TMZ broke the news on March 16, 2026: Sebastian Stan and Annabelle Wallis are expecting their first child together.
Stan's publicist did not confirm. Wallis's publicist did not confirm. Stan was photographed walking his dogs, Zeus and Apollo, around his New York City neighbourhood that afternoon, which is what celebrities do when they would like to appear normal, while the internet is anything but. The couple had been together since May 2022, when they were spotted at Robert Pattinson's birthday party in New York. Four years of privacy, and then this.
For the portion of the internet that knows Sebastian Stan from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or from his Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice, or from his recent Academy Award nomination for A Different Man — the question was immediate: who is Annabelle Wallis?
The answer requires starting in Oxford and ending in Los Angeles, with a ranch outside Lisbon in the middle, and two of the most famous men in music along the way.
Annabelle Wallis Age, Oxford Birthplace, and the Ranch in Cascais
Annabelle Frances Wallis was born on September 5, 1984, in Oxford. When she was eighteen months old, her family moved to Cascais, a Portuguese municipality on the Atlantic coast west of Lisbon. She grew up on a ranch at the edges of the city, attended Saint Dominic's International School in São Domingos de Rana — a school with students from roughly fifty countries — and did not return to England until she was nineteen.
The result of that upbringing is a person who speaks fluent English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish, and who carries what she has described as a genuine split identity between British and Continental European. She is 41 years old. Most of the internet learned her name this week.
Her older brother Francis is a director whose work has included projects for fashion designer Michael Kors and musicians Pixie Lott and Birdy. On her father's side, she is a descendant of Marie Lloyd, the legendary English music-hall singer of the early 1900s. On her mother's side, the connection is more famous: her maternal great-uncle was Irish actor Richard Harris — the man who played Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, and Dumbledore's predecessor in the role of King Arthur in Camelot. Her first cousins once removed include English actors Jared Harris, Jamie Harris, and director Damian Harris.
The Career Annabelle Wallis Built Before Anyone in America Was Paying Attention
Wallis did not arrive in London with a famous uncle's phone number and a plan. She arrived with a desire to act, no agent, and no particular connections she was willing to use. After spending time doing short films in Portugal and advertisements in London, she eventually found an agent the conventional way.
Her first notable role came in 2005, when she was cast in the Bollywood film Dil Jo Bhi Kahey. The film did not perform. What followed was the kind of early-career grinding that does not make for interesting storytelling — small parts, persistence, geography — until 2009, when she was cast as Jane Seymour in Showtime's The Tudors alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers. That role gave her a foothold in prestige television and introduced her to the American audience that would eventually become her primary one.
Peaky Blinders came in 2013. Playing Grace Burgess across six seasons of the BBC crime drama is what most people outside the United States would cite as her career-defining work — a character whose arc across the early seasons of the show became one of its most discussed storylines. She left the series in 2016 but remained associated with it. The Mummy in 2017, alongside Tom Cruise, gave her a major studio film credit. Malignant, in 2021, directed by James Wan, demonstrated a range that critics had been noting since Peaky Blinders.
The horror connection has an unrelated footnote worth including: the 2014 film Annabelle — about a possessed doll — shares her first name entirely by coincidence. She had nothing to do with it. The confusion has followed her for over a decade.
Chris Martin, the Coldplay Song, and the Relationship Nobody Discusses Anymore
Between 2015 and 2017, Annabelle Wallis was in a relationship with Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay. The two were photographed together in Paris in autumn 2015, which confirmed what had been circulating for months. Martin had separated from Gwyneth Paltrow earlier that year.
During the relationship, Wallis appeared in Coldplay's music video for "Hymn for the Weekend" and provided background vocals to the song "Up&Up" from their A Head Full of Dreams album. The relationship ended in late 2017.
From 2018 to 2022, she was with American actor Chris Pine — a relationship that lasted four years and included living together in the United Kingdom during the COVID lockdown. That relationship also ended quietly, the way most of her personal life has unfolded: without press releases or public statements.
She and Sebastian Stan were first linked in May 2022 at Robert Pattinson's birthday party. That summer, she joined Stan in Greece as he celebrated his 40th birthday. Their first official red carpet appearance came at the 2025 Golden Globes, where Stan won Best Actor for The Apprentice and thanked her directly in his speech: "Annabelle, I love you."
TMZ first reported the pregnancy news on March 16, 2026. Just Jared confirmed the couple's four years together and noted that their last public appearance before the announcement was a Valentine's Day walk in New York City in February.
What Annabelle Wallis Is Working on in 2026
The pregnancy news arrived during one of the more professionally active stretches of Wallis's career.
She is set to star alongside Jason Statham in Mutiny, an action film scheduled for theatrical release in August 2026. She has also been cast in Netflix's Unabomber, a series about the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. Both projects were already in post-production or scheduled for release before the March 16 announcement.
Neither Wallis nor Stan has commented publicly on the pregnancy beyond what TMZ reported. No due date has been shared. No gender has been confirmed. The child will be the first for both of them.
For readers following other performers navigating the intersection of private life and public attention in 2026, Mikayla Matthews has been living a very different version of that story — one where the cameras were already on before the hardest moments arrived.
Frequently Asked Questions About Annabelle Wallis
Who is Annabelle Wallis?
She is a 41-year-old British actress born on September 5, 1984, in Oxford, England. She grew up in Cascais, Portugal, and is best known for playing Grace Burgess in Peaky Blinders (2013–2019) and Jane Seymour in The Tudors (2009–2010). Her film credits include The Mummy (2017), Malignant (2021), and Tag (2018). She has been in a relationship with Romanian-American actor Sebastian Stan since 2022, and the two are expecting their first child together, according to TMZ's March 16, 2026, report.
Is Annabelle Wallis related to Richard Harris?
Wallis's maternal great-uncle was Irish actor Richard Harris, best known for playing Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films and the lead in Camelot. Her first cousins once removed include actors Jared Harris (Mad Men), Jamie Harris, and director Damian Harris. On her father's side, she is a descendant of English music-hall singer Marie Lloyd.
Did Annabelle Wallis date Chris Martin?
Annabelle dated Coldplay frontman Chris Martin from 2015 to 2017. During the relationship, she appeared in Coldplay's music video for "Hymn for the Weekend" and provided background vocals on the song "Up&Up" from the band's A Head Full of Dreams album. The relationship ended in late 2017. She subsequently dated actor Chris Pine from 2018 to 2022 before beginning her relationship with Sebastian Stan.
Where did Annabelle Wallis grow up?
Although born in Oxford, England, Annabelle Wallis grew up in Cascais, Portugal, where her family moved when she was eighteen months old. She attended Saint Dominic's International School in São Domingos de Rana — an international school with students from approximately fifty countries — and did not return to England until she was nineteen. As a result of her upbringing, she speaks fluent English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish.
What is Annabelle Wallis in next?
Wallis is set to star alongside Jason Statham in the action film Mutiny, scheduled for theatrical release in August 2026. She has also been cast in Netflix's Unabomber, a series about the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. Both projects were announced before news of her pregnancy with Sebastian Stan broke on March 16, 2026.