Emilia Clarke is a British actress born on October 23, 1986, in London, England, and raised in Oxfordshire. Her father was a theatre sound engineer, and her mother is a businesswoman. Clarke's passion for acting began at the age of three when her mother took her to a theatre production of "Show Boat," where her father was working. She attended St. Edward's School of Oxford and later studied acting at Drama Centre London, participating in numerous plays. Clarke's early television appearances included a guest role in the BBC soap opera "Doctors" in 2000. Her breakthrough came in 2011 when she was cast as Daenerys Targaryen in the acclaimed television series "Game of Thrones," replacing Tamzin Merchant after the original pilot episode.

Clarke has since starred in various films, including "Terminator Genisys" (2015), "Me Before You" (2016), and "Solo: A Star Wars Story" (2018). She has also performed on Broadway, playing Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" in 2013. Beyond her acting career, Clarke is known for her charitable work, particularly in raising awareness about the working conditions of nurses in the UK. She was named ambassador to the Royal College of Nursing in 2018 and the first ambassador for the global Nursing Now campaign in 2019. Clarke has also launched her own charity, SameYou, which aims to broaden neurorehabilitation access for young people after a brain injury or stroke.