Margot Robbie's most memorable roles, ranked

Robbie's second big-screen role came via this 2009 thriller from her native Australia. At this point, Robbie had made a name for herself as an Australian soap opera star, but earned this movie without the help of an agent. With Robbie sporting dark hair, teen Tristen and her brother find themselves in a dangerous situation as they continue to spy on the neighbors while staying with their embattled, divorced policeman father. Tristen is the voice of reason, and delivers a mature performance with plenty of promise.

While Robbie's other 2023 release (which, of course, we'll get to later) has garnered most of the attention, her appearance amid the usual ensemble cast in this complex Wes Anderson comedy-drama, is brief. However, quite noteworthy. She's an actress playing the dead wife of protagonist Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman) in this metatextual storyline about a Junior Stargazer convention, told within the confines of a play in an almost retro-futuristic version of the 1950s. Robbie is at the point in her career where she's still captivating even in the smallest of roles.

This was Robbie's "other" film to be released in 2017 (more about that soon). While this biographical drama about Winnie-the-Pooh creator A. A. Milne and his family received lukewarm reviews, Robbie's performance was a bright spot. That said, Daphne, wife of Milne, is not all that likable a character. She's possessive, outspoken, and not necessarily in a productive way. She seems to be more enamored with her husband's success and celebrity status than he tends to be. It's a flawed character that Robbie pulls off just fine.

Prior to making it big as a motion picture star, Robbie's first experience as a working actress in the United States came via this role. Sadly for Robbie and the cast of Pan Am, which told stories of the famed airline's pilots and stewardesses during its beginning years of the 1960s, the ABC drama lasted just one season. Robbie's Cameron is a rookie stewardess, who is immature, but out to prove she's more than a pretty face. While Robbie's initial experience on American television was rather brief, Hollywood execs took notice of her potential.

This might have been Tina Fey's film, but Robbie was deservedly lauded for her portrayal of the BBC journalist in this biographical war comedy-drama, which is based on the memoir by TV news journalist Kim Baker (Fey). While Fey is one of the great funny women of all time, Robbie actually comes off as the more humorous of the two stars in this particular project. Tanya Vanderpoel is a confident and entertaining character that is worth going back into Robbie's film resume to enjoy, especially for those new fans to her acting work.

Robbie appeared in four movies that were released in 2015. When it came to this romantic war drama (released on Lifetime in the U.S.), Robbie gives a rather underrated performance in a supporting role as a Frenchwoman having an affair with a German soldier in Nazi-occupied France who learns, then divulges, a key piece of information to the overall plot. Michelle Williams and Kristin Scott Thomas are the undisputed stars of the movie, but the importance of Robbie's character can't be understated within the overall story.

In terms of mainstream movie success, 2013 would be a big year for Robbie's acting career (more about that later). It wasn't necessarily because of this romantic comedy-drama, but Robbie does give a rather lasting performance in a supporting role. In a "time travel" sequence, young Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) is smitten with his sister's friend Charlotte, played by Robbie, and learns a thing or two about attraction in the process. The movie was well-received, and Robbie's time on screen should be considered one of its highlights. 

Dreamland might be one of Robbie's least-seen movies within the last decade. Mostly because it received a limited release, even though she co-produced the picture. That said, for hardcore Robbie fans, it's worth checking out. Her Allison Wells is a pretty enthralling character in this 1930s period-piece thriller, even though she is on the run and wanted for a bank robbery and murder. While English actor Finn Cole actually outshines Robbie as protagonist Eugene Evans, the chemistry between the characters is one of the movie's best aspects.

More from Robbie in 2015. With Focus, starring opposite Will Smith in this comedy-drama, Robbie more than holds her own playing the femme fatale and wannabe grifter, yet she's quirky and confident. Critics varied widely in terms of their opinions on the movie, but most agreed the chemistry between Smith and Robbie was a highlight. And, in terms of her acting career, this project was another sign that Robbie could play just about any type of character within any genre. Her star was certainly rising.  

One of Robbie's earliest roles, but often forgotten when mentioning the actresses' notable characters. Even though she had broken through as a promising talent in the United States at this point. Robbie, who reportedly replaced Amanda Seyfried for the part, stars alongside Chris Pine and Academy Award-nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor, in this post-apocalyptic sci-fi picture chronicling an interracial love triangle. Robbie received positive reviews, standing out among the three talented actors, as her acting career flourished further.

The overall uniqueness of Adam McKay's The Big Short is what makes it a highly entertaining film about the 2007-08 financial crisis. One of the most creative aspects of the movie are the real-life celebrities shown talking about various shady financial maneuvers, like Robbie lounging in a bubble bath, explaining mortgage bonds, aka sub-prime loans. It's a brief but simply superb scene that shows off Robbie's comedic side. The late Anthony Bourdain and Selena Gomez also break the fourth wall to offer such testimonials. 

While Robbie's film debut came with 2008's Vigilante, that same year she began playing Donna Freedman, the role on this popular Australian soap opera that essentially opened the door for an acting career that eventually took her to America — with Hollywood stardom waiting in the wings. Donna went from an impressionable teen fan girl to a confident, gutsy young woman who resonated with audiences. Robbie earned two Logie Award (the Australian version of the Emmy Awards) nominations for the role that she reprised with a guest appearance in the soap's final episode in 2022. 

The backdrop of the Tate murders, orchestrated by Charles Manson and his "family," are actually more of a subplot to this recent Quentin Tarantino hit. Robbie, meanwhile, completely transforms herself into the budding actress, who is perhaps the most notable victim of said murders. She's subtly mesmerizing as the carefree, free-spirited girlfriend of infamous Hollywood director Roman Polanski. While Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt certainly deliver in the co-starring roles, Robbie, as usual, delivers her own memorable performance.

Robbie has fared well when portraying real-life celebrities and historical figures. However, when it came to physically turning into such a character, she raised her own personal bar in this acclaimed drama. Sporting a prosthetic nose, red wig and almost white-sand skin tone, Robbie brilliantly morphed into Queen Elizabeth I, cousin to the famed Mary, Queen of Scots (played by Saoirse Ronan). Robbie was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, while the film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

On the surface, playing Barbie might not seem too difficult, knowing what we know of the classic toy. However, Barbie is an icon, and Robbie and the film were both hyped to the hilt. In the end, Robbie pulled it off quite brilliantly. She gives Barbie substance, purpose and lived up to the fictional image that surrounded the doll and all her material offerings, more so than any of the animated features involving the character. The film is about self-discovery, but also female empowerment, with plenty of laughs along the way. And, of course, it only solidified Robbie as a go-to Hollywood leading lady.

Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Robbie each gave riveting performances in this drama about three female employees at Fox News who called out late CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment. Robbie's impressionable, but emboldened Pospisil, is a composite of several female characters who offered accounts of the questionable work climate at the prominent conservative news outlet. Robbie's effort was good enough to earn her Academy Award nomination — this time for Best Supporting Actress. Theron, meanwhile, was nominated for Best Actress in her portrayal of outspoken host Megyn Kelly. 

As we've seen, Robbie likes her period pieces, and has been successful taking on such projects. And, like other roles on this list, Robbie manages to stand out amid an ensemble cast. While this black comedy about Hollywood's move from silent movies to the era of "talkies" was considered by a host of critics as "exhausting," the film was lauded for its individual performances. Notably Robbie as Nellie LaRoy, the popular young actress who has trouble coping with the aforementioned transition within the state of motion pictures during the late 1920s. 

DC's Harley Quinn is one of the most iconic female comic characters of all time. However, the general panning of Suıcide Squad tarnished the legacy on some level. That said, the Birds of Prey sequel gave Quinn more depth in the wake of her breakup with the Joker. Sure, there remains a certain level of unhinged ethos swirling around in Harley, but viewers get more understanding of her nature that comes out — aside from what we saw in Suıcide Squad. Love or hate her, Harley Quinn still remains Robbie's signature role. 

It's hard to upstage Leonardo DiCaprio, but Robbie nearly pulled it off during her breakout role from this Martin Scorsese biographical black comedy based on the memoir of former stockbroker and financial criminal Jordan Belfort. As Belfort's second wife, Naomi is no pushover and a force to be reckoned with, even amid the high-stakes world of wealth and corruption her husband is living. While Barbie is being lauded (and panned in some circles) for its healthy dose of female empowerment, Naomi takes no bull from anyone — especially her sketchy husband. Meanwhile, Robbie might be from Australia, but her Brooklyn accent is spot-on.

If The Wolf of Wall Street officially put Robbie on the Hollywood map, I, Tonya proved she was ready to be an A-list star. While telling the tale of her role in plotting the infamous attack on U.S. teammate and rival Nancy Kerrigan, Robbie delivered her signature performance as the talented, but disturbingly distraught and jealous Olympic figure-skating star Tonya Harding. The film is a dark comedy, a larger-than-life look at Harding, and Robbie brought all her unhinged and dysfunctional characteristics to life — if even the overall truthfulness of the movie has been questioned. Robbie earned her first Oscar nomination for the role, and won the Critics' Choice Movie Awards for Best Actress.