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Everything you need to know about Emma Corrin, the rising star who plays Princess Diana in ‘The Crown’

By Heather Cichowski

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Emma Corrin has been getting rave reviews for portraying Princess Diana in season four of The Crown. It's her breakout role, and her star is clearly on the rise, with fans praising her performance online.

But who is she? Viewers don't know very much about her, since she's only had a handful of appearances in film and television before playing the late People's Princess.

HELLO! Canada takes a look at the 24-year-old's life so far, including her interests and what things were like for her on set.

1. She won't return for season five of The Crown.

Alas, those who enjoyed seeing Emma as the late Princess of Wales will not get to see her reprise the role – unless she makes a surprise appearance in a flashback scene.

In August, it was revealed that Elizabeth Debicki would take over as Princess Diana for seasons five and six.

Emma as Diana and Josh as Charles, dramatizing the couple's engagement in season four of The Crown. Photo: © Netflix

2. Emma and Josh O'Connor created their own game on set.

While filming, Emma and her co-star Josh O'Connor (Prince Charles) came up with a fun way to pass the downtime: "The Game of Games." It involves picking a category then facing off different pairings against each other to come up with the ultimate favourite.

3. She has an omelette named after her.

In a Netflix interview with co-star Erin Doherty (Princess Anne), Emma revealed she had the egg dish named after her on The Crown set – and had no idea!

She had gotten into the habit of ordering an omelette with smoked salmon, tomato and cheese on set. When she went to get one herself, the catering staff revealed the dish's name.

"One day I went to get my own breakfast, and I said to the guy, 'Please, can I have a smoked salmon omelette," the star said. "And he was like 'Do you mean an emlette?' And I was like, 'what?' And he was like, 'Oh, it's because this girl Emma always orders the same breakfast so we called it an emlette.'"

Too funny!

"I was like, 'I'm Emma!'" she continued. "It was like the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Emma in a Richard Quinn dress for a recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show with Josh O'Connor (not pictured). Photo: © PA Media on behalf of So TV/Matt Crossick/PA Images via Getty Images

4. She tried to keep her casting a secret from her friends, but told her mom.

The up-and-coming actress found out she secured the game-changing part while completing her studies at Cambridge University.

“I talked to my mum a lot about it,” she admitted to Wonderland. "I was doing my finals. I was stressed on the phone like, ‘I don’t know what’s happening!'"

In other interviews, Emma has said she tried to keep things hush-hush between her friends and flatmates, but did end up telling them about it.

5. Emma was initially asked to read for the part of Camilla Shand.

The actress was brought in by the casting directors of The Crown when they were searching for an actress to play Camilla, who later became Camilla Parker Bowles. (That part went to Emerald Fennell.) The reading was also the first time Josh and Emma met.

"Emma's audition was notorious," lead director and executive producer Benjamin Caron said in a video about making the show. "I remember watching the casting tapes and being completely drawn to this very small part of the screen... and it was Emma."

Needless to say, she eventually nabbed the part!

Emma and Josh in a scene dramatizing Diana and Charles's meeting at Althorp House in season four of The Crown. Photo: © Netflix

6. She said she feels connected with Diana after taking on the role on The Crown.

"I feel I've got to know Diana like you would a friend," she said in an interview with British Vogue. "I know that sounds really weird, but I get a great sense of companionship from her."

7. Her first "fan" encounter didn't go as planned.

On an episode of The Graham Norton Show, Emma admitted her first fan experience wasn't what she was expecting.

"Went to the theatre that evening with a friend and a person tapped me on the shoulder," she recounted. "And I thought, 'Oh, my God, this is my moment,' but she had only come over to tell me I had a label coming out of my jumper. It was so bad!"

MORE: 'The Crown': How historically accurate is season four? A look at fact vs. fiction

8. She has a dog named Spencer.

Royals fans will get a kick out of this! Emma's pup coincidentally shares Diana's family name. The adorable dog frequently makes appearances on Emma's Instagram, and even had his own account at one point.

9. And Harry Styles once dog sat for her!

Emma revealed the fascinating fact during a virtual appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. But the "Watermelon Sugar" singer has only watched Spencer once.

"I love that my dog has no idea, which is wonderful," Emma stated. "For a dog, it’s just a person."

10. In preparation for her role on The Crown, the British actress met with Diana’s private secretary,Patrick Jephson.

Emma did a ton of research to prepare for the role including meetingPatrick to get a better understanding of the woman she would be portraying.

11. Emma is known for breaking into laughter during filming.

In a joint interview for Netflix, Josh and Emma recalled how she was known for laughing, especially after 6 p.m.

"I just had this thing where six o'clock hits..." she said.

12. She loved the sweaters in Diana's wardrobe.

“I loved the jumpers from her early years,” Emma told Vogue.

The rising star was particularly a fan of the llama print one.

Emma portraying Princess Diana on Season 4 of The Crown. Photo: © Des Willie/Netflix

13. She did not have many acting credits to her name before being cast on The Crown.

Although drama has played a part in Emma's life from an early age, she didn't have many working credits prior to being cast as Diana. She appeared in an episode of detective drama Grantchester and was in the 2018 short film, Alex's Dream.

During her studies at Cambridge, Emma was in a production that toured Japan. Her first part was back in primary school, where she played the eponymous lead in Toad of Toad Hall!

14. She can do a fantastic Prince Charles impression.

Josh and Emma have spoken about how they got into character and how they occasionally tried their hands at each other's roles. Josh has said he wasn't very good at Diana, but Emma was "amazing" at doing Charles's distinct way of speaking.

15. Her secret to getting into the voice of Diana is saying "Alright."

Emma also worked with Polly Bennett to help her physically embody the character and understand Diana better.


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