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Saoirse Ronan
Saoirseronanthehostpremiere1

Birthname

Saoirse Úna Ronan

Born

April 12, 1994; in New York City, New York, United States

Nationality

Irish, American

Residence

County Carlow, Ireland

Gender

Female

Eye color

Blue

Hair color

Blonde

Height

5'6" ft (1.68m)

Family

  • Paul Ronan (father)
  • Monica Ronan (mother)

Years active

2003–present

Saoirse Úna Ronan (Irish pronunciation: [ˈsˠiːɾˠʃə]; roughly Seer-shə; born 12 April 1994) is an Irish actress. Born in America to Irish parents, she returned to Ireland at the age of three to live in County Carlow. She began her career as a child and came to international prominence in 2007 after co-starring in the film Atonement, which gained her Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress.

Ronan has since appeared in several Hollywood films, including the children's Christmas story The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey (2007), the romantic comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007), the film adaptation of the science fantasy Young Adult novel The City of Ember (2008), the supernatural romance Death Defying Acts (2008), the war drama film The Way Back (2010) and the action thriller Hanna (2011). She was awarded a Critics' Choice Award and a Saturn Award and received a second BAFTA Award nomination for her performance in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones (2009).

Personal life[]

Born in the Woodlawn neighborhood of The Bronx, New York City, Ronan is the only child of Irish parents Paul and Monica Ronan – the former an actor – who were living in New York at the time. Her family is Catholic.Ronan was raised in County Carlow, Ireland, having moved there when she was three years old, and is a dual citizen of the United States and Ireland. She was home schooled while living in Carlow. As a baby, she sometimes accompanied her father on the set when he was working on such films as The Devil's Own and Veronica Guerin.

Ronan supports the Irish Blue Cross, as the charity had reunited her with her runaway dog Sassie. On her name, she said, "'Seer-sha' is how Irish people pronounce my first name, but I would pronounce it 'Sir-sha,' like 'inertia'. It's Irish for 'freedom.' I recently found out that my middle name, Una, means 'unity' in Ireland. And I think my last name means 'seal.' So I’m a free, unified seal."

Career[]

2003-2008

She made her screen debut on Irish public service broadcaster RTÉ, in the 2003 primetime medical drama The Clinic and then appeared in the mini-serial Proof. During the same time, Ronan auditioned to play Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, a role she eventually lost out to Evanna Lynch.

At the age of twelve, Ronan was asked to attend a casting call for Joe Wright's 2007 film adaptation of Ian McEwan's 2001 novel Atonement. She auditioned for and won the part of Briony Tallis, an aspiring 13-year-old novelist, who irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit. Starring alongside Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, Wright grew more and more impressed with Ronan on-set, who declared her role a "fantastic part [to play]." Budgeted at US$30 million, the film became a financial and critical success, resulting in a worldwide box office total of US$130 million and various awards, including the BAFTA Award for Best Film, Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama, and an 2008 Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. Ronan herself received rave reviews for her performance, with Ty Burr of the Boston Globe calling her "remarkable [and] eccentric," and was subsequently nominated for a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, ranking her among the youngest persons ever to be nominated for the latter.

Ronan's next film was Amy Heckerling's often-delayed romantic comedy film I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007). Initially shot in mid-to fall 2005 in Los Angeles and London, the film went straight-to-DVD in the United States and other major market territories after it had struggled to attract financing and several deals disintegrated during its post-production in spite of its budget of US$25 million. In the film, Ronan portrayed the character of Izzie Grossman, the pubescent daughter of a television show screenwriter, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, who falls for a younger man (Paul Rudd), while Izzie falls in love for the first time herself. Upon its release, the independent project garnered generally lukewarm reviews, with Joe Leydon of Variety summing it as "a desperately unfunny mix of tepid showbiz satire and formulaic romantic comedy."

In 2008, Ronan starred in both Death Defying Acts and City of Ember. In Gillian Armstrong's supernatural romantic thriller Death Defying Acts, she played Benji McGarvie, the daughter of an impoverished and uneducated psychic, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, who begins a passionate affair with magician Harry Houdini at the height of his career. Ronan was awarded an Irish Film & Television Award for her performance. Released to a mixed reception, the film was not a success at the box office, barely grossing US$8.3 million worldwide. In Gil Kenan's City of Ember Ronan starred as Lina Mayfleet, a teenager who must save the people of the fictional underground city named Ember. The fantasy film, based on the 2003 novel by Jeanne DuPrau, received mixed reviews from critics, and grossed US$17 million worldwide, well below its US$55 million budget.

2009-present

In 2009, Ronan appeared alongside Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon and Stanley Tucci in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones (2009), an adaptation of the same-titled book by Alice Sebold. In the film, Ronan plays 14-year-old Susie Salmon, who, after being murdered, watches from the "in-between" as her family and friends struggle to move on with their lives while she comes to terms with her own death. Ronan and her family were originally hesitant for Ronan to accept her role in the film because of its subject matter, but agreed after meeting with Jackson, who described her as "just amazing on-screen." The Lovely Bones was released to mainly mixed reviews from critics, who criticised the film's story and its message. Critics praised the acting however, particularly Ronan's, whose performance Richard Corliss of Time described as "magic". The film garnered various accolades, winning Ronan a Critics' Choice Award and a Saturn Award as well as a second BAFTA Award nomination the following year.

In 2010's The Way Back, directed by Peter Weir, Ronan played the character of Irena, a Polish orphan, who joins a group of prisoners who escape from the gulag in Siberia in 1940 and attempt to make a 4,000 mile trek to India. Shot on location in Bulgaria, India and Morocco alongside Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell and Ed Harris, the war drama film received generally positive reviews, with The Telegraph calling it "a journey that feels awful and heroic and unfathomable – and one you’ll want to watch again." Her performance in the film garnered Ronan her fourth Irish Film & Television Award.

In 2011, Ronan starred in the title role of the action thriller film Hanna, which marked her reunion with Atonement director Joe Wright. The film co-starred Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana and earned positive reviews. Ronan was nominated for another Critics' Choice Award and won her fifth Irish Film & Television Award for her performance in the film.

In November 2011, Ronan took part in a promotion for the Irish Film Institute Archive Preservation Fund, in which she was digitally edited into popular Irish films of the past, such as Once and My Left Foot, as well as documentary footage on the arrival of John F. Kennedy at Dublin Airport and the GAA All-Ireland finals. In that same month, Ronan was announced as an ambassador for the ISPCC.

Ronan was in talks to play the role of wood elf Itaril in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit but she later stated that she would not be appearing in the film. She said that she was "really disappointed" to have to turn down the role, "but there are other projects as well that I've had to consider – and to do [The Hobbit] over a year, it wouldn't have left me time to do anything else".

In 2013, Ronan will star in Andrew Niccol's film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's novel The Host. She plays the dual main characters of Wanderer and Melanie Stryder. The film will debut in cinemas in March 2013. She will also star in director Neil Jordan's vampire film Byzantium, an adaptation of the play of the same name, and in Geoffrey S. Fletcher's directorial debut Violet & Daisy, where she will again play a teen assassin.

As reported, Ronan will play Daisy in the film adaptation of the 2004 novel How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff. She will also be seen in Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, which will co-star Bill Murray, Ralph Fiennes, Adrien Brody, Jude Law and Owen Wilson.


Filmography[]














Awards and Nominations[]

Click Expand to read Awards and Noms

Year

Result

Award

Category/Recipient(s)

2008

Nominated

Oscar

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
for: Atonement (2007).

2012

Nominated

Saturn Award

Best Performance by a Younger Actor
for: Hanna (2011).

2010

Won

Saturn Award

Best Performance by a Younger Actor
for: The Lovely Bones (2009).

2008

Nominated

Young Actor's Award

Film
for: Death Defying Acts (2007).

2010 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Leading Actress
for: The Lovely Bones (2009).
2008 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Supporting Actress
for: Atonement (2007).
2012 Nominated Critics Choice Award Best Young Actor/Actress
for: Hanna (2011).
2010 Won Critics Choice Award Best Young Actor/Actress
for: The Lovely Bones (2009).
2010 Nominated Critics Choice Award Best Actress
for: The Lovely Bones (2009).
2008 Nominated Critics Choice Award Best Young Actress
for: Atonement (2007).
2007 Nominated DFWFCA Award Best Supporting Actress
for: Atonement (2007).
2008 Nominated Empire Award Best Newcomer
for: Atonement (2007).
2008 Nominated Evening Standard British Film Award Most Promising Newcomer
for: Atonement (2007).
2009 Nominated FCCA Award Best Supporting Actress
for: Death Defying Acts (2007).
2008 Nominated Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
for: Atonement (2007).
2012 Won IFTA Award Best Actress - Film
for: Hanna (2011).
2011 Won IFTA Award Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Film
for: The Way Back (2010/I).
2010 Won IFTA Award Best Actress in a Lead Role in a Film
for: The Lovely Bones (2009).
2009 Won IFTA Award Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Film
for: Death Defying Acts (2007).
2009 Nominated IFTA Award Best Actress in a Lead Role in a Film
for: City of Ember (2008).
2008 Won IFTA Award Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Feature Film
for: Atonement (2007).
2008 Won Rising Star Award
2009 Won Sierra Award Youth in Film
for: The Lovely Bones (2009).
2007 Won Sierra Award Youth in Film - Female
for: Atonement (2007).
2012 Nominated ALFS Award Young British Performer of the Year
for: Hanna (2011).
2011 Nominated ALFS Award Young British Performer of the Year
for: The Way Back (2010/I).
2010 Nominated ALFS Award Young British Performer of the Year
for: The Lovely Bones (2009).
2008 Nominated ALFS Award British Breakthrough - Acting
for: Atonement (2007).
2008 Nominated ALFS Award British Supporting Actress of the Year
for: Atonement (2007).
2008 Nominated OFCS Award Best Supporting Actress
for: Atonement (2007).
2011 Won PFCS Award Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role - Female
for: Hanna (2011).
2009 Won PFCS Award Best Performance by a Youth - Female
for: The Lovely Bones (2009).
2007 Won PFCS Award Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role - Female
for: Atonement (2007).
2010 Won Virtuoso Award for: The Lovely Bones (2009).
2007 Nominated Satellite Award Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Drama
for: Atonement (2007).
2012 Nominated Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress
for: Hanna (2011).
2010 Nominated Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress
for: The Lovely Bones (2009).
2008 Nominated Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress
for: Atonement (2007).a

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