Fionnula Flanagan
| Fionnula Flanagan | |
|---|---|
 Flanagan at a Sinn Féin meeting for the Save Moore Street campaign, 18 May 2012. | |
| Born |
Fionnghuala Manon Flanagan 10 December 1941 Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation | Actress, political activist |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Spouse(s) | Garrett O'Connor |
Fionnghuala Manon "Fionnula" Flanagan (born 10 December 1941) is an Irish actress and political activist.
Early life and education
Flanagan was born and raised in Dublin, the daughter of Rosanna (née McGuirk) and Terence Niall Flanagan.[1] Although her parents were not Irish speakers, they wanted Fionnula and her four siblings to learn the Irish language, thus she grew up speaking English and Irish fluently. She was educated in Switzerland and England. She trained extensively at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and travelled throughout Europe before settling in Los Angeles, California in early 1968.
Career
Flanagan came to prominence in Ireland in 1965 as a result of her role as Máire in the Telefís Éireann production of the Irish language play An Triail, for which she received the Jacob's Award in Dublin for her "outstanding performance".[2] With her portrayal of Gerty McDowell in the 1967 film version of Ulysses, Flanagan established herself as one of the foremost interpreters of James Joyce. She made her Broadway debut in 1968 in Brian Friel's Lovers, then appeared in The Incomparable Max (1971) and such Joycean theatrical projects as Ulysses in Nighttown (as Molly Bloom) and James Joyce's Women (1977). It was subsequently filmed in 1983, with Flanagan both producing and playing all six main female roles (Joyce's wife, Nora Barnacle, as well as fictional characters Molly Bloom, Gerty McDowell, etc.).
A familiar presence in American television, Flanagan has appeared in several made-for-TV movies including The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975) starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Mary White (1977), The Ewok Adventure (1984) and A Winner Never Quits (1986). She won an Emmy for her performance as Clothilde in the 1976 network miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man. Her weekly-series stints have included Aunt Molly Culhane in How the West Was Won (1977), which earned her a second Emmy Award nomination. She did multiple appearances on Murder, She Wrote, one of them as Freida, a secretary aiding Jessica Fletcher in finding a murderer on the episode Steal me a Story (1987). She played Lt. Guyla Cook in Hard Copy (1987), and as Kathleen Meacham, wife of a police chief played by John Mahoney in H.E.L.P. (1990).
She made guest appearances in three of the Star Trek spin-offs:
- The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Dax"
- The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Inheritance", in which she played Data's "mother"
- The Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Fallen Hero", playing the Vulcan Ambassador V'Lar
Flanagan guest-starred in several episodes of Lost as Eloise Hawking, a recurring character. She appeared in such films as The Others opposite Nicole Kidman, The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood as the eldest Teensy, and Waking Ned. She appeared in television series and stage productions including the Emmy-nominated miniseries Revelations, starring Bill Pullman and Natascha McElhone, and in Transamerica, starring Felicity Huffman. From 2006–08 she played Rose Caffee, the matriarch of an Irish-American Rhode Island family on the Showtime drama Brotherhood.
Personal life
Flanagan appeared with Helen Mirren in Some Mother's Son, written and directed by Terry George, as the militantly supportive mother of a Provisional Irish Republican Army hunger striker in 1981. Subsequently, she spoke at a memorial hosted by Sinn Féin at the Citywest Building in Dublin for Irish republicans and their kin who were killed during the latest installment of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Flanagan and her husband (since 1972), Dr. Garrett O'Connor, an Irish nationalist from Dublin,[3] are known to host parties at their Hollywood Hills home for people in the Irish community. In July 2009, she joined Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams for a series of lectures across the USA supporting Irish unity. In October 2011, she announced her support for Sinn Féin politician Martin McGuinness in his unsuccessful bid in Ireland's 2011 presidential election.[4]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Ulysses | Gerty MacDowell | |
| 1969 | Sinful Davey | Penelope | |
| 1973 | The Picture of Dorian Gray | Felicia | |
| 1975 | The Legend of Lizzie Borden | Bridget Sullivan | |
| 1976 | Rich Man, Poor Man | Clothilde | |
| 1976 | In the Region of Ice | The Sister | |
| 1977 | Mary White | Sallie White | |
| 1980 | Mr. Patman | Abadaba | |
| 1983 | Through Naked Eyes | Dr. Frances Muller | |
| 1984 | Reflections | Mrs. Charlotte Lawless | |
| 1984 | Scorned and Swindled | Margaret | |
| 1984 | Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure | Catarine Towani | |
| 1985 | James Joyce's Women | Harriet Shaw Weaver | |
| 1986 | Youngblood | Miss McGill | |
| 1986 | A Winner Never Quits | Mrs. Wyshner | |
| 1986 | A State of Emergency | Diane Carmody | |
| 1987 | P.K. and the Kid | Flo | |
| 1991 | Death Dreams | Margaret Neuberger | |
| 1991 | Final Verdict | Pearl Morton | |
| 1992 | Mad at the Moon | Mrs. Hill | |
| 1993 | Money for Nothing | Mrs. Coyle | |
| 1994 | White Mile | Gena Karas | |
| 1996 | Some Mother's Son | Annie Higgins | |
| 1998 | Waking Ned | Annie O'Shea | Nominated–Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |
| 1999 | With or Without You | Irene | |
| 1999 | A Secret Affair | Drucilla Fitzgerald | |
| 1999 | Deceit | uncredited | |
| 2000 | For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story | Sally | |
| 2001 | The Others | Mrs. Bertha Mills | Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated–Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture |
| 2002 | Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood | "Teensy" Whitman | |
| 2003 | Tears of the Sun | Sister Grace | |
| 2004 | Blessed | J. Lloyd Samuel | |
| 2004 | Man About Dog | Olivia | |
| 2005 | Transamerica | Elizabeth Schupak | Irish Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actress - Film |
| 2005 | Sexual Life | Grandmother | |
| 2005 | Four Brothers | Evelyn Mercer | |
| 2007 | Slipstream | Bette Lustig | |
| 2008 | Yes Man | Tillie | |
| 2009 | The Invention of Lying | Martha | |
| 2009 | A Christmas Carol | Mrs. Dilber | |
| 2010 | Kill the Irishman | Grace O'Keefe | |
| 2010 | The Guard | Eileen Boyle | Irish Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actress - Film |
| 2011 | Coming & Going | Irma | |
| 2013 | Angels Sing | Ma | |
| 2013 | Life's a Breeze | Nan | |
| 2014 | Song of the Sea | Granny / Macha | Voice |
| 2016 | Havenhurst | Eleanor |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Gunsmoke | Sarah Morgan | Episode: "The Drummer" |
| 1972 | Bonanza | Meg Dundee | Episode: "Heritage of Anger" |
| 1976 | Rich Man, Poor Man | Clothilde | Episode: "Part II: Chapters 3 and 4" Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series |
| 1976 | The Streets of San Francisco | Emma Simms | Episode: "Requiem for Murder" |
| 1978-1979 | How the West Was Won | Molly Cullhane | 12 episodes Nominated–Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series |
| 1983 | Voyagers! | Molly Brown | Episode: "Voyagers of the Titanic" - Episode#15 |
| 1987 | Murder, She Wrote | Freida Schmidt | Episode: "Steal Me a Story" |
| 1989 | Columbo | Louise | Episode: "Murder: A Self Portrait" |
| 1990 | Beauty and the Beast | Jessica Webb | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Enina Tandro | Episode: "Dax" |
| 1993 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Juliana Tainer | Episode: "Inheritance" |
| 1993 | Murder, She Wrote | Fiona Griffith | "A Killing in Cork" |
| 1993 | Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman | Heart | Episode: "The Circus - The Queen of Hearts" |
| 1995 | Murder, She Wrote | Eileen O'Brannon | 2 episodes |
| 1998-1999 | Poltergeist: The Legacy | Older Woman | 3 episodes |
| 2002 | Star Trek: Enterprise | V'Lar | Episode: "Fallen Hero" |
| 2003 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Sheila Baxter | Episode: "Escape" |
| 2003 | Murder, She Wrote | Margaret Byrne | "The Celtic Riddle", TV movie |
| 2004 | Nip/Tuck | Sr. Rita Claire | Episode: "Agatha Ripp" |
| 2005 | Revelations | Mother Francine | 5 episodes |
| 2007 | Paddywhackery | Peig Sayers | 6 episodes Nominated–Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Television |
| 2006-2008 | Brotherhood | Rose Caffee | 25 episodes Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated–Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role - Television Nominated–Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film |
| 2007-2010 | Lost | Eloise Hawking | 7 episodes |
| 2013 | Defiance | Nicolette "Nicky" Riordan | 5 episodes |
| 2017 | Redwater[5] | TBA |
Awards and recognition
- IFTA Lifetime Achievement gong at the 9th Irish Film and Television Awards.[6]
References
- ↑ Fionnuala Flanagan profile at FilmReference.com
- ↑ The Irish Times, "Television awards presented", 9 December 1965
- ↑ How Flanagan and O'Connor met, people.com; accessed 21 July 2014.
- ↑ Fionnuala Flanagan endorsement of Martin McGuinness on YouTube
- ↑ Kilkelly, Daniel (11 April 2016). "EastEnders spinoff Redwater casts Lost and The Others star Fionnula Flanagan in main part". Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- ↑ "Flanagan to receive IFTA honour". RTÉ Ten (Raidió Teilifís Éireann). 10 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
External links
- Fionnula Flanagan at the Internet Movie Database
- Fionnula Flanagan at the Internet Broadway Database
- Fionnula Flanagan at AllMovie
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