Hayley Elizabeth Atwell (born 5 April 1982) is a British-American actress. Born and raised in London, Atwell studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and made her stage debut in the play Prometheus Bound in 2005. She appeared in multiple West End productions and on television, gaining recognition for her breakthrough role as Elizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire in The Duchess (2008), for which she was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her leading performance in the television miniseries The Pillars of the Earth (2010) earned her a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film, followed by a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for her acclaimed stage performance in the 2010 production of A View from the Bridge. Atwell rose to prominence for her portrayal of Peggy Carter in the superhero film Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), a role she would reprise in the action-adventure series Agent Carter (2015–2016) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Antman (2015), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). She has since had film roles in the war drama Testament of Youth (2014), the romantic fantasy Cinderella (2015), and the fantasy comedy Christopher Robin (2018). On the stage, Atwell achieved a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in A View from the Bridge (2010) and nominations for Best Actress for her leading performances in The Pride (2013) and Rosmersholm (2020).