Love Actually’s Mia actress unrecognisable 20 years after playing Harry’s mistress

Love Actually might have come out 21 years ago, but it’s still a Christmas classic – with many of its characters instantly recognisable to many.

Many of the actors from the film have gone on to star in other popular shows like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and Bridget Jones’ Diary.

One actress that Love Actually fans might remember, however, is Mia, who ended up being the mistress to Harry, who was portrayed by the late Alan Rickman.

Mia was played by actress Heike Makatsch, and she looks a lot different now than her days on the hit movie.

Heike’s character, Mia, was arguably the most disliked in the film after she caught the eye of Harry, who was married to Karen (played by Emma Thompson).

Towards the end of the film, Karen finds a necklace in her husband’s coat pocket and assumes it’s for her.

On Christmas Eve, she opens a gift from Harry, which she believes to be the necklace, but it in fact turns out to be a Joni Mitchell CD – as she susses out that Harry might be pining after someone else.

In a very memorable scene, Karen breaks down in tears as she listens to the CD, before she pulls herself together to go to her children’s nativity play.

Mia is seen wearing the necklace in other scenes, no doubt breaking the hearts of Love Actually fans.

Script editor Emma Freud confirmed Mia and Harry definitely did have an affair.

Heike hails from Dusseldorf, Germany and was best known for her role as Dr Lisa Addison in Resident Evil before her starring role in the 2003 Christmas favourite.

She famously dated James Bond star Daniel Craig for seven years after meeting on the set of the romantic drama Obsession. After their relationship ended in 2004, Heike found love with her husband Max Schroder, a musician in German indie band, Tomte.

She has starred in plenty of English and German TV and film projects, and she has also dabbled in music.

Heike is now 50 years old, and in 2013, she starred in a film adaptation of the best-selling novel, The Book Thief which received rave reviews online.

In Love Actually, Heike, as Mia, famously rocked a blunt bob, but now the actress dons honey-blonde locks.

She is married, and shares two daughters with her husband.

* This article was crafted with the help of an AI engine, which speeds up OK!’s editorial research and applies it to article templates created by journalists in our newsrooms. An OK! editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to okletters@reachplc.com

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