Eddie Redmayne

Early life and education[edit]

Edward John David Redmayne was born on 6 January 1982 in Westminster, London.^[2][3] His mother, Patricia (née Burke), runs a relocation business, and his father, Richard Redmayne, is a businessman in corporate finance. His paternal great-grandfather was Sir Richard Redmayne (1865–1955), a civil and mining engineer, and a leading figure in improving mine safety in the early twentieth century.^[4] Sir Richard also led an enquiry into an experiment by the chain Boots to reduce the working week, allowing workers to have a 48-hour weekend, which found that the workers were happier, had better health, and were less likely to be absent,^[5] and advocated for its adoption across wider industry.^[6] He has an elder brother, James Redmayne, a younger brother, and an elder half-brother, Charlie Redmayne, who is CEO of the UK division of publisher HarperCollins^[4] and a half-sister.^[7]


Redmayne attended Eaton House,^[8] followed by St Paul's Juniors (formerly Colet Court), on a choral scholarship, where he sang with the St Paul’s Choir,^[9] then on a music scholarship to Eton College,^[9] where he was in the same year as Prince William.^[10][11] From the age of 10, Redmayne attended Jackie Palmer Stage School, where he found his love for acting and singing.^[12][13] He went on to read History of Art at Trinity College, Cambridge, specialising in Venetian architecture and surrealism,^[14] and graduated with 2:1 Honours in 2003.^[15] He received a choral scholarship to attend Cambridge.^[16] He wrote his theses on Brâncuși and Yves Klein;^[17] although colour blind, he wrote the final thesis on International Klein Blue (IKB), which he has described as being highly emotional, and which he can always distinguish from others.^[18] While at Cambridge, Redmayne was a member of the University Pitt Club.^[19]