Natalie Dormer (born 11 February 1982) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Anne Boleyn in the Showtime series The Tudors, Irene Adler in Elementary, and Margaery Tyrell in the HBO series Game of Thrones. She also played Cressida in the science fiction adventure films The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and the upcoming The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.

Dormer was born in Reading, Berkshire. She attended Chiltern Edge Secondary School before moving to Reading Blue Coat School, an independent boys' school that admits girls in the sixth form. She grew up with her stepfather (a builder), mother, sister Samantha, and brother Mark. She has said that she was the victim of bullying while at school, but "still to this day [she] can't place why". At school, Dormer was head girl, a first class student, vice-captain of the school netball team, and she also got to travel the world with her school's public speaking team.

During her school years, Dormer trained in dance at the Allenova School of Dancing.[4] She describes herself as the "academic hopeful" of the family and hoped to be offered a place to study history at Cambridge; but, in her A-level History exam, she did not achieve the A grade she needed to attend.[2] Dormer decided she would audition for drama schools and decided to train at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.