Tragedy struck Lily James' family when she was still young. In 2008, her father passed away at just 54 after battling cancer, according to The Sun. James was 19 at the time (via Mirror).
Sadly, this tragedy came on the heels of two other family deaths: James' father's uncle passed away from motor neuron disease, and her father's mother, actress Helen Horton also passed away. As the actress explained to The Times, her father's death was, quite understandably, extremely traumatic. "Who my dad was as a person, then losing him, has defined who I am. I always try to feel closer to him."
James had to confront her father's death while filming both Cinderella and War and Peace, as both characters went through eerily similar experiences. As James confessed, she actually found it difficult to summon real emotion during these scenes. "Sometimes, when things are closer to home, it's harder to access it in your work," she said. "It almost feels like too much of your life you're exploring through your characters."
James paid tribute to her father by taking his first name as her stage name — James (via AnOther).
