With a passion for acting that can be traced in her genes, Joely Richardson is no stranger to the world of performing arts. Born on January 9, 1965 to actress Vanessa Redgrave and late director Tony Richardson, she is an English actress raised in London. The granddaughter of Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, she is also the sister of actress Natasha Richardson and niece of Lynn and Corin Redgrave. She was educated at The Thatcher School in Ojai, California and to no one’s surprise, began her acting career at an early age. However, she decided on a professional tennis career as well, spending two years at a tennis academy in Florida.
Richardson first graced the big screen in movies such as The Charge of the Light Brigade, Wetherby and Body Contact before landing a recurring role in the TV miniseries Behaving Badly as Serafina. In 1993, she was cast as the titular character on Lady Chatterley which was followed by roles in Return to Me, Maybe Baby, The Echo, The Tribe, The Patriot, Event Horizon and 101 Dalmatians.
While Richardson was already visible in both the big and small screen, it wasn't until she landed the role of Julia McNamara on Nip/Tuck that rocketed to worldwide fame. She played the dark medical drama series from 2003 until the show concluded in 2010, before she moved on to the role of Catherine Parr on Showtime's The Tudors. In 2010, she was cast to play the lead on The Whole Truth but had to drop out after the filming the pilot. She was replaced by Maura Tierney.
-Her mother in real life, Vanessa Redgrave, appeared on the TV series Nip/Tuck as her character Julia's mother.
-She played the mother of John Hensley on Nip/Tuck even though she's just 12 years older than him.