Holliday Grainger's Real Name: Holliday Grainger
Holliday Grainger → Holliday Grainger
Quick answer: The actress is known professionally as Holliday Grainger. The Manchester Evening News says she was born in March 1988 in Didsbury, Manchester. The Guardian independently describes her as Manchester-born. TV Insider lists a longer birth name, Holliday Clark Grainger, and the date March 27, 1988; that longer form and that exact day are not independently confirmed here by a second independent publisher, so this page titles her under the public name.
Real name and early life
Independent publishers identify her under the professional name Holliday Grainger, sometimes credited as Holly Grainger. The Manchester Evening News, in a March 8, 2026, profile, says she was born in March 1988 in Didsbury, Manchester, and that she was 37 at the time of the article. I Love Manchester independently calls her Didsbury-born and says she made her first appearance in All Quiet on the Preston Front at the age of six. The Guardian, in a February 27, 2026, interview, independently describes her as Manchester-born and then 37. TV Insider lists the birth name Holliday Clark Grainger, the date March 27, 1988, and the birthplace Didsbury, Manchester; the middle name and exact day rest on that listing alone among the sources used here. TV Insider also says she earned an early role on All Quiet on the Preston Front (BBC, 1994–97) and worked regularly in British television, including Casualty and Where the Heart Is.
Career highlights
TV Insider says she broke into adult roles with The Scouting Book for Boys (2009), then appeared as Lucrezia Borgia in The Borgias (Showtime, 2011–13), as Estella in Great Expectations (2011), and in Anna Karenina (2012), with an American breakthrough as Bonnie Parker in the 2013 miniseries Bonnie and Clyde. The Manchester Evening News independently names film roles in Jane Eyre, Cinderella, and Great Expectations, and television work including The Borgias and Robin Ellacott in Strike. The Guardian independently discusses her role as Rachel Carey in the BBC thriller The Capture, returning for a third series in 2026, and her other major role as Robin Ellacott in Strike, wrapping the seventh instalment, The Running Grave.
Name notes for searchers
People looking up Holliday Grainger or Holly Grainger are looking for the same English actress. A longer form appears in one listing consulted here, without a second independent confirmation used in the title.
FAQ
What is Holliday Grainger's real name?
She is known professionally as Holliday Grainger, and has also been credited as Holly Grainger, according to TV Insider. TV Insider lists the birth name Holliday Clark Grainger; that longer form is not independently confirmed here by a second independent publisher.
When and where was she born?
In March 1988 in Didsbury, Manchester, according to the Manchester Evening News. The Guardian independently describes her as Manchester-born. TV Insider gives the date March 27, 1988.
What BBC series are often cited later in her career?
Strike, as Robin Ellacott, and The Capture, as Rachel Carey, according to the Guardian and the Manchester Evening News.
What earlier period roles are widely associated with her?
Lucrezia Borgia in The Borgias and Estella in Great Expectations, according to TV Insider and the Manchester Evening News.