Bonnie Francesca Wright (born 17 February 1991) is an English actress, filmmaker, and environmental activist. She is best known for her role as Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter film series.
Born in London, Wright made her professional acting debut in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), portraying the role for ten years until the final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). Following the series, Wright appeared in a string of independent films, including Before I Sleep (2013), The Sea (2013), and After the Dark (2014); the films received mixed reviews. She made her stage debut as the lead in Peter Ustinov's The Moment of Truth at the Southwark Playhouse in 2013.
After graduating from the London College of Communication in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in filmmaking, Wright founded her own production company, BonBonLumiere, and began to produce short films. Her first directorial project was the coming-of-age drama Separate We Come, Separate We Go (2012), starring David Thewlis, which was released at the Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim. She directed Know Thyself (2016), starring Christian Coulson, and Sextant (2016), both of which featured landscape and emotion as themes. Wright's three-part series, Phone Calls, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017. She released Medusa's Ankles (2018) starring Kerry Fox and Jason Isaacs, based on A. S. Byatt's The Matisse Stories. She has also directed music videos for artists Sophie Lowe, Pete Yorn, and Scarlett Johansson.
Wright has gained recognition for her environmental activism; she is also an ambassador for the charities Greenpeace and Lumos.
Early life and education
Bonnie Francesca Wright was born on 17 February 1991 in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the second child of Sheila Teague and Gary Wright, owners of the jewellery company Wright & Teague. She attended Prior Weston Primary School and later the King Alfred School in North London for her secondary education. While on set, Wright kept with her studies with the help of a tutor, and attained three A-levels in art, photography and design technology.
She has stated that growing up on set contributed to her film knowledge and interest. During the filming of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2009, she began attending the London College of Communication at University of the Arts London; in 2012, Wright graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in filmmaking.
Career
2001–2011: Beginnings and Harry Potter series
In 1999, castings were held across the UK for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the film adaptation of British author J. K. Rowling's best-selling novel. Wright's elder brother had read the first two books in the series and informed her that she reminded him of Ginny Weasley. Wright did not have any prior professional experience aside from school plays, and asked her mother if she could audition "on a whim". She gained a screen test for David Heyman after her pictures were sent to the film's casting directors, and her parents were told she got the role shortly after.
Wright made her film debut at the age of nine upon the 2001 release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, appearing in a cameo role in a scene at London King's Cross railway station, where her character and mother meet Harry Potter during the boarding of the Hogwarts express. The film broke sales records and was the highest-grossing film of 2001. She reprised her role the following year in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, in which her character begins studies at Hogwarts and encounters a secret diary that begins to control her actions. One critic cited her role as "important" but "underdeveloped". The film broke the opening records of its predecessor and became the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time in the region.
In 2002 and 2004, Wright co-starred in two television films: Stranded (2002), a period piece, and Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures (2004), where she played the younger version of the titular writer. Wright had supporting roles in the successive releases of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, released in 2004 and 2005 to commercial success and increasing worldwide recognition.