The Girl From The Chronicles Of Narnia Grew Up To Be Gorgeous

Georgia Henley, who played Lucy in "The Chronicles of Narnia," was one of four child stars to be solidified within the pop cultural zeitgeist in 2005 through the first installment of the film franchise "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." Cast at just 7 years old, the young actress immediately won audiences over with her adorable, yet emotionally mature, portrayal of the youngest member of the Pevensie family, Lucy. 

Alongside her on-screen siblings, as well as James McAvoy's Mr. Tumnus and the godlike talking lion Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson), the fantasy flick saw Henley help to free Narnia from the oppressive reign of Tilda Swinton's White Witch, before being crowned Queen Lucy the Valiant. She later reprised this role in the series' sequels, 2008's Prince Caspian and 2010's The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

While cultivating an impressive and multi-faceted career as an actress, writer, and director, Henley has gone on to become a blossoming force in the entertainment industry. So, what do you need to know about the real life and career of Georgie Henley? To start, she's grown up to be gorgeous.

Unfortunately, most child stars don't grow up to be as successful and well-adjusted as the likes of Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe, Elijah Wood of Lord of the Rings, or Georgie Henley herself. As such, Henley used her platform to speak out on the unique pressures placed on children in Hollywood.

"When you've acted as a child and you continue to act as an adult, for some reason people want you to fail," she wrote in a thread on the platform then known as Twitter in 2018. While highlighting child and adolescent psychotherapist Margot Waddell's notion of "destructive envy," Henley urged her followers to "remember these are still children, going through whatever they need to go through to become whatever they're going to be." She concluded, "I just feel very lucky that social media wasn't around when I was doing press junkets at 10 years old. And I'm SO lucky that I have wonderful parents who put my happiness and well-being above any kind of professional ambition."

After finishing the "Narnia" films, it seemed that Henley has been picky about the film projects she's taken on and tended to hold out for the right parts ... albeit with mixed results. In 2014, she returned to the big screen with the crime drama "Perfect Sisters," which scored just 27% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, she received praise for her performance in "The Sisterhood of the Night" the following year (via The Wrap), and she later appeared in 2017's "Access All Areas," which largely flew under the radar despite being picked up by Amazon Prime.

Henley's ultimate post-Narnia strategy was to avoid being typecast by experimenting with different roles, as she shared in an interview with Varsity. However, she later admitted to WhatsOnStage, "I do find it very difficult to find roles that I as a woman would want to see portrayed — 80 percent of the roles that I read I just go 'really?'" She added, "I'm lucky that Lucy was a character who was independent, confident, and entirely firm in her own convictions. I want to avoid being there as a device, so the lead actor can learn something. I want characters with journeys."

When Georgie Henley isn't acting, she likes to keep busy working behind the scenes as a writer or director. 

The actress first took on these new roles in 2016 with Tide, a short film that focuses on the relationship between a lesbian couple while exploring their daily lives in a small seaside town. In addition to beginning to develop her second short film project in 2018 (via WhatsOnStage), Henley worked on "Tide" as part of her university course, which sparked a desire to take on more behind-the-scenes roles in the entertainment industry. "I want to continue acting, but also being given the freedom to write and direct in Cambridge has been amazing and made me realize that it is something I want to pursue," she told Varsity. 

While noting that "it's difficult for women to be taken seriously in the industry," Henley added, "You just have to put yourself out there and believe in your work. You have to convey that you have a story and a message, and that's what I want to do: Whether I'm acting, writing, or directing, I want to tell stories that wouldn't otherwise be told."

Henley made her professional stage debut in the world premiere of Philip Ridley's play "Angry" in 2018. "It's a collection of monologues which focus on different ideas of anger, whether it's terrorism, or self-loathing masquerading as tough love, or how we normalize violence," she told Theatre Weekly at the time. "Tyrone [Huntley] and I perform all six monologues but we alternate which ones we do in each performance, so it's fascinating how the same words take on new meanings when interpreted by a man and a woman."

The production itself received mixed reviews, with The Guardian giving it just two stars out of five. However, Henley's performance was praised by critics. "Henley's physical control and ability to construct countless individuals feels uncannily effortless," read WhatsOnStage's review, "and, for a performer making their professional stage debut, this no doubt bodes well for the future." The experience proved to be transformative for Henley, who grew more confident in her abilities as an actress. As she reflected on Instagram a year later, "I had no theatrical training or professional experience ... I'm so grateful to them for believing in me."

Georgie Henley made the most of the years she spent at Cambridge University, soaking up knowledge and new experiences, like working behind the camera and getting stuck into the world of theater. However, when her studies were over and she graduated, Henley was ready to get back to acting professionally. She moved to London and put feelers out for auditions, but it wasn't that easy.

It ended up taking another year and a half before she actually booked a role. "I kind of felt like I had to start from scratch even though I wasn't," she said on "An Actor Despairs" podcast. At the time, it felt hopeless, but looking back, Henley can pinpoint exactly what her problem was. "My confidence was letting me down. I just didn't feel like I belonged in the industry anymore," Henley explained. "The Chronicles of Narnia" star felt she was being affected by outside pressures and was overwhelmed about transitioning from a child star to an adult actor, not wanting to feed into the narrative of "if you work as a child, you don't work as an adult."

Henley eventually built her confidence back up and booked the role-playing Natalie in the comedy-drama "Access All Areas," which is about a group of teens who run away to go to a festival on a remote island. She starred alongside "Yellowjackets" actor Ella Purnell and Edward Bluemel, who's best known for playing Sean in "Sex Education."

While Georgie Henley's "Game of Thrones" spin-off didn't take flight, 2019 still marked her return to the small screen in a big way. "The Chronicles of Narnia" star let the world know she was ready for more adult drama when she took on the role of Margaret "Meg" Tudor in "The Spanish Princess" on Starz.

Adapted from the work of author Philippa Greggory, the series tells the stories of Catherine of Aragon (Charlotte Hope), Mary Tudor (Sai Bennett), and Lina de Cardonnes (Stephanie Levi-John) as well as Meg. "The Spanish Princess" was praised for telling the story through a female lens rather than recounting male history. While speaking to Country & Town House, Henley expressed how important this is, and how it makes the series more relatable. "It's so important to interrogate history and the accounts that we're given, and to excavate the stories which haven't been told before," she said. "I'm in awe of the hoops these women had to jump through to be taken seriously, to balance motherhood and politics, to have their voices heard. I think so many women who watch the show will be able to relate to the task of juggling multiple responsibilities." 

Henley also explained that the series makes strides for historical representation by not "whitewashing" Lina's story. In a follow-up interview with Country & Town House, Henley added that working on the series with Harriet Walter, who played Margaret Beaufort, was a wonderful learning opportunity, calling their time together an acting "masterclass."

Georgie Henley achieved a high level of professional success at an early age thanks to her role as Lucy Pevensie in the "Narnia" films, but that didn't mean she'd automatically have a cushy or easy life. Actors are still just people who are susceptible to the same ills as the rest of the world. Unfortunately for Henley, she contracted a rather nasty and rare disease called necrotizing fasciitis when she was 18.

Although she didn't speak about it publicly at the time, in 2022, Henley shared her story on Instagram, explaining the horrific toll the disease took on her body and said that she was lucky to have survived it. "In order to prevent the amputation of my left hand and arm, I received grueling invasive surgery, and later extensive reconstructive surgery, which resulted in a series of skin grafts and scars," she revealed.

Scared that they would hold her back professionally, Henley hid her scars in public for years but has come to realize they're not something she needs to hide. "They are a map of the pain my body has endured, and, most importantly, a reminder of my survival. They do not affect my capacity as an actor, and I'm proud to be a person who has visible scars in this industry," she added.

If you've been a fan of Georgie Henley since her "Narnia" days, then you might have noticed how her sense of style has changed over the years. For example, when she attended press events and the premieres of the fantasy films, she typically wore conservative, feminine dresses. However, as she's gotten older, Henley's sense of style has changed. It's evident from her Instagram page and the photoshoots she participates in that she enjoys experimenting with her style and making bold fashion choices. Henley often opts for bold colors in her outfits and uses fashion to express herself. Henley is also an avid promoter of sustainable fashion, revealing that some of her favorite pieces in her wardrobe come from vintage fairs and second-hand sites like Depop.

Speaking about her personal style during an interview with Square Mile, Henley gushed about one of her favorite pieces of clothing — a vintage navy Aquascutum coat. Describing it, she said it "treads a fine line between chaotic detective, '30s screen siren, [and] seller of fine watches." She added: "I feel genuinely powerful in a good coat, it's like armor. Plus, this one functions equally well as a blanket for impromptu naps on the go."

Georgie Henley has made it very clear that she's open to pursuing all kinds of creative opportunities as her career develops, and she certainly doesn't want to end up being typecast. In terms of acting, Henley wants to explore all avenues, especially genres like sci-fi and romance which she's done very little of so far.

Additionally, Henley told Square Mile that she wants to be a creator moving forward, whether that is in front or behind the camera or away from the screen altogether. She said: "I want to create my own work, to write and direct. I love acting, but there's something to be said for being with a story from its genesis and having agency over how it's told. To me, acting, and writing and directing go hand in hand. I look at someone like Greta Gerwig and see the same qualities in her directing work as I do in her acting — tenderness, wit, generosity."

As for what she wants to create, that's a work in progress. But Henley did tell Polyester that everything she's working on "has to relate with the queer experience." She continued: "I feel like it's my need to write it, but it's also recognizing that there just isn't enough of it, especially on screen."