Samantha Jane Morton (born 1977) is an English actress, known for her work in independent film featuring dark, tragic themes, and particularly period dramas. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Fellowship, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award. Morton's career began in British television in 1991 after becoming a member of Nottingham's Central Junior Television Workshop. Her early film roles include Emma (1996), Jane Eyre (1997), and Under the Skin (1997). She garnered critical acclaim for her roles in Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and Jim Sheridan's robust In America (2003), earning two Academy Award nominations. Her other notable films include Minority Report (2002), Morvern Callar (2002), The Libertine (2004), Control (2007), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), and The Whale (2022).

In 2006, Morton received nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award for her representation of Myra Hindley in the Channel 4 and HBO film Longford (2006). Morton also served as the director for the television film The Unloved (2009), a semi-autobiographical film which won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Single Drama. She ventured into biographical dramas with her stellar role in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, a biopic about Elizabeth I, in 2007. In 2015, she began her extensive work in television with series like The Last Panthers (2015), Rillington Place (2016), Harlots (2017–2019), The Walking Dead (2019–2020), and The Serpent Queen (2022–2024).