 After graduating from Oxford where she had appeared in Oxford University Dramatic Society productions, and toured to the Edinburgh Festival, she made her professional debut as Beatrice in "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Southwark Playhouse.After a period working on the London fringe, Best trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.After graduating in 1999 she appeared in a revival of "'Tis Pity She's a Whore" at the Young Vic for which she won both the "Evening Standard" and Critics' Circle best newcomer awards; she adopted her grandmother's name as a stage name, as an Emily Best was already registered with British Actors' Equity Association.