In 2010, Riley appeared in Inception, with Leonardo DiCaprio, written and directed by Christopher Nolan. She is widely regarded as a rising star among the next generation of British actresses and is featured on the March 2010 cover of Esquire.

Her television credits include episodes of Poirot, Marple, the E4 series Nearly Famous and Doctor Who (2008's "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead").

Riley made her stage debut with Kevin Spacey in The Philadelphia Story at the Old Vic in 2005. Her performance in a 2006 revival of Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke was described as "delightful".

Talulah Riley-Milburn was born in Hertfordshire, the only child of Una Riley, founder of a security systems company and a PR company, and Doug Milburn, formerly head of the National Crime Squad. Her father now works as a screen writer and has written episodes of Silent Witness, Prime Suspect and The Bill. She attended Cheltenham Ladies College, Berkhamsted Collegiate School and graduated from Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls. While acting in London, Riley studied mathematics, physics and economics at the Open University.

She is engaged to South African-born entrepreneur Elon Musk; they are planning to marry in 2010. Riley lives in Santa Monica, California at the home she shares with Musk.

She is currently listed in the Caltech directory as a volunteer for the Physics Department at the California Institute of Technology.