10 stars who’ve played Princess Diana: From Madonna to Elizabeth Debicki

It’s been 25 years since the death of Princess Diana, but that time has done nothing to dim the popularity of the beloved royal.

She’s still remembered for the compassion she displayed in her humanitarian endeavors, her devotion to her sons and her iconic fashion sense, as well as her scandal-plagued marriage and rare royal divorce from the man now known as King Charles III.

And despite her quarter-century absence, admirers of the late Princess of Wales can still see her on television regularly — or at least a close facsimile.

On the fifth season of “The Crown,” viewers watched Elizabeth Debicki bring The People’s Princess to life as the dramatized plot covered her fraught final years. But Debicki’s striking portrayal is just the latest.

Take a look at 10 additional stars who’ve told at least a part of Princess Diana’s story.

Kristen Stewart

“Twilight Saga” star Kristen Stewart traded in her dark locks and West Coast accent for a blond do and posh British pronunciation to play Diana in “Spencer” (2001).

Stewart’s Academy Award-nominated performance centered on a very particular time in the princess' life — a difficult Christmas holiday she spent with the royal family at the queen’s Sandringham estate in 1991. It was said to be a time in which Diana first considered divorce from Charles.

Jenna de Waal

Stage star Jenna de Waal portrayed the princess in “Diana: The Musical,” a two-act production, with music and lyrics by David Bryan and Joe DiPietro, that told the royal’s story from youth to death.

The show was planned to have a Broadway debut in March of 2020, but the pandemic caused the production to be paused for more than a year. Before officially opening on Broadway, a special performance was recorded without an audience and released on Netflix in October of 2021.

Emma Corrin

Before Elizabeth Debicki made her mark as Diana in Season Five of “The Crown,” Emma Corrin delivered their own impressive performance in the role for the series’ fourth season in 2020.

Corrin’s Diana was young and naïve as she fell for Britain’s heir to the throne, not realizing the tension and trials that awaited her after marrying her prince.

Bonnie Soper

New Zealand born big- and small-screen star Bonnie Soper briefly appeared as Princess Diana in the 2018 Lifetime movie “Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance.”

Naomi Watts

In 2013, Naomi Watts took on the titular role in Oliver Hirschbiegel’s “Diana,” a film that focused solely on the final two years of the princess’ life and on her romantic interests following her divorce from the then Prince of Wales.

Julie Cox

Julie Cox played Diana in 1996’s “Princess in Love,” based on the book of the same name from Anna Pasternak. The story covered Diana’s admitted affair with Captain James Hewitt of the British Army’s Life Guards.

Serena Scott Thomas

Andrew Morton’s book “Diana: Her True Story” also lent its name to a dramatization. In 1993, Serena Scott Thomas played the leading lady opposite David Threlfall’s Prince Charles.

Catherine Oxenberg

“Dynasty” star Catherine Oxenberg not only portrayed Diana in 1982’s “The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana,” she also reprised the role 10 years later for “Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After.”

But offscreen, Oxenberg had a closer connection to Charles than Diana.

Her mother, Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, is second cousin to King Charles, making him Oxenberg’s second cousin once removed.

Madonna

Even the Queen of Pop took a turn playing the People’s Princess.

In 1985, Madonna hosted “Saturday Night Live” and appeared as Diana in a skit in which she and Charles (Jon Lovitz) visited America’s first family, the Reagans.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com