1986, she recently celebrated her 37th birthday. A native of Madrid, Spain, she holds both Spanish and Swiss citizenship, since most of her childhood she spent in Spain and Switzerland. Oona and her family also lived in the United Kingdom and Cuba.
She had an interest in performing from an early age, which isn’t surprising knowing who her ancestors are. Oona danced ballet, flamenco, and salsa, and aged 15 began studying acting and drama at Gordonstoun School, in Moray, Scotland. Oona starred in several school plays, and upon matriculating in 2004, she enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), a prestigious and one of the oldest drama schools, in London, United Kingdom. Oona graduated with a BA degree in 2007.
Roles in series
Oona made her acting debut as Kate in an episode of the series “MI-5” in 2007, followed by her role as Kate in “Spooks: Code 9” in 2008. Two years later, Oona portrayed Silvia in the TV mini-series “El Gordo: Una Historia Verdadera”.
Oona Chaplin in The Hour, 2011 pic.twitter.com/zGvnMBblgt
— best period drama (@favperioddrama) April 6, 2016
From 2011 through 2012, Oona played Marnie Madden in the drama series “The Hour”, also starring Romola Garai, Dominic West and Ben Whishaw, which had 44 award nominations and four wins, including a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special.
Oona followed with her most notable role, as Talisa in “Game of Thrones”, and was seen in 11 episodes during 2012 and 2013. Her character was a healer working on the battlefields. Originally, Oona was announced to play Jeyne Westerling, the older daughter of Lord Gawen Westerling of the Crag.
The show had 634 award nominations and 389 wins, including 59 Primetime Emmys, and Oona shares with the rest of the crew the CinEuphoria Merit – Honorary Award, and the nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Oona was next cast to play Mia in the series “Dates” (2013), followed by her role as Kitty Trevelyan in the 2014 series “The Crimson Field”, in which she starred opposite Hermione Norris and Richard Rankin. This war drama followed Kitty who joins two other girls to volunteer in a Northern France hospital, during the First World War. Although it had no nomination, the series was well-rated by the audience (7.8/10).
In the following years, Oona was seen in “El Padre de Cain” (2016), “Taboo” (2017), and “The Comey Rule” (2020). Most recently, she played Maddy in the 2022 TV mini-series “Treason”, in which she played the lead role opposite Olga Kurylenko and Ciaran Hinds.
Roles in movies
Oona made her first movie appearance as Laura Chappel in the 2008 comedy-drama “Inconceivable”. Later that year, she followed with her role as Perla de las Dunas Receptionist in the mystery action-adventure “Quantum of Solace”, starring Daniel Craig as James Bond.
Oona landed her first lead role in the 2009 horror “Imago Mortis”, written and directed by Stefano Bessoni, followed by her role as Linda in “Pelican Blood” in 2010. In the following years, Oona made an appearance in several short movies, before her role as Jess in the 2013 funny, sharp comedy “Powder Room”.
She was next cast to play Alice in the 2014 drama “Aloft”, the story of a struggling mother who meets her son 20 years after she abandoned him. Oona co-starred with Jennifer Connelly and Cillian Murphy, and the movie was nominated for the Malaga Spanish Film Festival for Mejor Pelicula (Best Film). Later that year, Oona was seen starring as Marta in the horror thriller “Purgatorio”, directed by Pau Teixidor.
Oona followed with her roles in “Dancing for My Havana” (2015) and “Realive” (2016) before she was seen as Eva in the romantic comedy “Anchor and Hope”, also starring her mother, Geraldine Chaplin, which earned Oona the aforementioned awards. Most recently, Oona starred as Rachel in the 2022 horror “Lullaby”.
Oona’s fans will be thrilled to hear that she’s joined the cast of “Avatar”, and will be seen as Varang, the character who has been described as the ‘strong and vibrant central character who spans the entire sequel saga’.
Love life and relationships
Oona is quite secretive when it comes to her personal life, however, this doesn’t mean that she hasn’t been the subject of various speculations about her love life. It’s known that she was in a relationship with Alex Lanipekun, a British actor perhaps known best as Ben Kaplan in the series “MI-5”. Oona and he met while studying at the RADA, and allegedly dated for a couple of years. They were often seen together in public, holding hands and hugging.
As of June 2023, it seems that Oona is single, she hasn’t been married or engaged, and doesn’t have children.
How rich is Oona Chaplin?
According to celebritynetworth.com, at the time of his death in 1977, Oona’s grandfather, Charlie Chaplin, had a net worth estimated at over $100 million (today it would be around $400 million), and all of his money was inherited by his wife Oona O’Neill. There is no info on who inherited all the money after Oona died in 1991.
However, thanks to her acting talent and hard work, Oona Chaplin, the granddaughter of these famous actors, has earned a decent wealth for herself. According to sources as of June 2023, her net worth has been estimated at over $7 million.
