Eve Best Net Worth

What is Eve Best's Net Worth?

Eve Best is an English actress and director who has a net worth of $3 million.

Eve Best has earned acclaim in British theater, on Broadway, and in television productions on both sides of the Atlantic. She became familiar to American viewers through her role as Dr. Eleanor O'Hara on the Showtime comedy-drama "Nurse Jackie," appearing as one of the show's principal cast members during its first five seasons and returning for its final episode.

Best later reached an even larger international audience as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen in HBO's "House of the Dragon." Known as the Queen Who Never Was, Rhaenys became one of the "Game of Thrones" prequel's most prominent and respected characters. Best's other television credits include "The Honourable Woman," "Life in Squares," "Stan Lee's Lucky Man," "Fate: The Winx Saga," "Maryland," "The Crown," and "Wild Cherry."

Although her television work brought her wider recognition, Best initially established her reputation as one of Britain's leading stage actresses. She won an Olivier Award for playing the title character in "Hedda Gabler" and received Tony Award nominations for "A Moon for the Misbegotten" and "The Homecoming." Her film appearances include "The King's Speech," in which she portrayed Wallis Simpson, and "Someone You Love."

Early Life

Emily Frances Finlay Best was born on July 31, 1971, in Hammersmith, London. She grew up in Ladbroke Grove in West London. Her father, Alastair Best, was a design journalist, while her mother, Susanna Best, worked as an actress and theater director.

Best began performing when she was nine years old through the W11 Opera children's company. She later attended Wycombe Abbey, an independent boarding school, before studying English at Lincoln College, Oxford. While at Oxford, she became heavily involved in student theater and performed at the Edinburgh Festival.

Following graduation, Best worked in London's fringe theater scene and made an early professional appearance as Beatrice in "Much Ado About Nothing." After struggling to build momentum without formal dramatic training, she enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Best was born Emily, but another performer was already registered under that name with the British actors' union Equity. She adopted Eve, her grandmother's name, as her professional first name.

Stage Breakthrough

Shortly after graduating from RADA, Best appeared opposite Jude Law in the Young Vic's 1999 production of "'Tis Pity She's a Whore." Her performance earned her newcomer awards from both the London Evening Standard and the Critics' Circle.

She continued building her reputation through productions including "The Coast of Utopia," "Three Sisters," and "Mourning Becomes Electra." Her defining early stage performance came when she played the title role in Henrik Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler." The production began at London's Almeida Theatre before transferring to the West End, and Best won the Olivier Award for Best Actress.

Best next starred as Josie Hogan opposite Kevin Spacey and Colm Meaney in Eugene O'Neill's "A Moon for the Misbegotten" at the Old Vic. She followed the production to Broadway in 2007, earning a Tony Award nomination and winning a Drama Desk Award.

Later that year, she returned to Broadway as Ruth in Harold Pinter's "The Homecoming." The cast also included Ian McShane, Raúl Esparza, Michael McKean, and James Frain. Best received her second consecutive Tony nomination for the performance.

Her later stage credits include "As You Like It," "Much Ado About Nothing," "The Duchess of Malfi," and the Broadway revival of "Old Times." She made her professional directing debut with a production of "Macbeth" at Shakespeare's Globe in 2013.

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"Nurse Jackie"

Best's most significant early American television role came in 2009 when she joined the cast of "Nurse Jackie." She played Dr. Eleanor O'Hara, a sophisticated British physician and close friend of Edie Falco's title character.

Eleanor was initially portrayed as confident, wealthy, and emotionally detached, but the series gradually revealed her loyalty and vulnerability. Best remained a principal cast member through the show's fifth season and returned as a guest for the 2015 series finale.

The Showtime series ran for seven seasons and received multiple Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. Best shared in several ensemble nominations alongside Falco, Merritt Wever, Peter Facinelli, and the rest of the cast.

Film and British Television

While appearing on "Nurse Jackie," Best played Wallis Simpson in the 2010 historical drama "The King's Speech." The film starred Colin Firth as King George VI and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Best portrayed astronaut Sally Ride in the television film "The Challenger Disaster" and appeared as Monica Chatwin in the political thriller "The Honourable Woman." She played artist Vanessa Bell in the BBC miniseries "Life in Squares" and Anna Clayton in the first two seasons of "Stan Lee's Lucky Man."

Her other screen work included "The Shadow Line," "Prime Suspect: The Final Act," "Waking the Dead," "Shackleton," "New Worlds," and the Danish film "Someone You Love."

"House of the Dragon"

In 2022, Best began playing Princess Rhaenys Targaryen in "House of the Dragon." Rhaenys had once been considered for the Iron Throne but was passed over in favor of a male relative, earning her the nickname the Queen Who Never Was.

Best portrayed Rhaenys as an experienced political figure, dragon rider, and member of a powerful but divided royal family. She appeared in the first two seasons and played a central role in the civil war between rival branches of House Targaryen.

The series became one of HBO's largest television productions and introduced Best to millions of viewers who had not seen her earlier theater and television work.

Later Projects

Best played school headmistress Farah Dowling in Netflix's fantasy series "Fate: The Winx Saga." She later appeared with Suranne Jones and Stockard Channing in the ITV drama "Maryland."

In the final season of "The Crown," Best portrayed Carole Middleton, the mother of Catherine, Princess of Wales. She subsequently starred opposite Carmen Ejogo in the BBC drama "Wild Cherry," playing a wealthy mother whose family becomes entangled in a scandal at an exclusive private school.

Personal Life

Best has generally kept her romantic relationships and home life out of the press. She has divided much of her professional career between London and New York, frequently moving between stage productions and television work.

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