Catherine Cusack (born 21 December 1968) is a British actress. She is best known for portraying

Nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

Carmel Finnan The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' in 1992, by order of first appearance. Lisa Duckworth Lisa Horton (née Duckworth) was played by Caroline Milmoe. Lisa is introduced as the ...

in the long-running

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' in 1992 and 1993.

Early life and career

Cusack was born on 21 December 1968 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the half-sister of the actresses

Sinéad Cusack Sinéad Moira Cusack ( ) is an Irish actress. Her first acting roles were at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, before moving to London in 1969 to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has won the Critics' Circle and ''Evening Standard'' Awards f ...

Sorcha Cusack Sorcha Cusack (; born 9 April 1949) is an Irish television and stage actress. Her numerous television credits include playing the title role in ''Jane Eyre'' (1973), ''Casualty'' (1994–1997), ''Coronation Street'' (2008) and ''Father Brown'' ...

and

Niamh Cusack Niamh Cusack ( ; born 20 October 1959) is an Irish actress. Born to a family with deep roots in the performing arts, Cusack has been involved as a performer since a young age. She has served with the UK's two leading theatre companies, the Ro ...

, and the fourth daughter of the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

actor

Cyril Cusack Cyril James Cusack (26 November 1910 – 7 October 1993) was an Irish stage and screen actor with a career that spanned more than 70 years. During his lifetime, he was considered one of Ireland’s finest thespians, and was renowned for his int ...

. Catherine's mother was her father's long-term mistress, Mary Rose Cunningham; Catherine was their only child together. Her parents married in 1979 after the death of her father's first wife. She is half-sister to theatre producer

Pádraig Cusack Pádraig Cusack (; born 16 March 1962) is an Irish theatre producer who has worked with the National Theatre of Great Britain, the Abbey Theatre Dublin, the NCPA Mumbai and numerous international festivals. Personal life The youngest son of th ...

and television producer Paul Cusack. She was accepted to study at

Royal Holloway and Bedford New College Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

, but became a stage manager at the

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...

in London. She made her professional debut in

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English an ...

's play ''The Hostage'' before making her television debut in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' serial ''

Paradise Towers ''Paradise Towers'' is the second serial of the 24th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 to 26 October 1987. In the serial, Kroagnon, the incorporeal arch ...

'' (1987). She performed on stage with her half-sister Sinéad Cusack in ''Our Lady of Sligo'' by Sebastian Barry at the National Theatre in London, the

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a Theater (structure), theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Ge ...

, Dublin and the Irish Arts Centre in New York. Catherine Cusack is married to the British actor Alex Palmer.

Selected filmography

* ''

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne ''The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne'' is a 1987 British drama film made by HandMade Films Ltd. and United British Artists (UBA) starring Maggie Smith and Bob Hoskins. It was directed by Jack Clayton (his final theatrical film) and produced b ...

'' (1987) ... as Una * '' Finding Neverland'' (2004) as Sarah

Selected stage roles

* ''

Mill on the Floss ''The Mill on the Floss'' is a novel by George Eliot, first published in three volumes in 1860 by William Blackwood. The first American edition was published by Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York. Plot summary Spanning a period of 10 to ...

'' * ''Moonlight'' * ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...

'' * '' Brighton Rock'' * ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises t ...

'' * ''Bold Girls'' * '' You Never Can Tell'' * ''Poor Beast in the Rain'' * ''

Agnes of God ''Agnes of God'' is a 1979 play by American playwright John Pielmeier which tells the story of a novice nun who gives birth and insists that the child was the result of a virgin conception. A psychiatrist and the mother superior of the convent cl ...

'' * ''Veronica's Room'' * ''Nothing Sacred'' * ''

Les Liaisons Dangereuses ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (; English: ''Dangerous Liaisons'') is a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu from March 23, 1782. It is the story of the Marquise de Merteuil and ...

'' * ''Now Is The Hour'' * ''

The Two-Character Play ''The Two Character Play'' (also known as '' Out Cry'' in one of its alternate versions) is an American play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in London at the Hampstead Theatre in December 1967. Williams himself had great affection for the pl ...

'' * ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

Selected television roles

* ''

'': ''

'' (1987) ... as Blue Kang Leader * ''

Sophia and Constance ''Sophia and Constance'' is a British drama television series that originally aired on the BBC in six episodes from 13 April to 18 May 1988. It was an adaptation of the 1908 novel ''The Old Wives' Tale'' by Arnold Bennett, which follows the lives o ...

'' (1988) ... as Constance * ''

'' (1992–93) ... as Carmel Finnan * ''

Ballykissangel ''Ballykissangel'' is a BBC television drama created by Kieran Prendiville and set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern Ireland. The original story revolved around a young English Roman Catholic priest as he became part of a rural comm ...

'' (1999–2001) ... as Frankie Sullivan * ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' ... as Dawn * ''The Chief'' ... as Hilary Scott * ''

Cadfael Brother Cadfael is the main fictional character in a series of historical murder mysteries written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter under the name "Ellis Peters". The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedic ...

'' ... as Catherine * ''The Open Window'' ... as Vera * ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'' (2012) ... as Connie Miller

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cusack, Catherine 1968 births Living people 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from London

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses English people of Irish descent