Saoirse Ronan

Saoirse Ronan

Active - 2007 - 2023  |   Born - Apr 12, 1994 in Bronx, New York, United States  |   Genres - Drama, Romance, Thriller

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Biography by AllMovie

Irish actress Saoirse Ronan got her start in her native land on the television series The Clinic and Proof before parlaying her small-screen success into a career in Hollywood. Her first big-screen gig came in 2007, with a small supporting role in the Amy Heckerling romantic comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman, and later that year she could be seen as the 13-year-old version of the character Briony Tallis in the highly acclaimed drama Atonement, adapted from the Ian McEwan novel. Her work in that film garnered her strong notices, as well as Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress. She followed up that critically acclaimed work by taking the central role of the ill-fated adolescent girl, Susie Salmon, in Peter Jackson's 2008 adaptation of Alice Sebold's acclaimed novel The Lovely Bones. In 2011 she was the title character, a young assassin, in the action film Hanna which reteamed her with Atonement director Joe Wright. In 2012, she appeared in Neil Jordan's vampire tale Byzantium. The following year, she played the lead in The Host, a scifi thriller based on a novel by Stephenie Meyer. In 2014, Ronan had a small, but pivotal role, in Wes Anderson's ensemble film The Grand Budapest Hotel. She earned her second Oscar nomination in 2015 for her work in John Crowley's Brooklyn.

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Factsheet

  • First name is Gaelic and means "freedom."
  • Is an only child. 
  • As a baby, accompanied her father, actor Paul Ronan, on the sets of his movies.
  • Grew up in Ireland; has dual Irish and American citizenship. 
  • Got her start on the Irish TV shows The Clinic and Proof.
  • Along with her parents, expressed initial hesitancy to accept the lead in The Lovely Bones (2009) because of the film's rape and murder content, but the three were put at ease after meeting director Peter Jackson.
  • Did extensive physical training, including some martial arts, for the film Hanna (2011).
  • Made her Broadway debut in the 2016 revival of The Crucible, playing Abigail Williams.
  • Is a supporter of the animal-welfare charity the Irish Blue Cross, which reunited her with her dog after the dog ran away.