eve best
“rhaenys is able to navigate this incredibly dense political environment with such finesse, calm and effortless grace. It's impossible to deny that underneath, there is this sword in her heart of that core wound, which is a combination of all kinds of things… as a dragonrider, That skill is something that taps into the wild part of rhaenys, and it can never be denied.”
ALSO KNOWN FOR
The King’s Speech (2010)
Nurse Jackie (2011)
Much Ado About Nothing (2012)
Fate: The Winx Saga (2021)
Emily 'Eve' Best is an English actress and director who was born on the 31st of July, 1971 in Ladbroke Grove, London, England. She is best known for her television roles as Dr. Eleanor O'Hara in the Showtime series Nurse Jackie (2009–2013), First Lady Dolley Madison in the American Experience television special (2011), and as Monica Chatwin in the BBC miniseries The Honourable Woman (2014). Best has also played Wallis Simpson in the Oscar-winning film The King's Speech (2010). She attended Wycombe Abbey Girls' School before going on to Lincoln College, Oxford, where she studied English. After graduating, Best appeared in Oxford University Dramatic Society productions and had performed at the Edinburgh Festival in her professional debut as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing at the Southwark Playhouse.
After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, Best rose as a theatre veteran, winning the 2006 Olivier Award for Best Actress for playing the title role in Hedda Gabler. She then made her Broadway debut in the 2007 revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten, winning the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play, and receiving the first of two nominations for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play; the second was for the revival of The Homecoming in 2008. Other theatrical credits include, The Heiress at Royal National Theatre in 2000, The Misanthrope at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2002, As You Like It at the Sheffield Crucible in 2007, The Duchess of Malfi at the Old Vic in 2012, Antony and Cleopatra at Shakespeare's Globe in 2014 and most recently in 2017 as Mrs Arbuthnot in Vaudeville London’s production of A Woman of No Importance.
Earlier television appearances include The Bill (2000), Shackleton (2002), Waking the Dead (2004), The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (2005), Prime Suspect: The Final Act (2006), and Vital Signs (2006). Best later co-starred as Dr. Eleanor O'Hara in the Showtime dark comedy series Nurse Jackie, which premiered in June 2009 and ran for seven years, concluding in 2015. During the series run, she also played the Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson, in The King's Speech (2010), starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter. The film was a major box office and critical success, garnering several prestigious awards, including Best Picture at the 83rd Academy Awards. Following this, Best portrayed Kate in Someone You Love, a 2014 Danish drama film directed by Pernille Fischer Christensen. More recent television credits include BBC Two’s drama miniseries The Shadow Line (2010), BBC’s political spy thriller The Honourable Woman (2014), Sky One’s crime drama Stan Lee's Lucky Man (2016) and Netflix’s teen fantasy drama series Fate: The Winx Saga (2021). In 2021, it was announced that Best will be starring as Rhaenys Velaryon in the upcoming fantasy drama House of the Dragon, HBO’s prequel spinoff to the hit series Game of Thrones.
FATE: THE WINX SAGA
A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE
LUCKY MAN
LIFE IN SQUARES
THE HONORABLE WOMAN
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
NURSE JACKIE
THE KING'S SPEECH
THE INFINITE WORLDS OF H.G. WELLS
FILMOGRAPHY
2022 House of the Dragon (TV Series)
Princess Rhaenys Velaryon (7 episodes)
2021 Fate: The Winx Saga (TV Series)
Farah Dowling (6 episodes)
2018 A Woman of No Importance
Mrs. Arbuthnot
2016-2017 Lucky Man (TV Series)
Anna Clayton (20 episodes)
2016 The Complete Walk: Antony and Cleopatra (Short)
Cleopatra
2016 The Complete Walk: The Taming of the Shrew (Short)
Katherine
2009-2015 Nurse Jackie (TV Series)
Dr. Eleanor O'Hara (51 episodes)
2015 Life in Squares (TV Mini Series)
Vanessa Bell
2014 The Honorable Woman (TV Mini Series)
Monica Chatwin (8 episodes)
2014 New Worlds (TV Mini Series)
Angelica Fanshawe
2014 Someone You Love
Kate
2013 The Challenger Disaster (TV Movie)
Sally Ride
2012 Much Ado About Nothing
Beatrice
2012 Up All Night (TV Series)
Yvonne Encanto (2 episodes)
2011 The Shadow Line (TV Series)
Petra Mayler (4 episodes)
2010 The King's Speech
Wallis Simpson
2010 Dolley Madison (TV Documentary)
Dolley Madison
2006 Prime Suspect 7: The Final Act (TV Mini Series)
Linda Philips
2006 Vital Signs (TV Series)
Sarah Cartwright (6 episodes)
2005 The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (TV Series)
Amanda Gibson (1 episode)
2004 Lie with Me (TV Movie)
Roselyn Tyler
2004 Waking the Dead (TV Series)
Natasha Bloom (1 episode)
2004 The Lodge (Short)
Yuni
2002 Shackleton (TV Mini Series)
Eleanor Shackleton
2001 Brilliant! (Short)
Nina
2001 The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells (TV Mini Series)
Ellen McGillvray
2000 Casualty (TV Series)
Amber Hope (1 episode)
2000 The Bill (TV Series)
Anne (1 episode)
