Margot Robbie is an Academy Award-nominated actress best recognized for her roles as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad and Tonya Harding in the film I, Tonya. Following in the footsteps of her fellow Australians Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett, Robbie made her feature debut in Martin Scorsese’s 2013 thriller The Wolf of Wall Street.
She most recently portrayed actress Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and received a supporting Oscar nomination for her part in Bombshell. Robbie starred in the Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie film, which became the year’s top earning film in July 2023.
Early Life
Margot Elise Robbie was born on July 2, 1990, in Dalby, Queensland, Australia, and grew up in Gold Coast, a city 500 miles north of Sydney. Her mother, physiotherapist Sarie Kessler, raised her and her three siblings after her parents split. Doug Robbie is her father’s name.
Robbie told Vanity Fair that she wanted to be a magician in high school, but her passion in drama in high school led her to Melbourne and a kids’ performance, The Elephant Princess, co-starring the rising Liam Hemsworth. She has been performing professionally since she was in her teens.
Before she moved to Hollywood, Australians recognized her from the TV serial series Neighbours, which premiered five years before her birth. Fearing she might fail her audition, she opted to take a vacation in Canada, but she had to return shortly after learning she had won the role of the lively Donna Freedman in 2008.
Donna’s kiss with a female companion sparked debate, but she remained a fan favorite and was nominated for a number of prizes. She left Neighbours in 2010 (with a “boring old happy ending”), and her first American television show, Pan Am (2011), was cancelled after one season.
Hollywood Breakthrough: Wolf of Wall Street and Focus
In 2015, Robbie received notice for her modest but memorable part as herself in The Big Short. The comic scenario included her teaching mortgage-backed securities and subprime loans while floating in a tub of bubbles with a glass of champagne in hand.
That same year, she landed her first main parts. In Focus, Robbie co-starred with Will Smith as con artists who fall for each other’s hearts. She also appeared in the science fiction drama Z for Zachariah.
Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad
One of Robbie’s most memorable roles was as the edgy fan favorite Harley Quinn. She made her film debut in the comic-book adaptation Suicide Squad (2016). Harley Quinn is a psychotherapist who serves as a model for Jared Leto’s Joker. Robbie told The Washington Post that wading into a vat of “gluggy paint stuff” to bleach Harley’s skin in one scene was “the most unpleasant thing I’ve ever done in my entire life,” and her spiky attire wasn’t much better.
Robbie had planned to reprise her popular role as Harley Quinn in Gotham City Sirens, but that project was scrapped in favor of another spin-off, Birds of Prey, which co-starred Ewan McGregor and will be released in theaters in February 2020. Robbie reprised her role as Harley Quinn in 2021’s The Suicide Squad.
More Movies: The Legend of Tarzan, Once Upon a Time, and Bombshell
In 2016, Robbie co-starred as Jane in The Legend of Tarzan opposite Alexander Skarsgard, and the following year she played A.A. Milne’s wife in the historical drama Goodbye Christopher Robin.
Robbie then earned another high-profile role in Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 film Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, playing actor Sharon Tate, a real-life victim of the brutal Charles Manson-orchestrated murders of 1969, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt.
Late in 2019, Robbie had a larger role in Bombshell, a retelling of the sexual harassment claims that rocked Fox News under former CEO Roger Ailes’ supervision. Although her character of Kayla Pospisil was a fictional composite, unlike Charlize Theron’s portrayal of Megyn Kelly and Nicole Kidman’s portrayal of Gretchen Carlson, Robbie brought her “Christian millennial” character to life with a nuanced performance, earning Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress.
Playing Tonya Harding in I, Tonya
When the 1994 Winter Olympics were held, Robbie was a 3-year-old infant who had no idea who figure skater Tonya Harding was or what the infamous “whacking incident” involving competitor Nancy Kerrigan was all about. But, for 2017’s darkly humorous movie I, Tonya, Robbie dived headfirst into her main role as Harding, replicating her every action as accurately as possible. She did meet Harding, but only for a couple of hours before the film’s debut screening at the Toronto International Film Festival—”otherwise I might have too much empathy for her,” she commented afterward.
Harding’s famed triple axel was digitally reproduced for the film, although Robbie executed some of the skating routines on her own accord and wowed enough to get Golden Globe and Academy Award nods for Best Actress.
The film also marked the debut of Robbie’s Los Angeles-based production business, LuckyChap Entertainment, which she created with her husband and two friends several years before. Since its inception in 2014, LuckyChap’s mission has been to focus on female-led tales in cinema and television, which it has done with films such as I, Tonya, Birds of Prey, Promising Young Woman (2020), and shows such as Hulu’s Dollface.
Recent Movies: Amsterdam, Babylon, and Asteroid City
Robbie’s star power has continued to flourish in recent years. After reprising her role as Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey (2020) and The Suicide Squad (2021), the actress was cast in Amsterdam in 2022. Robbie plays Valerie Voze, a nurse who assists two injured soldiers played by Christian Bale and John David Washington in the period drama set during World War I. The plot of the film is partially based on a plan to depose President Franklin D. Roosevelt and replace him with a dictator.
The same year saw the debut of Babylon, in which Robbie’s character Nellie LaRoy and other characters struggle to achieve Hollywood fame and celebrity in the 1920s. Nellie struggles to adapt in the quickly changing film industry and succumbs to vices like as drug use and gambling, jeopardizing her it girl status and career. Robbie received her third Golden Globe nomination for the role, and her second for Best Actress.
Robbie was also a member of Wes Anderson’s star-studded cast in 2023 Asteroid City, which features a meta-story-within-a-story scenario set in a 1950s desert town. Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, and Maya Hawke were among the other cast members.
Barbie
In 2019, Warner Bros. and Mattel revealed that Robbie would play Barbie in Greta Gerwig‘s highly anticipated Barbie live-action film. The project was co-produced by Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment.
Robbie wore some of Barbie’s most iconic looks throughout the years during the press tour leading up to the film’s July 21, 2023 release, including the 1990s “Enchanted Evening” doll, the 1960s “Solo in the Spotlight” doll, the 1992 “Totally Hair” doll, and a dress inspired by the 1959 Black and White swimsuit Barbie.
The internet was captivated with the opening scene of a Barbie video that featured a set of feet—later discovered to be Robbie’s—slipping out of heeled sandals yet maintaining the tip-toe arched position of a real Barbie doll’s feet. Robbie, who stands 5 feet 6 inches tall, has previously stated that having “big feet” can be humiliating when she can’t find heels in her size, but she has lately stated that she is “really flattered that people are excited about my feet.”
In the film, Robbie’s Barbie experiences an existential crisis, which transports her from Barbie Land to the real world. Ryan Gosling co-stars as Ken, and other Hollywood heavyweights such as Simu Liu play various versions of the Ken doll. The film also stars Issa Rae, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, America Ferrera, Emma Mackey, Dua Lipa, and Michael Cera.
Barbie became the year’s highest-grossing film and broke multiple records, including the highest-earning live-action film ever directed by a woman.
Husband
On the set of the World War II drama Suite Francaise (2014), Robbie met assistant director Tom Ackerley. They began dating and later married in December 2016. They don’t have any kids.
Net Worth
Robbie’s net worth increased dramatically in 2023 as a result of his starring role in Barbie. According to Variety, Robbie was paid $12.5 million for the part, bringing her total net worth to an estimated $40 million.