Fans of the British period piece drama Poldark are surely familiar with Gabriella Wilde. Given the fact that her fame is still rising, they may not know her name. But given her undeniable beauty and talent, they certainly know her face. And no, this isn't Gabriella Brooks, Liam Hemsworth's new romantic partner... This is a completely different young beauty. Gabriella Wilde is surely a British babe that will make anyone sweat.
This young and up-and-coming star almost looks as if she is part of the royal family. And if you take a little look into her history, you'll find that she is in fact related to some royal bloodlines.
Let's find out who Gabriella Wilde is and what her place in the entertainment industry has been so far...
Her Royal Roots
The Poldark star was born Gabriella Zanna Vanessa Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe in 1989 in Hampshire, England. During an interview with Hunger TV, she claimed that she was eager to change her name due to the fact that it was just so unrealistically long and formal. But she was gifted this name because of her royal heritage. Gabriella is a descendent of the aristocratic Gough-Calthorpe family which ruled over lands in Bermingham, England.
Her father John is the former chairman for the Watermark Group and is the grandson of Sir Fitzroy Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe, 1st Baronet. As for Gabriella's mother, Vanessa Mary, she is the former wife of a socialite and a high-end model.
Vanessa Mary also has royal roots. Ancestors of Garbiella's maternal grandfather include General The Hon. Thomas Gage, Montagu Bertie, 6th Earl of Abingdon, and Stephanus Van Cortlandt, the very first native-born Mayor of New York City.
Of course, her maternal grandmother was also an aristocrat with very wealthy and connected family and friends.
Gabriella has a younger sister but also five half-siblings from her father's first marriage to Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon.
Gabriella's royal bloodline has been passed down to her son, Sasha, who she shares with her husband Alan Pownall, who she met at school.
Naomi Campbell Started Gabriella's Career
Given Gabriella's stunning blond, alabaster looks, it makes sense that she was picked up as a model at a young age. But it was famed-model and businesswoman Naomi Campbell who gave Gabriella her first shot in the fashion industry.
During an interview with Vision TV, Gabriella revealed that she was found by Naomi when she was 14-years-old. She soon joined Naomi's agency, Premier Model Management, and started to appear in campaigns for massive companies including Lacoste, Burberry, TopShop, L.K. Bennett, and Abercrombie & Fitch. She also posed for Cosmo, Vogue, Nylon, and InStyle.
All of this led her to be named the "It Girl". In fact, she was named "the second-most-eligible girl in Britain" back in 2007. Although, Gabriella says she flat-put rejected this label.
By the age of 18, Gabriella started to lose interest in the modeling industry and instead followed her gut into film and television.
Her very first role was in 2009 when she played Saffy in St. Trinian's 2:The Legend of Fritton's Gold. Soon after, Gabriella was cast in a small episode of Doctor Who and made a much larger screen debut in Paul W.S. Anderson's The Three Musketeers. This is where she co-starred alongside some Hollywood greats such as Logan Lerman, Orlando Bloom, Christoph Waltz, Luke Evans, and Succession's Matthew Macfayden.
While the movie didn't exactly receive stellar reviews, it did propel Gabriella into a ton more work.
The Growth Of Gabriella Wilde's Career
While Gabriella claims she is quite introverted and therefore not exactly suitable for acting work, she made quite a splash after The Three Musketeers came out.
In March 2012, Gabriella was cast in an ABC pilot called Dark Horse. While the show wasn't picked up for the 2012-2013 television season, it did add another credit to her name and led her to attach herself to an independent film called Squatters.
This opened the door to being cast in a remake of Carrie, which starred Chloe Grace-Moretz. Gabriella played the iconic role of Sue Snell, the mean girl who made Carrie's school life a living hell.
Right after Carrie, Wilde won the leading role in the second film adaptation of Scott Spencer's romantic novel Endless Love. The film followed a privileged girl who gets swept up in a whirlwind romance with a bad boy who her parents do everything to keep her from. The film may have been a conventional love story with an edge, but Gabriella (as well as her Magic Mike co-star Alex Pettyfer) gave the project some life and steamy chemistry.
Around the same time, she was asked to join Estée Lauder as a spokesmodel role, eventually becoming the face of the brand's ad campaigns.
Then came Gabriella's big break...
From 2016 - 2019, Gabriella played the prominent role of Caroline Enys (née Penvenen) in BBC's Poldark.
“[Caroline] is really fun,” Gabriella said during her interview with Vision TV. “She’s not what she seems and is very naughty and quick-witted. She’s a bit of a feminist in her own way for that time and while she’s restricted as an heiress, she’s still feisty.”
You can expect to see Gabriella in a mysterious role in the upcoming Wonder Woman 1984. And we're sure she will continue to even bigger things from there.