Gwendoline Christie is a famous English actress who has starred in popular shows and movies such as Game of Thrones, Star Wars, The Sandman and Wednesday. She is known for her unconventional height, which is 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 meters), and her striking features. But is she related to another famous Christie, the legendary mystery writer Agatha Christie?
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The Short Answer: No
According to Wikipedia, Gwendoline Christie was born in Worthing, West Sussex, England, on 28 October 1978. Her mother was a housewife and her father worked in sales and marketing. She has two older half-brothers
Agatha Christie, on the other hand, was born in Torquay, Devon, England, on 15 September 1890. Her mother was a British socialite and her father was an American stockbroker. She had a sister and a brother
There is no evidence that Gwendoline and Agatha are related by blood or marriage. They share a common surname, but that is not uncommon in England. According to Forebears, Christie is the 172nd most common surname in England, with over 57,000 bearers
The Long Answer: A Tale of Two Christies
Gwendoline and Agatha may not be related, but they do have some things in common besides their name. They are both successful women in their respective fields of entertainment, they both have a connection to the world of crime fiction, and they both have faced challenges and overcome obstacles in their careers.
Gwendoline Christie: From Gymnast to Actress
Gwendoline Christie was interested in acting from a young age, but she also trained as a gymnast until she suffered a spinal injury that ended her athletic aspirations. She then focused on her acting studies and graduated from Drama Centre London in 2005
She faced rejection and discrimination in the industry because of her height and appearance. She was told she would never work because she did not look like most actors. She was inspired by Tilda Swinton’s performance in Orlando to pursue her dream of working on screen
She got her breakthrough role as Brienne of Tarth in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones in 2012. She played the loyal and brave knight who defied gender stereotypes and became a fan favorite. She received an Emmy nomination and a Critics’ Choice nomination for her performance in the final season of the show in 2019
She also played Captain Phasma, the first female villain in the Star Wars franchise, in The Force Awakens (2015) and The Last Jedi (2017). She appeared in other films and shows such as The Personal History of David Copperfield (2020), The Friend (2019), In Fabric (2018), The Women of Marwen (2018), and Top of the Lake: China Girl (2017)
She recently starred as Lucifer in The Sandman (2022), based on Neil Gaiman’s comic series, and as Larissa Weems in Wednesday (2022), based on the Addams Family characters. She also returned to the stage as Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bridge Theatre in London in 2019
Agatha Christie: From Nurse to Writer
Agatha Christie was also interested in writing from a young age, but she did not pursue it seriously until later in life. She married Archibald Christie, an army officer, in 1914 and served as a volunteer nurse during World War I. She also worked as a pharmacist’s assistant and learned about poisons, which would become useful for her future novels
She wrote her first detective novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, featuring Hercule Poirot, in 1916. It was published in 1920 after several rejections. She went on to write more than 60 novels and 14 short story collections featuring Poirot, Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence, and other characters. She also wrote six romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott
She faced personal and professional challenges throughout her life. She divorced her first husband after he had an affair and disappeared for 11 days in 1926, sparking a media frenzy and speculation about her mental state. She remarried Max Mallowan, an archaeologist, in 1930 and traveled with him to various sites around the world. She also endured criticism and plagiarism accusations from some critics and peers
She became the best-selling novelist of all time, according to Guinness World Records, with over two billion copies sold worldwide. She also wrote the world’s longest-running play, The Mousetrap, which opened in 1952 and is still running today. She received many honors and awards, including the Order of the British Empire, the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award, and the Agatha Award (named after her)
She died on 12 January 1976 at the age of 85. Her works have been adapted into numerous films, TV shows, radio plays, video games, and comics. Some of the most famous adaptations include Murder on the Orient Express (1974 and 2017), Death on the Nile (1978 and 2022), And Then There Were None (1945 and 2015), Witness for the Prosecution (1957 and 2016), and Knives Out (2019)
Conclusion: A Coincidence or a Tribute?
Gwendoline Christie and Agatha Christie are not related, but they are both remarkable women who have made their mark in the entertainment industry. They have also both contributed to the genre of crime fiction in different ways. Gwendoline Christie has played roles that involve solving mysteries, such as Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones, Captain Phasma in Star Wars, and Lucifer in The Sandman. Agatha Christie has created some of the most iconic and influential characters and stories in the history of detective fiction.
Perhaps Gwendoline Christie’s name is a coincidence, or perhaps it is a tribute to Agatha Christie’s legacy. Either way, they are both Christies to be proud of.
