Rose Leslie
Rose Eleanor Arbuthnot-Leslie (born 9 February 1987), known professionally as Rose Leslie, is a Scottish actress. After winning a Scottish BAFTA for Best Acting Performance for her role in New Town, she rose to fame as Ygritte in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones and Gwen Dawson in the ITV drama series Downton Abbey.
Early life
Rose Leslie was born in Aberdeen to parents of Scottish nobility. She was raised at Lickleyhead Castle in Aberdeenshire, her family's 15th century ancestral seat.
Her father, Sebastian Arbuthnot-Leslie, is the Aberdeenshire Chieftain of Clan Leslie, and her mother is Candida Mary Sibyl "Candy" Leslie (née Weld) of Clan Fraser, great-granddaughter of Simon Fraser, 13th Lord Lovat (a descendant of Charles II). She holds ancestry of prominent leaders in the British and New Zealand empire, including Ambrose Lisle March Phillipps De Lisle. Her family presently owns the 12th century Warthill Castle in Old Rayne.
Leslie is the third of five children and describes growing up together as "important. We are a big, close family." Jokingly, she recalls "having middle child syndrome" and "being the family's only redhead" and "the only ‘ginger’ in a 40-mile radius at school" as the pre-dispositions in her desire to become an actress where "different was O.K." She was educated at Rayne North School in Aberdeenshire, and then Millfield School in Street, Somerset, before spending three years at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.