Fionn Whitehead was born and raised in Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, a picturesque town in southwest England and one of the home counties bordering Greater London. He is the son of Tim and Linda Whitehead, and has three older siblings: sisters Maisie and Hattie, and brother Sonny. Maisie, the eldest of the four, is a talented dancer and Aerialist-Yoga enthusiast, while Hattie is a creative folk artist who has released a folk album.
Fionn's parents instilled in him a love for the arts from a young age, thanks to his father's accomplished career as a British jazz musician. Tim Whitehead, an acclaimed jazz composer, performer, and teacher, had a long and varied career, playing extensively throughout the UK and Europe, and more recently in the USA with American pianist Phil DeGreg. He even toured with Ian Carr's Nucleus and Graham Collier Music in the '70s and won the Young Jazz Musicians of the Year Award with his own band, South of the Border, in 1977.
Growing up in an artistic environment, Fionn began acting at the Orange Tree Theatre when he was just thirteen years old. He then attended Orleans Park School, where he was an outstanding student, earning 12 passes at A* or A. Upon finishing school, Fionn went on to Richmond College and enrolled in the National Youth Theatre's summer course.
Before becoming a full-time actor, Fionn worked at a coffee shop in Waterloo, London. He then landed his first major role in the 2016 British miniseries HIM, while still an active member of the Youth Theatre. He also appeared in a stage performance of Glenn Waldron's Natives and was named one of Screen International's Stars of Tomorrow 2016.
In 2017, Fionn's career took off when he was cast as the lead in Christopher Nolan's British historical epic Dunkirk, alongside many well-established actors. Nolan compared Fionn to "a young" Tom Courtenay. Later that year, Fionn starred in the feature film The Children Act opposite Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci, and had just finished shooting the young lead role.
Fionn is represented by the Curtis Brown Agency and has signed with UTA for agency representation by Curtis Brown and Peikoff Mahan, according to Deadline.
