Emma Corrin played Princess Diana in season 4 of The Crown, which followed her courtship and subsequent wedding to Prince Charles (Josh O'Connor), as well as her arrival's impact on Britain's royal family. Corrin absolutely nailed the role, garnering several award wins and putting Corrin on the path to become one of Hollywood's rising stars.
To understand Diana's place in the Windsor ecosystem, we must return to the events of season 3, which introduced O'Connor and Erin Doherty as the 20-something Prince Charles and Princess Anne. In that season, Charles meets and falls for Camilla Parker Bowles, a relationship he never gets over—not even after meeting Diana.
“You really see her turn from a girl into a woman,” Corrin told Vanity Fair of Diana's onscreen arc."We see her before she goes into the palace, when she is living with her flatmates, and how normal she was before she was plucked from obscurity.”
More recently, Corrin wrapped The Policeman alongside Harry Styles. And in a July 2021 Instagram Post, Corrin opened up about her gender "journey," sharing photos of her bound chest, as well as updated—and then deleted—pronouns, she/they.
Here's what we know about the 25-year-old star.
Emma Corrin, 25, made it big right out of college.
Corrin's story is a pretty remarkable one. In 2018, she was working at a retail startup in London, packing boxes of underwear. Per The Hollywood Reporter, her life was transformed when she got the call to audition for season 1 of Pennyworth, Epix's Batman prequel TV series that focuses on a young version of Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred.
Corrin was cast as Alfred's girlfriend, Esmé Whitaker, which became her first major screen role. In April of this year, she was cast as Diana on The Crown. "They actually offered me the part in the room," she told THR. "It felt like I had just been proposed to."
"I have been glued to the show and to think I'm now joining this incredibly talented acting family is surreal," Corrin said in a statement at the time. "Princess Diana was an icon and her effect on the world remains profound and inspiring. To explore her through Peter Morgan's writing is the most exceptional opportunity, and I will strive to do her justice." Spoiler alert: She did.
Corrin is the spitting image of Diana Spencer.
It's fair to say the resemblance between Corrin and Diana is uncanny, although Corrin herself said she'd never seen a similarity. "My mum has been told that she looks like Diana. She often has been mistaken for her throughout her life, which is a really weird connection," Corrirn told THR. "But I have never had that. I get young Jodie Foster."
But with that wig and those iconic clothes, she's a dead ringer–just ask Josh O'Connor. "She looked the spitting image [of Diana], and it’s kind of extraordinary," the actor told Harper's Bazaar. "So that’s kind of spooky." O'Connor also shared that "in terms of filming, we just had a great time, and Emma’s doing a brilliant job, and it’s breathtakingly accurate."
Images of Corrin in the role first appeared in early 2020, when she was photographed on set wearing an all-white look inspired by Diana and Charles's 1983 Australian tour.
See Diana and Charles in real life, here:
Here's a pink polka-dot look that matches Diana's outfit down to the fascinator.
Elizabeth Debicki will take over as Princess Di in seasons 5 and 6.
Corrin's tenure as Princess Diana was sadly short-lived, lasting only one season. Debicki, known for her work in Widows and The Great Gatsby, will play Diana through her divorce, and likely up until her tragic death in a car accident in Paris.
Corrin shared a 2021 update on her gender "journey."
In a July 5 Instagram post, Corrin shared several photos that featured the Crown star topless and with her chest bound in boxing wrap. Per Elle, Corrin also updated, and then deleted, preferred gender pronouns of she/they.
"It’s all a journey right," Corrin wrote in the caption. "Lots of twists and turns and change and that’s ok! Embrace it." Corrin also shared favorite products for those looking for a "proper binder," shouting out the companies gc2b and Spectrum Outfitters. The post earned hearts and supportive comments from celebrity fans including Jennifer Garner and genderfluid designer Harris Reed, who famously put Corrin's The Policeman co-star Harry Styles in a dress for his 2020 Vogue cover.
The post came several months after Corrin deemed themselves queer in another Instagram post; more recently writing that "everyone is queer."
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Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. She loves owls, hates cilantro, and can find the queer subtext in literally anything.
