Biography of Jessie Buckley (Ireland)

Jessie Buckley 

(born December 28, 1989) is an Irish actress and singer. The accolades she has received include a Laurence Olivier Award, and nominations for an Academy Award.

Buckley began her career in 2008 as a contestant on the BBC TV talent show I'd Do Anything, in which she came second. Buckley made her film debut playing the lead role in Beast (2017), and had her breakthrough starring in the musical film Wild Rose (2018).

Buckley's career progressed with starring roles in the HBO miniseries Chernobyl (2019), I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020), season four of Fargo (2020), The Lost Daughter (2021), Men (2022) and Women Talking (2022).

In 2022, she released the collaborative album For All Our Days That Tear the Heart with Bernard Butler, which was shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize.

Buckley was born in Killarney, County Kerry,  to Marina Cassidy and Tim Buckley.  She has a younger brother and three younger sisters. 

She attended Ursuline Secondary School, an all-girls convent school in Thurles, County Tipperary, where her mother works as a vocal coach and where she performed in school productions. She attended summer workshops with the Association of Irish Musical Societies (AIMS) to improve her singing and acting, and it was here that she was recognised as a talented actress and encouraged to apply for drama school in London.

Buckley attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), graduating in January 2013.

Before Fame

She achieved Grade eight in piano, clarinet and harp with the Royal Irish Academy of Music. She then became a member of the Tipperary Millennium Orchestra.

Trivia

After playing Anne Egermann in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and graduated in 2013. 

She reached the final on 31 May 2008, finishing in second place behind Jodie Prenger.  On 26 August 2008, Buckley performed on Denny Street in Tralee, County Kerry for RTÉ Radio 1. She followed this with a performance at a charity concert in County Tipperary.  On 14 September 2008, Buckley performed at an outdoor concert in celebration of Andrew Lloyd Webber's birthday in Hyde Park, London.

She appeared alongside Maureen Lipman and Hannah Waddingham in the production, which was directed by Trevor Nunn. A Little Night Music transferred from the Menier Chocolate Factory to the Garrick Theatre in London's West End on 7 April 2009. She also played Perdita in Kenneth Branagh's theatre company production of The Winter's Tale,  which was streamed live to cinemas worldwide on 26 November 2015.

She also starred as Honor Martin in BBC One's drama The Last Post (2017), and as Marian Halcombe in the five-part television adaptation of Wilkie Collins' novel The Woman in White (2018). Buckley made her film debut as Moll Huntford in the psychological thriller Beast (2017), for which she received great acclaim.

The film began a theatrical limited release in the United States on 17 December 2021, prior to streaming on Netflix at the end of the month. It received acclaim from critics. Critic Ty Burr believed that Buckley was a "revelation" in the film. For her performance, Buckley won a Gotham Independent Film Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance, and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She also received her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 94th Academy Awards.

She lives in Norfolk as of 2022 She married her husband Freddie, a mental health worker, in mid-2023. Buckley is an ambassador for The Matt Talbot Community Trust, which provides support for individuals in recovery from addiction.