Vanessa Kirby: Princess Margaret role made me see female representation poor in TV

Vanessa Kirby says her role as Princess Margaret in The Crown helped her notice the problematic representation of women on screen

Vanessa Kirby believes her role as Princess Margaret in Netflix‘s The Crown helped her realise a problem with female representation on screen.

Speaking to PORTER magazine, the actress, 32, talked about how she and her on-screen sister Claire Foy felt the same feelings of empowerment on the historical drama – something they had not felt before.

 ‘Claire asked me, ‘Do you feel really empowered on this?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I actually feel like I have space to do the work I’ve always wanted to’.

Eye-opening: Vanessa Kirby believes her role as Princess Margaret in Netflix’s The Crown helped her realise a problem with female represnation on screen

‘She said the same, and we realised that [it was because] we were the protagonists of our own story.

‘It was that [moment] which illuminated the number of times when you were in [projects] where you were saying things that only helped the psychological journey and the narrative of the male characters.’

While Vanessa played Princess Margaret in The Crown’s first and second seasons, Claire portrayed Queen Elizabeth II for the same tenure.

She plans to set up her own production company with female-centred storytelling at the forefront, saying of this: ‘From my experience of being a woman in the world, I know that you have to be an agent of that change.

Harrowing: Vanessa is up for her first Oscar for her role as Martha in Pieces Of A Woman - a heart-breaking portrait of trauma in the aftermath of a couple losing their new-born baby

Harrowing: Vanessa is up for her first Oscar for her role as Martha in Pieces Of A Woman – a heart-breaking portrait of trauma in the aftermath of a couple losing their new-born baby

‘I know how wonderful it felt for me to have that space on a set, and now to be creating a company where I can continue to make those choices.’

On how she seeks out roles, the star added: ‘One of my first questions will always be, ‘Is this something that scares me?’ A lot of movies have these very neatly drawn female archetypes who are a film version of women, and that’s not what I identify with.’

Vanessa is up for her first Oscar for her role as Martha in Pieces Of A Woman – a heart-breaking portrait of trauma in the aftermath of a couple losing their new-born baby.

Of the nod, she gushed: ‘I heard the news and I was so shaky, and then I just got to hold my sister’s hand all night and talk to my best friends. I got to experience it from such a calm place and I’m just feeling deeply grateful.’

The Best Actress category sees Vanessa go up against fellow Brit Carey Mulligan, who is nominated for Promising Young Woman.

Before this, Vanessa will also battle it out for a BAFTA Award, this Sunday.

Also up for Best Actress is Bukky, Radha Blank for The Forty-Year-Old Version, Frances McDormand for Nomadland, Wunmi Mosaku for His House and Alfre Woodard for Clemency.