Emilia Clarke is an English actress best known for her leading role as Daenerys Targaryen on HBO's "Game of Thrones." She received international recognition and acclaim for her work, including several accolades such as an Empire Award, a Saturn Award, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards. She also starred in multiple blockbuster films and is a theatre performer.
Clarke, 35, during the early 2000s, attended St. Edward's School and later Drama Centre London while appearing in various student production films and stage shows. She graduated from drama school in 2009 and earned her first credited television role on an episode of the British soap opera "Doctors." The 2010 film Triassic Attack was Clarke's first professional film role released on the Syfy channel.
However, her first major breakout role came when she appeared as Daenerys Targaryen in "Game of Thrones," a television series based on the fantasy book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R.R. Martin. The show aired from 2011 to 2019, with Clarke receiving widespread acclaim for portraying the evolution of a young girl to a strong female character. By 2017, she was one of the most well-paid actors on television, reportedly earning between $1.2 and $2 million per episode.
Her other works include a Broadway debut in the 2013 play "Breakfast at Tiffany's" as Holly Golightly. She has also starred in multiple high-budget films, including as Qi'ra in Disney's 2018 film "Solo: A Star Wars." Clarke played Sarah Connor in "Terminator Genisys" and also appeared in 2016's "Me Before You" and "Last Christmas" in 2019. Recently, Clarke revealed that she lost significant parts of her brain after suffering "two aneurysms" while working on "Game of Thrones" in 2011 and 2013. Both instances required extensive healing periods, but she has reportedly completely recovered.
