Beginnings Ferguson came to prominence as upper-class girl Anna Gripenhielm in the Swedish soap opera
Nya tider (1999–2000). In 2004, she made her feature film debut in
Mikael Håfström's horror film
Drowning Ghost and later had a guest role in
Wallander (2008). which earned her a nomination for the Rising Star award at the
Stockholm International Film Festival. In August 2012, it was announced Ferguson had been cast to play
Elizabeth Woodville in the ten-part
BBC historical television drama
The White Queen (2013), based on
Philippa Gregory's ''
The Cousins' War'' novels about the women of the
Wars of the Roses. Ferguson's performance in
The White Queen was met with critical praise, and earned her a
Golden Globe Award nomination for
Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film. Her first Hollywood role was against
Dwayne Johnson in
Hercules (2014).
Recognition In 2015, Ferguson gained wider recognition for her portrayal of
MI6 agent Ilsa Faust, the female lead in the fifth
Mission: Impossible film,
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, for which she received critical acclaim.
Tom Cruise handpicked Ferguson to star opposite him in the film after watching her in
The White Queen and noticing a resemblance between Ferguson and
Ingrid Bergman. – and reprised it again in the seventh film,
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, in 2023. In 2016, she played the dual roles of Katya and Lauren in the
Cold War espionage thriller directed by
Shamim Sarif,
Despite the Falling Snow, opposite
Sam Reid and
Charles Dance. For her performance in the film, she won the Best Actress award at the 2016
Prague Independent Film Festival. Later that same year, Ferguson appeared in
Stephen Frears's
Florence Foster Jenkins opposite
Meryl Streep and
Hugh Grant, and
Tate Taylor's thriller book adaptation
The Girl on the Train starring
Emily Blunt. In 2017, Ferguson played the female lead in
Daniel Espinosa's sci-fi horror
Life, opposite
Jake Gyllenhaal and
Ryan Reynolds, co-starred in
Tomas Alfredson's crime thriller
The Snowman, alongside
Michael Fassbender and
Charlotte Gainsbourg, and starred as Swedish opera singer
Jenny Lind in the musical film
The Greatest Showman, with
Hugh Jackman and
Michelle Williams. In 2019, Ferguson had several major film roles. She co-starred in
Doctor Sleep, the adaptation of
Stephen King's novel
of the same name; played the villain
Morgana in
Joe Cornish's adventure film
The Kid Who Would Be King; and co-starred as Riza Stavros in
F. Gary Gray's science fiction comedy film
Men in Black: International. In 2021, she co-starred in
Lisa Joy's science fiction thriller
Reminiscence.
Denis Villeneuve cast her as
Lady Jessica in his film adaptation of
Frank Herbert's science fiction novel
Dune, playing the role in both
Dune (2021) and
Dune: Part Two (2024). In 2023, Ferguson starred in and executive produced the
Apple TV+ science fiction series
Silo. == Personal life ==