Not many couples can say that they met on the set of a hit television series, but actor Tom Hardy and actress Charlotte Riley can.
In 2009, they met while playing fictional lovers Cathy and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. Just one year later, Hardy proposed.
In 2014, the couple married in an intimate ceremony, attended by family and friends, including Hardy's son, Louis Thomas, from his previous relationship with Rachael Speed. Hardy and Riley expanded their blended family, first with a daughter in 2015, then a son in 2019.
"The best you can hope for is to create a warm, loving, safe and consistent environment ... We do it the same way everyone else does: a combination of juggling and help," the actress told You Magazine about parenting in 2018.
Here is everything to know about Tom Hardy's wife, Charlotte Riley.
She is English
Riley grew up in Teesside in northeast England and is the youngest of three children. In her 2018 interview with You Magazine, Riley shared that she hasn't lost her regional accent.
"Having the threat of a Northern father telling you that if you lose your accent you're not allowed to come home is a good way of keeping you grounded," she told the outlet.
She has multiple degrees
The Press actress earned an English degree from Durham University. She later attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and studied at the Parisian clown school, Ecole Philippe Gaulier, which also counts Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter among its alumni.
In 2022, she received an honorary doctorate of letters degree from Durham University.
She acts in television and film
In 2009, Riley got her first big break when she secured the role of Catherine in Wuthering Heights — where she costarred alongside Hardy. The same year, the pair acted together again in the drama series The Take.
Over the years, Riley has worked on several series, including Peaky Blinders, Close to the Enemy, King Charles III, Press and Trust. Riley has appeared on the big screen, too, seen in Edge of Tomorrow, In The Heart of the Sea, London Has Fallen and Grand Street.
She married Hardy in 2014
Almost four years after the pair got engaged, Hardy and Riley reportedly married on July, 4 2014, at the 18th-century castle Château de Roussan. Hardy's older son, Louis, was part of the ceremony, and only close family and friends were invited to the intimate nuptials.
She's the mother of two children and stepmother of one
At the September 2015 premiere of Legend, Riley debuted her baby bump. A month later, Hardy and Riley welcomed their first child together — a daughter. In early 2019, PEOPLE confirmed that the pair had welcomed their second child, a son.
The Peaky Blinders actress is also a stepmother to Louis, Hardy's son whom he shares with Rachael Speed.
In June 2024, while talking with E! News, Hardy told the outlet that Louis "deconstructs" his films like a close peer would.
"But that doesn't mean he doesn't back me or support me or look out for me," the actor said of his teenager's constructive criticism. "[He offers] information that's useful in order to be better with what I do."
She is a homebody
The London Has Fallen star told You Magazine that her perfect night in includes Indian takeout with her family — she said they typically "have a little boogie with the children" and listen to Radio 2, Warren Zevon and AC/DC.
Riley and Hardy love to watch TV together, too. The couple previously enjoyed Ozark, which she described as "quite gory but so good," along with Homeland.
She founded a childcare company
Riley created a company called WonderWorks that provides childcare to those who work on the sets of films and television shows. In 2020, the company created a permanent nursery site at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, England.
Their website's "Our Story" section reads, "This is the story of an industry, which requires such unwavering commitment to its craft, that it has often demanded an excruciating choice be made — to be part of the film family, or to have a family of your own." They hope to remedy this problem by providing childcare on-site for those who are working in the industry.
She was attacked by a dog
Riley told The Herald in 2015 that she was "badly attacked" by a dog as a child.
"I was never scared of dogs. I just never had a great love for them," she said. "Now we have two dogs and it's really expanded my love for the whole animal kingdom. I always thought people who come home early from a night out to get back to their dogs or bought their dogs stockings for Christmas were just the saddest human beings ever. But now I am one of those sad human beings."
She is an advocate for female representation in media
The actress has been outspoken about various issues in the media industry, from access to childcare to women in film. In a 2021 interview with Grazia, she discussed the need for the industry to support working women through their motherhood to increase female representation on screen.
"Right now our industry is absolutely booming. And we need as many people in the pot as possible for productions to choose from," she shared. "And if we do want that representation on screen, we've got to have it when the films are being made. So you want films being lit by women, directed by women, written by women. But if you want that, you're going to have to support them when they're going through one of the biggest changes of their life."