Famous Irish Women

Angela Lansbury played a key role in shaping the Golden Age of Hollywood. Recognized as one of the few stars still alive from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema, Angela Lansbury has received accolades, such as an Honorary Oscar. In 2014, Queen Elizabeth II appointed her a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Saoirse Ronan is noted for her roles in period dramas since she was in her teens. Her breakthrough came when in 2007 she played a precocious teenager in the film Atonement. Since then she has acted in several successful movies. She’s also a stage artist and was featured by Forbes in two of their 30 Under 30 lists in 2016.

Dolores O'Riordan went from being a church singer to becoming the lead vocalist of the Irish alternative rock band The Cranberries and a rock icon of the 1990s. She stunned her fans with her death as a result of accidental drowning due to intoxication at age 46.

Canadian comedian Katherine Ryan initially worked at a restaurant to support her education and then stepped into open mic and comedy nights. She has performed across Canada and the UK and even at the LA-based Comedy Store. Now an actor, too, she is also a 2-time skin cancer survivor.

Maureen O'Hara was an Irish singer and actress. Dubbed The Queen of Technicolor due to her long and successful career throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Maureen O'Hara was popular for playing passionate, but sensible characters. In 2014, she received an Honorary Academy Award. In 2020, she was ranked first on Ireland's greatest film actors list published by The Irish Times.

Known for her unique blend of Celtic and folk tunes, Irish singer Enya has been dubbed the Queen of New Age. The Academy Award-nominated singer is also a 4-time Grammy winner and soared to fame with tracks such as Only Time and Orinoco Flow. She is the best-selling Irish solo artist ever.

Katie McGrath is an Irish actress known for playing important roles in popular TV series like Merlin, Dracula, Supergirl, and Frontier. Her journey from being a wardrobe assistant on the set of a television series titled The Tudors to becoming an actress after being advised to try her hand at acting is quite inspirational.

One of the most popular actresses from Ireland, Jessie Buckley was ranked 38th on Ireland's greatest film actors list published by The Irish Times in 2020. Also known for her singing abilities, Jessie Buckley is a member of the Tipperary Millennium Orchestra. She can also play the piano, clarinet, and harp.

Born to an Irish mother and an Ethiopian father, Ruth Negga didn’t look back after grabbing a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for the Best Newcomer, with her performance in the play Duck. She also played both Ophelia and Prince Hamlet in two different productions of the play.

Aisling Bea is an Irish actor, screenwriter, and comedian who has been serving as a team captain on the popular British comedy panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats since 2016. Apart from being a comedian and actor, Aisling Bea is also an activist; she campaigned successfully for the introduction of legal abortion and same-sex marriage legislation in Ireland.

Irish pirate Anne Bonny is considered one of the most famous female pirates of all time. She operated in the Caribbean in the early 18th century. As a teenager, she became the partner and lover of the notorious English pirate captain Calico Jack Rackham. She was captured in 1720 when she was pregnant. Her fate remains unknown. 

Irish singer, songwriter, and guitarist Allie Sherlock came into the limelight in 2017 after a YouTube cover of hers went viral. Even though she had been uploading her music on YouTube since 2014, it was only in 2017 that she gained widespread attention. Since then, she has appeared in a few TV shows as well.

Sarah Bolger is best known for her roles in movies such as Stormbreaker, The Lazarus Effect, and The Spiderwick Chronicles. She is also known for her IFTA Award-winning performance as Princess Mary Tudor in the series The Tudors and for her role as Princess Aurora in Once Upon a Time.

Sinead O’Connor is an Irish singer and songwriter known for her controversial statements as much as for her work as a musician. Apart from releasing solo albums and singles, she has also collaborated with other artists and recorded songs for films. She often makes headlines for expressing views on subjects, such as women's rights, child abuse, sexuality, and organized religion.

Mary II of England was Queen of England, Ireland, and Scotland from 1689 to 1694. Although she co-reigned along with her husband William III of England, she also took major decisions by herself whenever William was abroad. Mary has been portrayed in films, such as Orlando and England, My England.

Reality TV star Vogue Williams soared to fame with the show Fade Street. Initially a DJ, Vogue had also worked for Stellar magazine. She later won Bear Grylls: Mission Survive. She also once launched her own fitness bootcamp. Vogue is married to TV personality Spencer Matthews.

Part of the award-winning girl band Girls Aloud, Irish singer-actor Nadine Coyle began her career with the show Popstars and later launched a solo career, with songs such as Go To Work. She has also been a model and has launched an Irish pub, which was later run by her family.

Irish singer and musician Siobhan Fahey is best known as a founding member of the British/Irish girl group Bananarama. As part of the group, she delivered several top 10 hits. Later, she formed the musical act, Shakespears Sister, which went on to win an Ivor Novello Award. In her 60s now, she continues to be active in the music scene.

A 5-time world champion and an Olympic gold medalist, Katie Taylor is one of Ireland’s best boxers. She also has 6 gold medals at the European Championship. Born amid poverty in the coastal town of Bray, to a boxer father, Katie was initially trained by him.

Irish singer and actor Maria Doyle Kennedy is best known for her role as Catherine of Aragon in The Tudors. She has also been part of films such as The Conjuring 2 and The Commitments. Once part of the Black Velvet Band, she has also released several solo albums.

Ali Hewson is an Irish businesswoman and activist. In the 1990s, Hewson joined the anti-nuclear movement and started working with activists like Adi Roche. In 2002, she played a key role in organizing campaigns against the Sellafield nuclear facility in England. As a businesswoman, Hewson has co-founded a skincare company and a fashion label called Nude skincare and EDUN respectively.

Irish actress Kerry Condon is popularly known for playing the role of Octavia of the Julii in the TV series Rome. Also active in theater, she is the youngest actress ever to play Ophelia in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet. She has appeared in numerous movies as well and received acclaim for her performance in Intermission. 

Andrea Corr is an Irish singer, musician, songwriter, actress, and author. She is part of the popular Celtic pop-rock and folk-rock group The Corrs, where she plays the ukulele, piano, and tin whistle apart from being the lead singer. Also a humanitarian, Andrea Corr takes part in several charitable activities to raise money for various causes.

Sorcha Cusack is an Irish actress known for her association with popular theatre companies, such as the Royal Exchange, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the National Theatre. Born into a family of actors, Sorcha Cusack followed in the footsteps of her parents to establish herself as an actress. 

Sinéad Cusack is an Irish actress best known for her contribution to British and Irish theatre. Over the years, she has received nominations for prestigious awards, such as the Tony Award and Olivier Award. In 2020, Sinéad Cusack was named in Ireland's greatest film actors list published by The Irish Times.

One of the most popular Irish-born British novelists, Iris Murdoch is remembered for her psychological novels, which had a good dose of sexuality, philosophy, morality, and comic elements. While she won the Booker Prize for The Sea, the Sea, the Oxford alumnus had also worked for the HM Treasury and the UN.

Una Healy initially rose to fame as part of the 5-member girl group The Saturdays. The Irish singer is the niece of country music star Declan Nerney. A talented swimmer, she gave up the sport at 13 to switch to music. She has also scored solo hits such as Stay My Love.  

Often described as a "dumb blonde," Anne of Denmark, who became the queen of Scotland, England, and Ireland, through her marriage to King James VI and I, was an art connoisseur known for attending extravagant masques. She probably also converted to Catholicism later, going against James’s anti-Catholic stance.

London-born Irish actor and writer Sharon Horgan is best known for her BAFTA-winning and Emmy-nominated writing for the series Catastrophe. She has also won awards for her acting in the sitcom Pulling and established the production company Merman. She is the sister of former rugby player Shane Horgan.

One of the most well-known female pirates from Ireland, Grace O'Malley began seafaring at age 11. Also known as Gráinne Mhaol, or Bald Grace, for cutting off her hair in her early days to make her sea journeys easy, she is remembered for her legendary resistance to England and Queen Elizabeth I.