Katie McGrath () is an Irish actress. In television, she gained recognition for portraying Morgana Pendragon in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

series ''Merlin'' (2008–2012),

Lucy Westenra Lucy Westenra is a fictional character in the 1897 novel ''Dracula'' by Bram Stoker. The 19-year-old daughter of a wealthy family, she is Mina Murray's best friend and Count Dracula's first English victim. She subsequently transforms into a vam ...

on the British-American series ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

'' (2013–2014),

Saskia Saskia is a Germanic feminine given name. There are at least two different sources of the name. One is of North German and Northeast Netherlands origin, where it originally meant "a Saxon woman" ( metathesis of "Saxia"). Notable people with the n ...

in the TV series '' Secret Bridesmaids Business'', and Sarah Bennett in the first season of the horror anthology series '' Slasher'' (2016), and for her role as

Lena Luthor Lena Luthor is a fictional comic book character in DC Comics. She is the sister of Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor. She was played by Cassidy Freeman in the television series ''Smallville'' and by Katie McGrath in the Arrowverse series ''Supergirl ( ...

on the superhero series ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

'' (2016–2021). Her film roles include Lady Thelma Furness in the drama film ''

W.E. ''W.E.'' (stylised ''W./E.'') is a 2011 historical romantic drama film written and directed by Madonna and starring Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough, Oscar Isaac, Richard Coyle, and James D'Arcy. The screenplay was co-written by Alek Keshishia ...

'' and Jules Daly in the Christmas movie ''

A Princess for Christmas ''A Princess for Christmas'', billed in the UK as ''A Christmas Princess: Sometimes Dreams Come True'' (previously known as the Canadian title ''Christmas at Castlebury Hall'' and ''A Princess for Castlebury'') is a 2011 American made-for-televis ...

'' (2011), Zara Young in the science fiction adventure film '' Jurassic World'' (2015), and Elsa in the epic fantasy film '' King Arthur: Legend of the Sword'' (2017).

Early life

McGrath was raised in Ashford,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

, by her father, Paul, who works with computers, and mother, Mary, who works for an Irish designer. She has two older brothers, Sean, an online media manager, and Rory, who is a post-production producer. She studied the International Baccalaureate at St. Andrew's College before graduating from

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, with a degree in history with a focus on Russian history. At a young age she applied to the Ballygowan 'Be the Face of MTV' competition. Twenty finalists would be able to attend MTV Lick Party at the Tivoli.

Career

McGrath originally sought to work in fashion journalism and took on a job at ''Image'' magazine before becoming a wardrobe assistant on the set of ''

The Tudors ''The Tudors'' is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among ...

''. While working on ''The Tudors'', McGrath was advised to try acting, so she sent photographs to Irish agents. She said: McGrath was cast in ''Damage'', an Irish TV-movie in 2007. She also starred in the play ''La Marea'' at the

Dublin Theatre Festival The Dublin Theatre Festival is Europe's oldest specialised theatre festival. It was founded by theatre impresario Brendan Smith in 1957 and has, with the exception of two years, produced a season of international and Irish theatre each autumn. ...

in the same year. She appeared in the feature films ''Eden'' and ''

Freakdog ''Freakdog'' is a 2008 British horror film directed by Paddy Breathnach, that originally went under the title ''Red Mist''. Plot The film follows seven medical students who, while out partying one night, spike the drink of an unknowing and lone ...

'' in 2008, before being cast as Morgana Pendragon in '' Merlin''. In 2009, McGrath starred in a five-part

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

exploring the life of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, ''

The Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

'', in which she played a young

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

Emilia Fox Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox (born 31 July 1974) is an English actress and presenter whose film debut was in Roman Polanski's film '' The Pianist''. Her other films include the Italian–French–British romance-drama film '' The Soul Keeper'' (2 ...

portrayed Elizabeth II in the same episode in which McGrath appeared; the two had previously worked together as sisters

Morgause The Queen of Orkney, today best known as Morgause and also known as Morgawse and other spellings and names, is a character in later Arthurian traditions. In some versions of the legend, including the seminal text ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', she is ...

and

Morgana Morgana may refer to: People * Morgana Gmach (born 1994), Brazilian female rhythmic gymnast * Morgana King (1930–2018), American singer and actress * Morgana O'Reilly (born 1985), New Zealand actress * Morgana Robinson (born 1982), British co ...

in '' Merlin''. In 2010, McGrath was cast in

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's directorial debut ''W.E.'', an

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

biopic. McGrath played

Lady Furness Thelma Furness, Viscountess Furness ( Morgan, 23 August 1904 – 29 January 1970), was a mistress of King Edward VIII while he was Prince of Wales. She was supplanted in his affections by Wallis Simpson, for whose sake Edward abdicated and becam ...

, the king's former mistress who introduces him to

Wallis Simpson Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...

. In 2011, McGrath appeared with

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 19 ...

in the comedy-drama film ''

'', a

Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies and ...

Original Movie shot mainly at the picturesque Peleş Castle in Romania. In September 2011, McGrath voice-acted the characters in the Irish animated short film ''Tríd an Stoirm'' (''Through the Storm''). Later that month, McGrath was cast as Oriane Congost in ''

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

''. McGrath was reunited with her ''The Tudors'' co-star and close friend

Jonathan Rhys Meyers Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish actor, model and musician. He is known for his roles in the films ''Michael Collins'' (1996), '' Velvet Goldmine'' (1998), ''Titus'' (1999), '' Bend It Like ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

and

Sky Living Sky Living was a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky. The channel's programming was aimed mainly at women and young adults. It originally launched as UK Living in 1993 and closed 25 years later, being replaced by Sky Witness. ...

's horror drama TV series ''

''; she portrayed

. In June 2013, McGrath co-starred in episode four of the Channel 4 show ''

Dates Date or dates may refer to: *Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner **Group dating * Play date, a ...

'' as a young lesbian on the dating scene alongside

Gemma Chan Gemma Chan (born 29 November 1982) is an English actress. Born and raised in London, Chan attended the Newstead Wood School for Girls and studied law at Worcester College, Oxford before choosing to pursue a career in acting instead, enrolling at t ...

. In November 2014, McGrath co-starred in a Hozier music video for the song "From Eden". In 2015, McGrath had a supporting role as Zara in the film '' Jurassic World'' and starred in the

Crackle Crackle or crackling may refer to: Foods * Cracklings, the tissue remaining after lard and tallow have been extracted from animal fats ** Pork rinds in American English, pork scratchings in British English when served in small pieces as a snac ...

original spy-thriller, '' The Throwaways''. McGrath portrayed the lead role in the first season of Chiller's original horror series '' Slasher'', which premiered on 4 March 2016. In 2016, it was announced that McGrath would play the recurring role of

in the second season of ''

''. She debuted in the season two premiere episode titled " The Adventures of Supergirl" and was promoted to a series regular in March 2017 and maintained this role until the show's end in 2021. She appeared as Elsa in

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr. Ritchie left school at age 15 and wor ...

's fantasy film '' King Arthur: Legend of the Sword'', which was released in May 2017. In 2019, McGrath starred alongside Abbie Cornish and Georgina Haig in

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

series ''

Secret Bridesmaids' Business ''Secret Bridesmaids' Business'' is a 2019 six-part Australian television miniseries, produced by Seven Studios for the Seven Network. Synopsis Olivia's perfect wedding turns deadly after one of her bridesmaids unknowingly invites a malevole ...

'', about how a bride's wedding turns deadly after one of the bridesmaids invites a stranger into their lives. McGrath starred as Saskia, a bisexual lawyer who is described as an intelligent, loyal woman who is holding a secret. In 2020, McGrath voice narrated the book ''Islands of Mercy'' by

Rose Tremain Dame Rose Tremain (born 2 August 1943) is an English novelist, short story writer, and former Chancellor of the University of East Anglia. Life Rose Tremain was born Rosemary Jane Thomson on 2 August 1943 in London to Viola Mabel Thomson and ...

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Katie Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Irish actresses Actresses from County Wicklow Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish film actresses Irish television actresses People educated at St Andrew's College, Dublin