[2][3] Her mother Sally-Anne (née Heap) is a cleaner and runs a cleaning business and her father Barry J. Arterton is a metal worker / welder.

[4][7][8] She reports being initially drawn to acting at the age of seven after watching a rehearsal of the musical The Wizard of Oz performed by The Miskin Theatre in Dartford.

[11] While studying there, she provided backing vocals for a skiffle band which resulted in a record deal offer which later collapsed.

A lecturer at The Miskin Theatre subsequently convinced her to apply for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), from which she later graduated in 2011.

[5] After performing in the play My City (2011) with Tracey Ullman and Tom Riley at the Almeida Theatre, Arterton was cast as Korinna in the BBC television series Atlantis (2013).

[19] Two years later, Arterton reunited with Coben to play detective Emma Castle in Netflix original series Safe.