Jessie Buckley wins Golden Globe for lead role in Hamnet

Jessie Buckley won the Golden Globe for best actress in a motion picture, drama, for her portrayal of Agnes, William Shakespeare’s grieving wife, in the film Hamnet. It was her first Golden Globe nomination and win.

Hamnet co-stars Paul Mescal as Shakespeare and follows a couple mourning the loss of their only son to the plague. Buckley recently won the Critics Choice Award for the role. In December she told The New York Times, "When I was filming 'Hamnet,' I deeply wanted to become a mother," adding that it was "such a gift to move through this woman and her motherhood and her love and her loss before I became a mother myself." In her acceptance speech, Buckley said, "It was such an extraordinary set to be part of because we were telling the story of probably the most famous Brit that ever lived and we had a Chinese director, a lot of Irish, a mostly Polish crew, beside our British family."

The film was directed by Chloé Zhao, who said she adapted the book with Maggie O'Farrell and knew the role had to be Buckley’s. Mescal praised Buckley’s emotional range, telling The Times in 2025, "She has no fear in terms of how she’s perceived." The Times piece did not provide further details about other nominees or upcoming appearances.

Key Topics

Culture, Jessie Buckley, Hamnet, Golden Globe, Paul Mescal, Chloé Zhao