Natalie Dormer

Natalie Dormer was born in Reading, Berkshire, on 11 February 1982, the daughter of Gary Dormer and Claire Richards, and the sister of Mark and Samantha. She is of English, Norwegian, Welsh, and distant Irish descent. She attended Chiltern Edge Secondary School before going to Reading Blue Coat School for sixth form. She says she was bullied at school, but "still, to this day, can't place why".

While at school, Dormer trained in dance at the Allenova School of Dancing. She says she was the "academic hopeful" of the family and was provisionally offered a place to study history at the University of Cambridge, but on her A-level history examination, she did not achieve the A grade she needed, having misread a question. Dormer chose to audition for drama schools and trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.