Here’s what to know about Tom Ackerley, Margot Robbie’s husband whom she married in 2016.
Australian-born Margot Robbie has undoubtedly become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, from the record-breaking success of “Barbie” to her leading roles in “I, Tonya,” “Babylon,” “Amsterdam,” and many more.
Robbie served as both producer and the lead in “Barbie,” which made more than $1.4 billion at the box office and cemented the star as Hollywood royalty.
Prior the controversial Oscars snub in 2023, Robbie was nominated for two Oscars for her performances: best supporting actress in 2020 for “Bombshell” and best actress in 2018 for “I, Tonya.”
But while Robbie’s public life as an actor and producer has made headlines, her private life with her partner, Tom Ackerley, is not well known.
The couple, both 33, formed a production agency, LuckyChap Entertainment, in 2014 and married in 2016.
Their company is behind “Barbie,” as well as other successful films including Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” and “Saltburn.”
Ackerley, a producer and actor, got his start behind the camera as a production runner before working as an assistant director and producer on more than a dozen films and TV shows.
Here’s what to know about Ackerley, including his background, how he and Robbie met, his connection to “Harry Potter,” and more.
Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerley at the 2023 Gotham Awards in New York on Nov. 27, 2023.Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images
Who is Tom Ackerley?
An actor, producer and assistant director, Tom Ackerley, 33, was born in Surrey, England, but grew up nearby in Guildford, reports Surrey Live. He got an early start in the film industry working as an extra in “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” according to IMDb.
The “Harry Potter” connection is actually a source of amusement for his now-wife. During a visit to “The Graham Norton Show” in 2020, Robby laughed, “I was like, ‘Had you told me sooner we would’ve been married very quickly. He was an extra when he was a little kid — he was one of the Slytherin extras when Draco pushes some kids out of the way to see Buckbeak. … He pushes my husband out of the way.”
After college, Ackerley returned to showbiz, but this time behind the scenes. On his IMDb page, he’s credited a crowd runner and assistant director on films and TV series like “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (2015) and “Da Vinci’s Demons” (2014). While working as a third assistant director on 2014’s “Suite Française,” he met Robbie (who had a small role alongside Michelle Williams and Kristin Scott Thomas) and the pair clicked.
What happened after Tom Ackerley and Margot Robbie met?
“I was the ultimate single gal,” Robbie told Vogue in 2016, describing him as “the best-looking guy in London.”
“The idea of relationships made me want to vomit,” she continued. “And then this crept up on me. We were friends for so long. I was always in love with him, but I thought, Oh, he would never love me back. Don’t make it weird, Margot. Don’t be stupid and tell him that you like him. And then it happened, and I was like, Of course we’re together. This makes so much sense, the way nothing has ever made sense before.”
Though they remained private about the details, the pair could be found in public together. They attended a New York Rangers game at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2015.
What’s LuckyChap Entertainment?
Shortly after they met, the pair became producing partners with fellow “Suite Française” assistant directors Josey McNamara and Robbie’s childhood pal Sophia Kerr, co-founding LuckyChap Entertainment, The Hollywood Reporter said in 2020.
“We were all like, ‘I want to make my own stuff,’” Robbie explained, while Ackerley added, “It was a bit of, ‘If (A-listers are) doing it, why can’t we?’”
Their first project, 2017’s “I, Tonya,” starred Robbie as ex-Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding. The film earned three Academy Award nominations (including one for Robbie) and one win for co-star Allison Janney.
“A lot of people cautioned us against starting a company with our friends, and I was actually really disappointed with how many people told us that it was a bad idea,” Robbie told Vogue Australia in 2018. “I guess we’re one of the exceptions to the rule because we’re still all the best of friends and we love working together. It’s perfect, because work never feels like work to me. I’m always with my best friends, I trust them implicitly, we know each other so well, we know everyone’s strengths and weaknesses and how to spread projects among ourselves so that we can be as productive and efficient as possible and it’s been great so far.”
Since then, LuckyChap has provided outlets for Robbie in “Birds of Prey” (2020) and “Barbie” (2023), and with non-Robbie vehicles like “Promising Young Woman,” which won best original screenplay at the 2021 Academy Awards and was nominated for best picture, best director, best actress and best film editing.
When did Tom Ackerley and Margot Robbie get married?
In December 2016, the couple took many by surprise with a private wedding ceremony held in Byron Bay, Australia, reported Australia’s Daily Telegraph. Robbie was given away by her mom, and her three siblings — Anya, Lachlan and Cameron — also attended, according to the UK’s Daily Telegraph. But their engagement, if they’d officially had one, was never made public.
Robbie also showed off a photo of herself, featuring her smooching Ackerley with a raised ring finger adorned with a yellow-gold ring, reported Vogue in 2016. According to Ritani Diamonds, it’s a 1.5 carat pear-shaped diamond with a pavé diamond band.
As for the honeymoon, instead of traveling they made “I, Tonya,” as Robbie told “Extra” in 2017. “There were times we were sitting in a car parked in Atlanta freezing cold being like, ‘We should be on a beach right now,’” she said. “‘We should be on a honeymoon. What are we doing?!’ Following our dream.”
Post-“Tonya” they did travel to Tahiti, running into Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, as well as former President Barack Obama while there.
As Robbie told DeGeneres in 2018 on “Ellen,” the newlyweds went to the hotel gym, with Ackerley wearing shorts that were a bit revealing. Naturally, they ran into the other three celebrities.
“We then had to do this whole like stretching class, but Tom meanwhile is trying to, like, not reveal anything, and he’s dying,” Robbie said. “The gym instructor keeps saying to Tom, ‘Tom, lunge! Lunge! You’re not lunging!’ and Tom’s trying to lunge cross-legged.”
Do Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerley have children?
Robbie and Ackerley don’t have kids — and Robbie insists it’s best to not ask if they will.
“I got married, and the first question in almost every interview is, ‘Babies? When are you having one?’ I’m so angry that there’s this social contract,” Robbie had told Radio Times in 2019.
“You’re married, now have a baby. Don’t presume. I’ll do what I’m going to do,” she added.
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