Isobel Dorothy Powley Booth (born 7 March 1992) is an English actress. Born and raised in London, Powley was educated at Holland Park School. She began acting as a teenager on television, starring on the

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

action television series ''

M.I. High ''M.I. High'' is a British action television series produced by Kudos for CBBC and created by Keith Brumpton. The series focused on a team of undercover teenage spies working for the fictional British secret intelligence agency MI9 who had to ...

'' (2007–2008). Powley gained critical praise for her portrayal of

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. ...

in '' A Royal Night Out'' (2015), for which she was nominated for the British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer, and a sexually confused teenager in the coming-of-age film '' The Diary of a Teenage Girl'' (2015), for which she was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead and won the Trophée Chopard at the

2016 Cannes Film Festival The 69th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian filmmaker George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller was the president of the jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and ...

. On television, Powley starred in the

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

miniseries '' A Small Light'' (2023). For her performance as Miep Gies, Powley received critical acclaim and was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award and

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

Early life

Powley was born in the

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

borough of London, England, to British actor Mark Powley and casting director Janis Jaffa. Her mother is the descendant of Jewish immigrants from the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

to Little Jerusalem, in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Powley attended Holland Park School.

Career

Screen

From 2007 until 2008, Powley was one of the lead characters in ''M.I. High'', starring in 23 episodes. Powley has also appeared in several other productions such as '' Murderland'' (three episodes, 2009), '' Little Dorrit'' (2008), ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' (2008) and ''The Whistleblowers'' (2007). In 2013, Powley was joining the cast of the ITV series ''

Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...

'' for series six. Bel Powley at Diary of a Teenage Girl premiere

In 2015, Powley portrayed

in the biographical comedy-drama '' A Royal Night Out'', alongside Sarah Gadon as Princess Elizabeth. Powley played the lead role of Minnie Goetze in the comedy-drama film '' The Diary of a Teenage Girl'', which premiered in New York City and Los Angeles in August 2015. Shortly afterward, Powley starred as the titular character in the 2016 indie film '' Carrie Pilby'', taking over the role from

Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She had her breakthrough with the western film ''True Grit (2010 film), True Grit'' (2010), which earned her List of awards and nominations received by H ...

. Her films since include '' Carrie Pilby'' (2016), ''

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

'' (2017) and '' Ashes in the Snow'' (2018). In 2018, Powley starred opposite Liv Tyler in the horror film '' Wildling'', and appeared in the crime-drama film '' White Boy Rick''. That same year, Powley played a lead role as Holly Morten in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

drama ''

Informer An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information inten ...

''. In June 2020, Powley appeared in '' The King of Staten Island'' as the love interest of

Pete Davidson Peter Michael Davidson (born November 16, 1993) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He began his career in the early 2010s with minor guest roles on ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', ''Friends of the People'', ''Guy Code'', and ''Wild 'n O ...

's character. On television, Powley has appeared in the

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

series '' The Morning Show'' (2019–2021) and in 2022, Powley played Birdy, one of the main characters in the TV series ''Everything I Know About Love'' of the BBC. She was most recently seen in '' Masters of the Air'' (2024). On June 9, 2025, it was announced that Powley would be playing Petunia Dursley in the upcoming

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

TV series.

Stage

Powley appeared as Maggie in ''Tusk Tusk'' at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

, London, in March 2009. On Broadway, she was Thomasina in the 2011 revival of '' Arcadia'' at the

Ethel Barrymore Theatre The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 243 West 47th Street (Manhattan), 47th Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1928, it ...

. In October 2011, she once again appeared at the Royal Court as Tilly in ''Jumpy'', a role to which she returned in the West End transfer of ''Jumpy'' to the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...

in August 2012. She appeared as Dawn in the March 2018 revival of '' Lobby Hero'' at the Hayes Theatre, alongside Chris Evans,

Michael Cera Michael Austin Cera ( ; ; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian actor. Over his career he has received nominations for a British Academy Film Award, three Critics' Choice Movie Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award. Cera beca ...

and Bryan Tyree Henry.

Personal life

In an interview in 2013, Powley said she had been accepted to study history at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, but she never attended. She also deferred a place at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

several times to pursue her acting career. It was announced in July 2021 via actor Douglas Booth's Instagram page that he and Powley were engaged to be married, having met on the set of the film ''

'' in 2016. The wedding took place on 28 October 2023 at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond, followed by an afterparty at the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...

. The couple were married under a

chuppah A ''chuppah'' (, ) is a canopy under which a Judaism, Jewish couple stand during their Jewish wedding, wedding ceremony. It consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes manually held u ...

made by Booth's sister, an artist, to honour Powley's Jewish heritage.

Filmography

Film

Television

Audio

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Powley, Bel 1992 births 21st-century English actresses Actresses from London People from Hammersmith Chopard Trophy for Female Revelation winners English child actresses English film actresses English people of Irish-Jewish descent English people of Russian-Jewish descent English television actresses Jewish English actresses Living people People educated at Holland Park School Actors from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham