Free was born in Kingston upon Thames, London on 13 October 1999.[3][4] Her father works in recruitment and her mother is a yoga teacher.[4] She has an older sister. She explained that her middle name of Tiger was given to her because "being pregnant with me felt like carrying a tiger. I guess I was fierce and restless in there."[5][6]
Free was educated at Teddington School. She began acting while attending Saturday drama class, where she was scouted for her first audition.[4] She explained, "I was driving my mother insane. I had way too much energy as an 11-year-old. So she took me to a Saturday club where I could run around and sing and dance and act."[7]
Career
2012–2018: Career beginnings
Free began her career in 2012 with small television roles in Mr Stink and Endeavour, and a small part in the British coming-of-age drama Broken. In 2014, Free was cast as Myrcella Baratheon in Game of Thrones, replacing Aimee Richardson.[8][9] Prior to her audition, Free had never seen the show; when talking about the role, she said: "I mean, it's every girls dream to play a princess and the dresses were fantastic."[3]
In August 2018, Free was cast as Leanne Grayson in M. Night Shyamalan's television series Servant.[12] The show received widespread critical acclaim, including from the likes of Stephen King, and Free's performance was lauded alongside the show's other lead cast members Lauren Ambrose and Rupert Grint.[13]
Free made her shift to more movie roles with the 2021 film Settlers, where she played the older version of Brooklynn Prince's character as part of a family who are among the first settlers of Mars. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.[14]
In August 2022, she was cast as Margaret in the 2024 horror film The First Omen, marking her first lead role in a feature film.[15][16] She said in 2024, "M. Night [Shyamalan] definitely nourished me to be able to come and do roles like this. I always say I don't think I could have played Margaret when I was 19. I couldn't have walked on and done it in the way that, hopefully, I've done it now."[6]
Personal life
Free is friends with Sebastian Croft, her co-star on Game of Thrones and Wonderwell.[17]
Free posts covers of songs and original music on Instagram.[3][17] She was in a band named Your Parents.[18] She released her first commercial song as a solo artist titled "Do I Just Keep Making Things Worse?" on October 25, 2024. Her extended play "Nell has a breakdown" is due to be released in the future.[19]
