Emily Carey, an openly queer English actress and model with a theater bloodline prefers they/them pronouns. Even though they have worked in big-budget movies & famous TV series earlier, their portrayal as young Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon (2022) is of great significance.
The HBO fantasy series is a prequel to Game of Thrones and revolves around a particular royal family- the House Targaryen.
Their TV prominence started with the role of Grace Beauchamp in the daily soap Casualty (2014-17).
Many might know them for playing 12-year-old Diana in the DC movie Wonder Woman (2017) starring Gal Gadot. Also, they appeared as the younger version of the protagonist, Lara, in Tomb Raider (2018).
Where Is Emily Carey From? Age, Height, and Birthday
Born on April 30, 2003, Emily Joanna Carey is from Barnet, London, England. Carey is an English by nationality.
As of 2025, Carey, who plays Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon, is 22 years old. The actress has a height of 5 feet 4 inches (163 cm).
Emily is the only daughter of Sarah MacDonnell, an actress with on-screen works in Case 603 (2006) and Her Name Was Amy Tillman (2008). Also, Sarah is the owner of a talent agency Ardent Talent.
Carey was raised by a single mother as they have a dysfunctional dad. Further details about Emily’s father never came up.
In their interviews, they mention that they never experienced father-daughter dynamics unlike their character, Alicent’s bond with her dad Otto (actor Rhys Ifans). Comparing their reel-life and real-life scenarios, the English actress said, “I don’t have an equivalent in real life. I don’t have a dad.”
Carey comes from a theater family; their aunt Joanna MacDonnell and great-uncle John MacDonnell worked at Holby City at the time of their birth. So, it resulted in Emily’s two-episode appearance as newly born.
Emily Carey’s great-grandparents (Pat MacDonnell and Vicky Fuggle) were in the entertainment industry too.
TV Debut In ‘Casualty’ And Film Debut In ‘Wonder Woman’
The London-born actress landed the role of Grace Beauchamp in the medical drama series Casualty in 2014. There, they worked for 3 years until 2017, with 41 episodes; later returned to a recurring cast in 2021.
It co-starred Derek Thompson, William Beck, Amanda Henderson, and Milo Clarke, among others.
In 2017, they made their feature film debut in the box-office hit DC Comics super-hero movie Wonder Woman. It featured Gal Gadot in the role of Wonder Woman, while Carey appeared as 12-year-old Diana/Wonder Woman.
The film co-starred Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, Connie Nielsen, and Elena Anaya. It collected $822.8 million at the box office.
Then, Emily Carey portrayed 14-year-old Lara (grown-up version by actress Alicia Vikander), the protagonist, in the action-adventure Tom Raider (2018).
Carey even got their lead, as the title character Anastasia in the fantasy movie Anastasia: Once Upon a Time (2020). There, they shared the screen with Amiah Miller, Brandon Routh, and Armando Gutierrez.
Other film credits:
- Where Is Anne Frank (2021) as Anne Frank (voice)
- Monster Family 2 (2021) as Mila Starr (voice)
- The Lost Girls (2022) as Wendy Darling
- The Canterville Ghost (2022) as Virginia Otis (voice)
In 2024, they landed a main role as Harriet Manners in the TV series, Geek Girl alongside Liam Woodrum.
Interesting Fact: They share their birthday with ‘Wonder Woman’ star Gal Gadot. Both of them played Princess Diana/Wonder Woman in the movie, Career appeared as Teen Diana.
Emily As Alicent Hightower In ‘House of the Dragon’
After TV roles in Houdini & Doyle and Get Even, Emily Carey marked their biggest career achievement as the cast in House of the Dragon (2022).
In the HBO series, which is a prequel to Game of Thrones, they portrayed young Alicent Hightower, the daughter of King’s Hand, Ser Otto Hightower (actor Rhys Ifans). The grown-up Alicent Hightower is played by actress Olivia Cooke.
Emily’s character Alicent is a friend-turned-rival of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (actress Milly Alcock, the grown-up version by actress Emma D’Arcy).
The fantasy series features the House Targaryen and its downfall- an event 200 years before Game of Thrones, based on George R. R. Martin’s novel A Song of Ice and Fire. Its casts include:
- Paddy Considine (as King Viserys Targaryen)
- Matt Smith (as Daemon Targaryen, Visery’s brother)
- Steve Toussaint (as Lord Corlys Valaryon)
- Eve Best (as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen)
- Sonoya Mizuno (as Mysaria, the trusted-ally of Daemon Targaryen)
- Graham McTavish (as Ser Harrold Westerling)
- Fabien Frankel (as Ser Criston Cole)
- Harry Collect (as Prince Jacaerys ‘Jace’ Velaryon)
The ‘House of the Dragon’ premiered on August 21, 2022, and was renewed for Season 2 on August 26– only 5 days after the premiere. Its second season premiered on June 16, 2024, and was again renewed for the third season ahead of the premiere.
Quick Fact On Alicent Hightower:
Carey’s character Alicent is much younger in the series than in the novel. Moreover, as per the original story in the book, she is not actually a close childhood friend of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen.
So, the chemistry between Alicent and Rhayenyra was purposeful, but some fans were upset & targeted Emily Carey, so they had to remain off from their Twitter for a while.
Openly Queer Emily Carey’s Partner: Who Are They Dating Now?
The Tomb Raider actress is openly queer since 2021– their Instagram posts spoke it all. Carey prefers the use of both they/them pronouns.
According to their Instagram posts (as of this writing), they are in a relationship with English actress and singer, Jessica Revell. Revell is openly lesbian and goes by she/her pronouns.
Even if the duo has yet to disclose their courtship details, their IG posts hint that they went official about their dating story in the spring of 2024.
On June 30, 2024, Emily made their relationship with Revell as they shared a cozy IG post of the duo and captioned, “Happy Pride, I am in love and have never been prouder.” Earlier, they had dropped hints of their romance as they credited Jessica as a photographer of them in a bed in April.
On her part, Jessica took to Instagram to share a snap of their photo album where the two seemingly hugged each other on April 6, 2024. Then, it followed with another IG post wishing birthday to Emily.
In June 2024, celebrating the pride month, she also confessed her love to Carey with adorable pictures and captioned, “Kissing you was the best decision I ever made – happy pride everyone.”
Carey Was In A Relationship With Kellimarie
Emily Carey was in a relationship with singer-songwriter Kellimarie Willis (b. October 27, 2002). However, after dating for roughly a year, the duo broke up.
Kellimarie is a member of the pop music girl group Really Like You– they won The X Factor: The Band in 2019. She goes by Instagram (@kellimarie) and Twitter handle (@Kellimariemusic).
The two used to share pictures of themselves on Instagram. In an Instagram post on August 16, 2022, Kellimarie shared a picture with Carey and captioned it “proud gf alert”.
They had attended the Sky Group Premiere of House Of The Dragon in Leicester Square in London. But the romantic story has come to an end.
Dating Rumors With Rhys Bailey
Between late 2020 and mid-2021, there were dating rumors of Carey with actor Rhys Bailey. On an Instagram post of May 2021, both shared the same picture with the respective captions “my boy” and “my girl” sparking possibilities that they are boyfriend-girlfriends.
But it was not long before they crushed these rumors- they were nothing more than best friends.
‘Casualty’ Actress Took To Instagram To Open Up As Queer
Emily Carey first hinted about them coming out of the closet with an Instagram post on February 1, 2021. It featured the actress wearing rainbow-colored headwear and wrote “happy lgbt+ history month.”
These revelations went on a spree on Instagram during the pride month in 2021- it featured many rainbow-themed posts.
- June 25, 2021– A picture of the rainbow-colored meal and a postcard “pride” as they thanked their mom for the “gay donuts”
- June 27, 2021– Carey posed under a rainbow-themed balloon gate and wrote “posing like i’m ready to pounce on all the homophobes”
- August 30, 2021– Posed with their necklace that read “be gay do crime”
On July 3, 2022, they shared a series of pictures on Instagram captioned “happy pride party people” as they partied with their friends.
How Much Is The Net Worth of Emily Carey?
Emily started from theatres to early TV screen fame in Casualty. Then, it saw them roles in the movies Wonder Woman, Tomb Raider, and Anastasia before being cast as young Alicent in House of the Dragon.
As of 2025, Carey owns a net worth of $1.5 million.
No doubt, they made a decent salary from on-screen work, but their modeling did a lot too. Since 2019, Emily Carey has been signed with IMG Models. The average salary of a model in the UK is £39570 per year.
On their Instagram, they promote various brands like Giovanni Raspini (jewelry), Sif Jakobs Jewellery, Di Minno (footwear), Dior, Balenciaga, I Am Gia (clothing), Van Cleef & Arpels (jewelry), Urban Outfitters, and H&M.
Online sources report their earnings for each sponsored post are between $453 – $755.
Social Media:
- Instagram (@theemilycarey)
- Twitter (@TheEmilyCarey)
- Facebook page (@theemilycarey)
- TikTok (@theemilycarey)
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