Naomi Watts's Real Name: Naomi Ellen Watts

Quick answer: Naomi Watts's full name is Naomi Ellen Watts. She was born on September 28, 1968, in Shoreham, Kent, England, and moved to Australia at 14. She is a British-born Australian actress who broke through in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001). She received best actress Oscar nominations for 21 Grams (2003) and The Impossible (2012) (Library of Congress; Britannica).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress name authority files her as "Watts, Naomi, 1968-." It cites "b. Naomi Ellen Watts, September 28, 1968 in Shoreham, Kent, England, UK." Another LOC note says she moved to Sydney at 14, came to the United States in the early 1990s, became a Buddhist, and has been a goodwill ambassador for UNAIDS. Britannica's quick facts also give her name "in full" as Naomi Ellen Watts.

Britannica says her mother was an actress and her father was a road manager for Pink Floyd. Her parents divorced when she was four, and her father died when she was seven. After several years of moving around England, the family settled in Australia when she was 14. There she took acting classes and, at 15, met Nicole Kidman, who became a close friend. She modeled in Japan and worked as a magazine fashion editor before a drama workshop rekindled her interest in acting.

Career highlights

She made her film debut in For Love Alone (1986) and appeared with Kidman in Flirting (1991). She also made Wide Sargasso Sea (1993) before moving to Los Angeles. Her first American role was Jet Girl in Tank Girl (1995). After years of steady but low-profile work, Mulholland Drive won her critical attention, and the horror hit The Ring (2002) followed.

21 Grams brought her first Oscar nomination. She went on to We Don't Live Here Anymore, I Heart Huckabees, Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005) as Ann Darrow, Eastern Promises (2007), and J. Edgar (2011). Playing a doctor caught in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in The Impossible earned her second nomination. She played Princess Diana in Diana (2013) and appeared in St. Vincent and Birdman (2014).

Later films include While We're Young, Demolition, The Glass Castle, Ophelia, Penguin Bloom (2020), and The Friend (2024) with Bill Murray. On television she appeared in the 2017 Twin Peaks revival, played Gretchen Carlson in The Loudest Voice (2019), and played Babe Paley in Feud: Capote vs. the Swans (2023). Britannica lists actor Billy Crudup as her spouse.

Name notes for searchers

Ellen is her middle name, and Watts is her family surname. She has no stage name. Searches calling her "Australian" or "British" both make sense: she was born in England and raised largely in Australia.