She rose to prominence for her role as Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy films The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

Ridley had leading roles in the science fiction film Chaos Walking (2021), independent drama Sometimes I Think About Dying (2023), and psychological thriller The Marsh King's Daughter (2023).

[1][2] She is the youngest of three daughters born to Christopher Ridley, a photographer, and Louise (née Fawkner-Corbett), who works in internal communications for a bank.

[11][12][13][14][15][excessive citations] Ridley has stated that while growing up, her favourite film was Matilda (1996), referring to the titular character (played by Mara Wilson) as a role model.

[8] Ridley won a scholarship to Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire, which she attended from ages nine to eighteen.

[20][21] Ridley began her career with minor roles in the television programmes Youngers, Toast of London, Silent Witness, Mr Selfridge, and Casualty.

[32] Her choice by director J. J. Abrams was seen as a repeat of George Lucas' move of casting relatively unknown actors for the lead roles in the first Star Wars film in 1977.

[43] She also reprised her role as Rey, opposite Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker,[44] in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which was released in December 2017.

[45] In January 2018, Ridley starred in the titular role in Ophelia, a reimagining of the Hamlet tale, alongside Naomi Watts and Clive Owen.

[46][47] In February 2018, Ridley voiced the role of Cottontail in Peter Rabbit, an adaptation of the children's stories of the same name by Beatrix Potter.

She lent her voice to the point-and-click mystery video game Twelve Minutes, alongside James McAvoy and Willem Dafoe.

[59] In 2021–22, she shot an indie film titled Sometimes I Think About Dying in Astoria, Oregon, with Rachel Lambert directing and Ridley additionally serving as a first-time main producer on the project.

[62][63] In October 2021, Ridley had signed on for a sci-fi mystery thriller film called Mind Fall with Mathieu Kassovitz attached to direct.

[71] In 2016, Ridley revealed she had been diagnosed with endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome at age fifteen, requiring her to undergo multiple laparoscopic surgery procedures.

[72][73][74] In 2023, Ridley was diagnosed with Graves' disease, which gave her a racing heart rate, weight loss, and fatigue, among other symptoms.

Her post prompted backlash from the public, with critics accusing Ridley of hypocrisy in reference to the violence depicted in her Star Wars films.

[81][82] Ridley was welcomed back to Instagram by her Orient Express co-star Leslie Odom Jr. and Chewbacca actor Joonas Suotamo.