Date of Birth
7 December 1988, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Birth Name
Emily Jane Browning
Nickname
Em
Height
5' 2" (1.57 m)
Mini Biography
Australian actress Emily Browning was born in 1988 in Melbourne, Australia. She has two younger brothers. Her start in acting came after a classmate's father involved in the acting business noticed her "acting all ditsy" in a school play. Emily found an agent and was soon filming on location for the Hallmark TV movie 'The Echo of Thunder' (1998). She received more roles from there, including parts in 'The Man Who Sued God' (2001), opposite Billy Connolly and 'Ned Kelly' (2003), opposite Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom. In that film she had to hug Heath Ledger, and she said that all her friends who went to see the film at the same time sent her a barrage of text messages about how lucky she was! Emily says she tries to avoid "cheesy" movies, and her big break came when she was on a press tour in LA for 'Ghost Ship' (2002) that was filmed in Australia and released in America. In the same year, she won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Young Actress, and was nominated for the same award the next year. Emily received some scripts when in LA and sent in a video audition for 'Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events' (2004). She received a call and was asked to come to LA for a proper audition, which won her the part. She spent months in LA filming, for the second time acting opposite Billy Connolly. Emily said she enjoyed the experience of making a big budget film in America, and says that although she's not sure what is coming next, she's hoping to do some more Australian work.
Trivia
Got her start in acting after being noticed in a school play.
Won the coveted role of Violet in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) after her agent gave her a pile of scripts for which to submit video auditions. She was phoned by the director of Lemony Snicket and asked to come to LA for an audition, which won her the part.
For her underwater scene in Ghost Ship (2002), she had to wear little weights so her dress wouldn't float up over her face.
Her parents' names are Shelley and Andrew.
Has two brothers; Nicholas (10) and Matthew (8) (as at 2005).
Favorite subjects include English literature, philosophy, psychology, photography, and design technology.
She wanted to be a fashion designer when she was little, but she was "discovered" as an actress at age 8 in a school play.
She was scared she was going to get fired while filming Lemony Snicket, because she'd be laughing at Jim Carrey so much.
Says she learned an American accent from watching Sesame Street as a child.
She has a cat named Jasper and a dog named Roxy.
She needed to wear heels for her costume in Lemony Snicket because Liam Aiken was much taller than she was.
Is featured briefly (archive footage from Ghost Ship (2002)) in the film Around the Bend (2004).
She has her nose and belly button pierced.
She loves peanut butter.
Took a 3 year acting break starting 2005 to finish school in Australia. She will return in the remake of A Tale Of Two Sisters (2008) with Arielle Kebbel, Elizabeth Banks and David Strathairn.
Was cast as Babydoll after Amanda Seyfried was forced to drop out due to scheduling problems.
Personal Quotes
"Obviously, you can't have every little thing from the books, because the books are like really detailed, which, you know, which works for the books, and doesn't work so much for the movie. Or else it would go on, and on, and on. But I think it will be as much like the books as we can make it." - about A Series of Unfortunate Events
"We fought all the time over stupid stuff. He always thought he was right, and I always thought I was right. Of course, I was right!" - on her co-star (brother in Lemony Snicket's A series of Unfortunate Events) Liam Aiken.
"I was lucky - the first eight productions I auditioned for, I got cast."
"After Hollywood, you know if people are interested in you or in the fact that you've been in a movie. You know who your real friends are."
"My family are very supportive and always have been. They weren't the kind of parents that pushed me into it. I know a lot of parents of kid actors I've worked with have pressured them into acting, but my parents are different. I'm really lucky to have them because they let me make my own decisions."
"I'm not going to do a pop album anytime soon. I'm not going to dye my hair blonde and wear pink mini-skirts."
Where Are They Now
(August 2004) Filming Lemony Snickets: A Series of Unfortunate Events
(September 2005) At school in Melbourne, Australia, in Year 11.
(October 2006) Appearing in the music video "Light Surrounding You" from the band Evermore
