Jessie Buckley (born 28 December 1989) is an Irish actress and singer. The recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and three BAFTA Awards, she was listed at number 38 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors of all time, in 2020. In 2019, she was recognised by Forbes in its annual 30 Under 30 list.
A RADA graduate, Buckley began her career in 2008 as a contestant on the BBC TV talent show I'd Do Anything, in which she came second. Her early onscreen appearances were in BBC television series, such as War & Peace (2016) and Taboo (2017). Buckley made her film debut playing the lead role in Beast (2017), and had her breakthrough starring in the musical film Wild Rose (2018). Her performance as an aspiring country music singer in the latter earned her a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
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). Her performance in The Lost Daughter earned her nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Buckley's portrayal of Sally Bowles in a 2021 West End theatre revival of Cabaret won her the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
In 2022, she released the collaborative album For All Our Days That Tear the Heart with Bernard Butler.
Early life
Buckley was born on 28 December 1989 in Killarney, County Kerry, the daughter of Marina Cassidy and Tim Buckley. Her mother encouraged her to sing and coached her. 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 played a number of male roles at school, including the male lead role of Tony in the musical West Side Story and Freddie Trumper in Chess. She reached grade eight in piano, clarinet, and harp at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and was a member of the Tipperary Millennium Orchestra. 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. Just before she auditioned for I'd Do Anything, she was turned down by two drama schools, including one the day before her first audition for the show. In 2008, she won the AIMS Best Actress award for her portrayal of Julie Jordan in the Killarney Musical Society production of Carousel.
Career
2008–2015: I'd Do Anything and theatrical productions
Buckley began her career as a contestant on I'd Do Anything, a talent show centred on the search for a new, unknown lead to play Nancy in the 2009 West End revival of the British musical Oliver!. 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, Kerry for RTÉ Radio 1. She followed this with a performance at a charity concert in Tipperary. On 14 September 2008, Buckley performed at an outdoor concert in celebration of Andrew Lloyd Webber's birthday in Hyde Park, London. She gave a solo rendition of "I Don't Know How To Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar, and sang "Light at the End of the Tunnel" from Starlight Express with fellow I'd Do Anything finalists Keisha Amponsa-Banson, Niamh Perry, Rachel Tucker, as well as Any Dream Will Do finalists Daniel Boys, Lewis Bradley, Ben James-Ellis and Keith Jack. On 18 September 2008, she and Aoife Mulholland performed with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra at another event held by Lloyd Webber at the National Concert Hall, Dublin.