Captivating people from all walks of life for decades, during her life and after her death, the legendary Princess Diana has left her mark all over the globe. While she stood out with her glamour and elegance, Diana was beautiful both inside and out. Known for her charitable work and her activism she was an international icon. Through TV portrayals dating back to 1996, the role of Princess Diana was performed by a variety of actresses, each portraying her life from a different perspective, showing her achievements, her heartbreak, her love life and much more. Here are some of these portrayals.
Naomi Watts in Diana
Starring the one and only Naomi Watts, the movie Diana focused on the complex relationship of Diana and Dodi Fayed, after her relationship with heart surgeon, Hasnat Khan comes to an end. While in some ways the movie seems somewhat superficial with its extremely detailed emphasis on her wardrobe, it nonetheless depicts raw feelings of her heartbreak and loneliness, as well as her endless search for true love.
Amy Seccombe in A Tribute to the People’s Princess
Released a year after Princess Diana’s tragic death, this movie mostly covers the last year of her life, highlighting her romantic affairs with Doctor Hasnat Khan and Dodi Al-Fayed, the latter one ending tragically with their death in a car crash. The movie also sheds light on Diana’s relationship with her sons. As the title suggests, the movie is a tribute to the Princess, who was loved and admired by the public. Looking very much like Diana, Amy Seccombe was quite believable in her portrayal.
Genevieve O’ Reilly in Last Days of a Princess
Played by Genevieve O’Reilly, the docudrama-style movie, Last Days of a Princess, is said to be one of the most convincing and realistic performances portraying Princess Diana. She portrays the princess as the raw, loving, yet flawed person she was. The movie incorporates Diana’s final days, with interviews as well as footage from newsreels leading up to her catastrophic and heartbreaking car accident.
Emma Corrin in The Crown
The Crown is a Netflix series based on the life of Queen Elizabeth, which goes into details of Charles and young Diana’s love story with cinematic storytelling. The show is convincing and the resemblance between Emma Corrin and Princess Diana is uncanny, as are the outfits we’ve all admired on Diana over the years. Emma Corrin won a Golden Globe for her performance as Diana and has also been nominated for an Emmy.
Elizabeth Debicki in The Crown
The soon to be released 5th season of The Crown shows the older Princess Diana, played by Elizabeth Debicki. The series’ soon to be released season goes into the details of Diana’s later life and the internet is going crazy over the teaser pictures because Debicki’s resemblance to Diana is almost too good to be true! We don’t know what the latest season has in store but the cast and crew are phenomenal and we’re super excited about it!
Kristen Stewart in Spencer
Released just a few months ago, the biopic Spencer, stars Twilight actress Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana. The movie starts with Princess Diana on a weekend with the royal family at Sandringham, during which she decides to escape her crumbling marriage with Prince Charles. Kristen Stewart’s fragile yet strong personality, as well as her resemblance to Diana, results in a perfect portrayal of the princess.
Jeanne De Waal in Diana Musical
Starring Jeanne de Waal, the Netflix musical, Diana, premiered on Netflix in 2021, after many attempts of opening on Broadway came to nought by the pandemic. With an intimate, heartfelt and light feel to it, the musical portrays her story in a less tragic tone than the real story actually was.