Jessie Buckley

Jessie Buckley (born 28 December 1989) is an Irish actress and singer. Her accolades include two BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and three Actor Awards.

Buckley began her career in 2008 as a contestant on the BBC talent show I'd Do Anything, in which she came second. A RADA graduate, her early onscreen appearances were in BBC television series such as War & Peace (2016) and Taboo (2017). Buckley made her film debut with the lead role in Beast (2017), followed by her breakout role as an aspiring country music singer in the musical film Wild Rose (2018); 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 films such as I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020), Men (2022), Women Talking (2022) and Wicked Little Letters (2023). For her performance as a troubled mother in the psychological drama The Lost Daughter (2021), she received nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She gained further recognition for her portrayal of Agnes Shakespeare in the period drama Hamnet (2025), receiving a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

On television, Buckley has starred in the HBO miniseries Chernobyl (2019) and season four of Fargo (2020). On stage, 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, which was shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize.

Early life and education

Buckley was born on 28 December 1989 in Killarney, County Kerry, to Marina (née Cassidy) and Tim Buckley. She has a younger brother and three younger sisters. She is the great-granddaughter of Irish republican Madge Clifford.

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.

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

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, 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 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.

Buckley was offered the opportunity to understudy for the role of Nancy, but turned it down in favour of another production. On 10 October 2008, it was announced that Buckley would make her Off-West End debut in a revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical A Little Night Music, in the role of Anne Egerman, at the Menier Chocolate Factory, a fringe Studio Theatre, in London from 22 November 2008 to 8 March 2009. She appeared alongside Maureen Lipman and Hannah Waddingham in the production, which was directed by Trevor Nunn. She appeared in a Christmas concert alongside Maria Friedman, Cantabile, and Tim Rice in 2009, and in February 2010 she appeared alongside Daniel Boys (and Night Music co-star Kelly Price) in a series of Valentine musical concerts.

After graduating from RADA in January 2013, she worked for Shakespeare's Globe in its 2013 summer season, playing Miranda in The Tempest, and singer Arabella Hunt and Kate in Samuel Adamson's Gabriel. In September 2013, Buckley appeared opposite Jude Law in Michael Grandage's West End production of Henry V at the Noël Coward Theatre. She played Perdita in Kenneth Branagh's theatre company production of The Winter's Tale, staged at London's Garrick Theatre in November 2015, which was streamed live to cinemas worldwide on 4 December 2015.

2016–2019: Breakthrough on screen

After an episodic appearance in the detective drama series Endeavour, Buckley portrayed Marya Bolkonskaya in BBC's new dramatisation of War and Peace (2016). She received acclaim for her performance, with Viv Groskop of The Guardian citing her performance as a highlight of episode two, writing that she plays this supposedly plain and pious character "beautifully". Buckley continued her television career with a main role in the drama series Taboo (2017), starring Tom Hardy. 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 (2018). She then starred in the country music drama Wild Rose (2018), which earned Buckley the opportunity to perform music from the film at the Glastonbury Festival. The official soundtrack from the film reached number one on the UK Country Albums Chart. The film received positive reviews, and her performance was rewarded with a nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards.

In 2019, Buckley appeared as Lyudmila Ignatenko in the HBO and Sky UK historical drama mini-series Chernobyl, which revolved around the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 and the clean-up efforts that followed. The five-part series was critically acclaimed, receiving 19 nominations at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards. Buckley then appeared in the biographical drama Judy, based on the life of American actress Judy Garland.

2020–present: Rise to prominence

In 2020, she had four releases: Dolittle, directed by Stephen Gaghan, The Courier, directed by Dominic Cooke, Misbehaviour, directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, and the surrealist psychological thriller I'm Thinking of Ending Things, directed by Charlie Kaufman for Netflix. Her performance in the latter was lauded by critics and earned her a nomination for Best Actress at the 30th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards. The same year, Buckley had a lead role in the fourth season of the FX black comedy crime drama Fargo, where she played nurse Oraetta Mayflower.

In 2021, Buckley starred as the younger version of Leda Caruso in Maggie Gyllenhaal's feature directorial debut The Lost Daughter, with Olivia Colman portraying the character's older counterpart. 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.