Olivia Colman wrote to Wikipedia to have her age changed

28 January 2019

Olivia Colman once wrote to Wikipedia in order to have her age corrected on the online encyclopedia.

Olivia Colman

The acclaimed British actress' age was listed as being eight years above her real-life age, and so she decided to write to the website, pretending to be someone else so as to avoid appearing "vain".

She explained: "Once, on Wikipedia, they had my birthday as the wrong day, the wrong month, and eight years before I was born.

"I emailed them, pretending it wasn't me. [I wrote] 'I was at school with her and that's not her birthday'. I didn't want them to think I was being so vain."

However, she was forced to reveal her identity when the website didn't respond to her initial message.

Speaking on the 'David Tennant Does a Podcast With...' audio interview series, Olivia, 44, said: "I didn't get a reply, and wrote again going 'Sorry guys, but I know it's wrong'. And they didn't reply.

"So I said, 'Actually, this is me, and it's really upsetting me that you've made me eight years older than I actually am.'"

Olivia told David - her 'Broadchurch' co-star - she was asked for a birth certificate to prove her real age.

She remembers telling the online encyclopedia: "Whose f***ing birth certificate have you looked at in the first place to make me eight years older?'"

Olivia is currently the queen of awards season thanks to her royal role as 17th century British monarch Queen Anne in period comedy drama 'The Favourite'.

However, Olivia has admitted that her increasing levels of fame have made her more reclusive because she gets recognised everywhere she goes.

She said: "I find it one-sided; everybody knows your face but you don't know theirs. I find that a little intimidating.

"I tend to stay at home. I love my job very much and know that is an unfortunate side effect. And again some people deal with it better than me.

"It is annoying. I went over there [to America] for a holiday and it was heaven, because I went out to the park with the kids and nobody looked twice. And now that is annoying, isn't it? I will have to find somewhere else to go."