She played a queen on screen. Off screen, she was figuring out who she even was. Sophie Turner says her 20s were a mess with breakdowns, identity crises, and a marriage that fell apart.
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British actress Sophie Turner has spoken candidly about a difficult period in her 20s, telling The Daily Telegraph that she and her close friends all went through emotional rough patches before turning 30.
Turner, who turned 30 in February, said all her best friends are the same age and went to school together. “We’re just so happy to be out of the mess of our 20s,” she told the publication. “Each of us has had a mini-breakdown but we all feel really positive now. I was very ready to leave that decade of my life behind.”
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Turner shot to fame at just 13 years old, playing Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones. When the show ended in May 2019 after eight seasons, she said she suffered a “big identity crisis.”
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She said: “I didn’t know who was Sansa and who was Sophie, and I was too young to read the books so I kind of just developed her over time. I had a big identity crisis when I let her go. I didn’t really know who I was or what I was doing. It was a strange, hard time.”
Turner said acting became a form of catharsis during the harder moments of her 20s. “I need to do it creatively to process what’s been going on in my life, and to expel something from me,” she said.
She also spoke about a film called Trust, in which she played a woman who had to go into hiding after being manipulated by a man she had a child with. She said the role gave her space to process personal experiences, though she did not name anyone specifically.
Turner and singer Joe Jonas separated in 2023 after three years of marriage. Their divorce was finalised in 2024. The two went through a custody dispute before reaching an arrangement. They share two daughters, Willa, five, and Delphine, three.
In a separate interview with British Vogue last year, Turner spoke about the co-parenting situation. “I think we’re doing the best we can,” she said. “I’m confident that we can figure it out. Joe is a great father to our children, and that’s all that I can ask for.”
Turner is currently working on Tomb Raider, a new TV series based on the video game franchise. She will play the lead role of Lara Croft, a character she described as “so different” from herself in real life.
“Right now, my focus is Tomb Raider,” Turner said. “It has been for quite a while and will be for a while to come. I feel good doing it.” She also acknowledged the role that television played in shaping her career. “I was birthed by Game of Thrones. TV is my bread and butter, and I love developing a character over years.”
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