Mia McKenna-Bruce bestowed the BAFTA Rising Star Award

A few hours ago, EE revealed Mia McKenna-Bruce as the winner of the EE Rising Star Award for 2024…

Mia won the only gong presented at the EE BAFTA Film Awards that is voted for by the British public.

Mia McKenna-Bruce, 2024 EE Rising Star Award Winner:

“Thank you to everyone who voted, thank you to Molly Manning Walker and everyone who worked on HOW TO HAVE SEX. Thank you BAFTA, thank you EE, I’m over the moon. Ayo, Phoebe, Sophie, Jacob – it’s an honour to have been nominated alongside you. Thank you”

Previous EE Rising Star Award winners, Emma Mackey (2023 winner) and Jack O’Connell (2015 winner), introduced the award at this year’s ceremony, which was held at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall.

Now in its nineteenth year, the EE Rising Star Award reinforces EE’s commitment to become the UK’s most personal, customer-focused brand by providing the nation with an opportunity to have their voice heard through the public vote. The accolade continues to celebrate new and emerging talent within the film industry who have each demonstrated their remarkable talent in film over the past year, having captured the imagination of both the public and film industry alike.

Mia McKenna-Bruce is one of five incredible actors nominated in recognition of their work and identified as a rising star. The other nominees are: Phoebe Dynevor, Ayo Edebiri, Jacob Elordi and Sophie Wilde.

Mia McKenna-Bruce, 2024 EE Rising Star Award Winner

Mia an English actress who is receiving acclaim for her lead performance in Molly Manning-Walker’s film, How to Have Sex. The film, in which she plays Tara, follows three British teenage girls on a trip to Malia, a Greek Island of Crete, for a rites-of-passage holiday filled with drinking, clubbing, and hooking up. It was released in November 2023.

Meanwhile, in 2022, Mia gave a scene-stealing performance in the role of ‘Mary Musgrove’, the younger sister of Dakota Johnson’s ‘Anne Elliot’ in the film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion. This follows her nomination for a Royal Television Society Award in 2017 for ‘Performance of the Year’ for her role of ‘Tee Taylor’ in the BBC’s television series The Dumping Ground. 

Jane Millichip, CEO at BAFTA:

“The EE BAFTA Film Awards are about celebrating exceptional talent in filmmaking today and inspiring the filmmakers of tomorrow. For the past 19 years the EE Rising Star Award has recognised the most exciting and promising talent of their generation, and this year is no exception. Many congratulations to Mia McKenna-Bruce and to all of this year’s nominees who I know we’ll see on our screens for many years to come”.

 The EE Rising Star Award was created in honour of the late Mary Selway. A highly respected and BAFTA award-winning casting director whose 36-year career saw her work on more than ninety films and work with leading directors such as Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood. Mary’s work contributed to the creation of some of the silver screen’s most memorable characters and in 2001 she received BAFTA’s Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award.

This year’s award nominees were selected by an impressive lineup of industry experts who were tasked with selecting the shortlist from a comprehensive list of talented actors and actresses. The jury was chaired by BAFTA’s Chair of the Film Committee, Anna Higgs, and included actors Daisy Edgar-Jones, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù and Himesh Patel, casting directors Lucy Bevan and Nina Gold, as well as other leading industry specialists and prominent film, entertainment, and arts journalists.

Pete Jeavons, Marketing Communications Director at EE:

“Many congratulations to Mia McKenna-Bruce for winning the 2024 EE Rising Star Award. Through our longstanding partnership with BAFTA, we are committed to empowering and inspiring the next generation of talent, and the EE Rising Star Award truly embodies this. As this prestigious award marks its nineteenth year, we’re proud to continue to nurture and celebrate outstanding new talent within the film industry, while also providing a platform for film fans to engage and express their support. We look forward to seeing what the future holds for Mia McKenna-Bruce and all the other exceptional nominees!”.

EE is a long-standing partner of the BAFTA Film Awards, committed to nurturing and championing emerging talent through the EE Rising Star Award. EE also continues to use its tools and resources to support the aspirations of the next generation, highlighting its dedication to being the UK’s most personal and customer-focused brand.