Marvel Studios just announced the core cast of its upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. This includes English actor Vanessa Kirby as the Invisible Woman – so who is she, and where have you seen her before?
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Who Is Fantastic Four’s Invisible Woman Actor Vanessa Kirby?
Vanessa Kirby is best known for portraying Princess Margaret in the first two seasons of Netflix’s The Crown. She’s also part of the Mission: Impossible franchise, playing femme fatale Alanna Mitsopolis in Mission: Impossible – Fallout and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. Kirby’s other blockbuster credits include Fast & Furious spinoff Hobbs & Shaw and space opera Jupiter Ascending.
Aside from these projects, Kirby has won plenty of fans for her performances in the likes of Kornél Mundruczó’s Pieces of a Woman and Ridley Scott’s Napoleon. The former earned Kirby her first (and to date, only) Academy Award nomination. The star has several acclaimed TV and theater productions to her name, as well. She’ll next appear on screen in the as-yet-untitled eighth Mission: Impossible movie.
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Unsurprisingly given her CV, Kirby was long rumored to be among Marvel Studios’ top choices for The Fantastic Four‘s Invisible Woman role. She remained coy about the possibility all the while, though – insisting she didn’t know whether she was in the running. At the same time, Kirby also made it clear portraying the titular superhero team’s matriarch would be “an honor.”
Other alleged frontrunners for the part included Jodie Comer, Lily James, Rachel Brosnahan, and Amanda Seyfried. Whether any of these actors were actually up for the role remains uncertain, however, Kirby ultimately came out on top regardless. Presumably, her chemistry with Pedro Pascal (Mister Fantastic), Joseph Quinn (Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing) sealed the deal.
The Fantastic Four arrives in cinemas on July 25, 2025, as part of the MCU Phase Six.