‘Two and a Half Men’ Actress Reveals She Kept Her Royal Family Identity Private in Hollywood

Two and a Half Men actress Sophie Winkleman is a member of the British Royal family but says she kept her real identity private in Hollywood. Winkleman is married to Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousin Prince Michael. “People in my business in America didn’t know anything about it, because they’d just see ‘Sophie Winkleman’ on the sheet and I’d go and do the audition and then get the job or not,” Winkleman told Insider. “And they didn’t find anything out about me. They just knew me from my acting, which was quite important to me.”

Winkleman wed Lord Frederick in 2009 and then went on to appear in Two and a Half Men during Seasons 9 and 10, from 2011 to 2012. Winkleman played Zoey, the love interest of Ashton Kutcher‘s Walden Schmidt, in the hit sitcom. While she only spent a couple of seasons on the show as a recurring character, Winkleman did make an appearance in the series finale in 2015 as well. Speaking about her time on the show, she called working with Kutcher “a delight, and very clever.”

Winkleman began acting professionally in the early ’00s. In addition to working on Two and a Half Men, she also appeared in shows such as CSI: Miami and Hot in Cleveland. She also had a role in the 2005 fantasy film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Most recently, Winkleman has starred in the Cinemax action series C.B. Strike. She also turned up in Hulu’s series adaptation of Four Weddings and a Funeral and appeared opposite Donald Sutherland, Hilary Swank, and Brendan Fraiser in FX’s Trust.

Not only did Winkleman discuss her career with Insider, but she also opened up about her relationship with the Royal Family. “I can only speak from personal experience, but when I first went to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen for the Christmas lunch, she was incredibly welcoming and kind,” Winkleman said. “I’ve only had positive, caring, warmth from all of them.” While she is formally known as Sophie, Lady Frederick Windsor, Winkleman explained that she still uses her maiden name for acting projects, but is also happy to be able to work as a Royal as well.