Margaret "Maggie" O'Neill (born 15 November 1962) is an English actress. She is known for her television roles in ''

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale—a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their m ...

'' (2000–2002), '' Shameless'' (2004–2007) and ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' (2008). In 1986 she appeared in the music video for

Simply Red Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since th ...

's single "

Holding Back The Years "Holding Back the Years" is a song by British soul and pop band Simply Red, released as the third single from their debut studio album, ''Picture Book'' (1985). It reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the UK Sin ...

". In 1988, she appeared in the film ''

Gorillas in the Mist ''Gorillas in the Mist'' is a 1988 American drama film directed by Michael Apted and starring Sigourney Weaver as the naturalist Dian Fossey. It tells the story of her work in Rwanda with mountain gorillas and was nominated for five Academy Aw ...

''.

Biography

The youngest of six

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

brothers and sisters born to head-teacher parents, O'Neill grew up in the Midlands, where she was educated at a

convent school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

, and, after being inspired by a sixth-form drama teacher, "fell" into acting. After training at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

, she starred in the video for

's "

Holding Back the Years "Holding Back the Years" is a song by British soul and pop band Simply Red, released as the third single from their debut studio album, ''Picture Book'' (1985). It reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the UK Sin ...

" in 1986, before making her professional stage debut in ''Moving Pictures'', by Stephen Lowe, at the West Yorkshire Playhouse,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

, in 1985. After making her professional screen debut in the British production ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a Half length portrait, half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described ...

'' opposite Bob Hoskins in 1986, she made her Hollywood debut in the

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gramm ...

film ''

'' in 1988. She played alongside

Keith Barron Keith Barron (8 August 1934 – 15 November 2017) was an English actor and television presenter who appeared in films and on television from 1961 until 2017. His television roles included the police drama ''The Odd Man'', the sitcom ''Duty Free ...

and

Annette Crosbie Annette Crosbie (born 12 February 1934) is a Scottish actor.Annette Crosbie fil ...

in the 1989 TV series '' Take Me Home''. O'Neill played Alex Redman in ITV's medical drama ''

'', and appeared as Sheila Jackson in

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

's comedy drama '' Shameless.'' O'Neill also played Max and

Jack Branning Jack Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Scott Maslen. He made his first appearance on 29 October 2007. He is the youngest child of Jim (John Bardon) and Reenie Branning (Joy Graham) and the brot ...

's sister Suzy in the

BBC1 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, ...

soap opera ''

'' for five months in 2008, until the Boxing Day episode.

Filmography

*''

'' (1986) as Girl in Paradise Club *''Wherever You Are...'' (1988) as Julian's second wife *''

'' (1988) as Kim *''Defrosting the Fridge'' (1988) (TV) *'' Jim Henson's The Storyteller – Greek Myths'' (TV) as Ariadne *''Take Me Home'' BBC – Three Part TV Drama (1989) (TV) as Kathy *' (1989) as Berta *''

Inspector Morse Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse, GM, is the eponymous fictional character in the series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter. On television, he appears in the 33-episode drama series '' Inspector Morse'' (1987–2000), ...

'' (1991) (TV) in episode "Fat Chance" as Hilary Dobson *'' Under Suspicion'' (1991) as Hazel Aaron *''

Boon Boon may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Boon (game), a trick-taking card game * ''Boon'' (novel), a 1915 satirical work by H. G. Wells * ''Boon'' (TV series), a British television series starring Michael Elphick * The Ultimate Boo ...

'' (1991) (TV) in episode "Lie of the Land" as Amanda Shepley *''The Life and Times of Henry Pratt'' (1992) TV *''Friday on My Mind'' (1992) BBC TV as Louise *'' When Pigs Fly'' (1993) as Sheila *''

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 ...

'' (1994) (TV) in episode "One Corpse Too Many" as Aline Siward *''

All Men Are Mortal ''All Men Are Mortal'' (french: Tous les hommes sont mortels) is a 1946 novel by Simone de Beauvoir. It tells the story of Raimon Fosca, a man cursed to live forever. The first American edition of this work was published by The World Publishing ...

'' (1995) as Florence *''Killing Me Softly'' (1995) (TV) as Sara Thornton *'' The Fix'' (1997) (TV) as Marina Kay *'' Invasion: Earth'' (1998) (TV) as Amanda Tucker *''Births, Marriages and Deaths'' (1999) as Alex *''Hero of the Hour'' (2000) (TV) as Alison Liddle *''

'' (2001, 2002) (TV) as Alex Redman *'' White Teeth'' (2002) (TV) as Poppy Burt-Jones *'' Murder in Mind'' (2002) (TV) in episode "Rage" *'' Blue Murder'' (2004) in episode "Lonely" (TV) as Matilda Urwin *'' Shameless'' (2004–2007) (TV) as Sheila Jackson *'' Midsomer Murders'' (2004) (TV) in episode "The Straw Woman" as Agnes Waterhouse. *'' Wild at Heart'' (2007) as Elaine *''

Mansfield Park ''Mansfield Park'' is the third published novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1814 by Thomas Egerton. A second edition was published in 1816 by John Murray, still within Austen's lifetime. The novel did not receive any public reviews unt ...

'' (2007) as Mrs Norris *''Little Devil'' (2007) (TV) as Laura Crowe *''

The Royal ''The Royal'' is a British period medical drama, produced by Yorkshire Television (later part of ITV Studios), and broadcast on ITV1 from 2003 until its cancellation in 2011. The series is set in the 1960s and focuses on the lives of the ...

'' (2007) (TV) as Jane Cooper in episode #2.5 *''

'' (2008) (TV) as

Suzy Branning Suzy Branning (originally known as Sue) is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Julie Christian-Young for a brief appearance in 1996, and Maggie O'Neill in 2008, who began filming in May that year, and she ...

*''

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the ...

'' (2010) (TV) in episode "Gloves Off" as Ronni Mayfair *''

Inspector George Gently ''Inspector George Gently'' (also known as ''George Gently'' for the pilot and first series) is a 2008 British television crime drama series produced by Company Pictures for BBC One, set in the 1960s and loosely based on some of the Inspector G ...

'' (2012) (TV) in episode "Gently Northern Soul" as Matilda Braithwaite *''

Truckers A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

'' (2013) (TV) as Sue *'' A Gert Lush Christmas'' (2015) (TV) as Aunty Jade *'' Death in Paradise'' (2016) as Perrie Campbell episode #5.8 *''

The Halcyon ''The Halcyon'' is a British television period drama broadcast on ITV which began airing on 2 January 2017. It was created and written by Charlotte Jones. The series focused on examining World War II London from 'a new perspective', and was s ...

'' (2017) (TV) as Gloria episode #1.4 *'' Midsomer Murders'' (2018) (TV) in episode #19.6, "The Curse of the Ninth" as Audrey Glenhill. *''

Unforgotten ''Unforgotten'' is a British crime drama television series, which initially aired on ITV on 8 October 2015. It was created and written by Chris Lang and directed by Andy Wilson. The programme follows a team of London detectives led by DCI Cas ...

'' as Ellen Price episodes #2.4 & #2.5 *''

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a BBC period drama series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s and 1960s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, Helen George, Bryony Ha ...

'' (2018) as Mae Stanton episode #7.2 *'' Father Brown (TV series)'' as Mrs. Kendall in episode #7.9 “The Skylark Scandal" (2019) *''

Two Doors Down (TV series) ''Two Doors Down'' is a Scottish television sitcom, produced by BBC Studios. It was created by Simon Carlyle and Gregor Sharp, and stars Arabella Weir, Alex Norton, Doon Mackichan, Jonathan Watson and Elaine C. Smith as neighbours in a suburb ...

'' (2019) as Sandra *'' White Lines'' (2020) as Yoana *''

Casualty (TV series) ''Casualty'' (stylised as ''CASUAL+Y'') is a British medical drama series that airs weekly on BBC One. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 6 September 1986. The original producer ...

'' (2021) as Cindy

Other appearances

, "

" (1985) (music video) as the young teacher * Clock Opera, "The Lost Buoys" (2012) (music video) as the wife

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Maggie 1962 births Living people Actresses from Buckinghamshire Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama English Roman Catholics English people of Irish descent English television actresses English film actresses English stage actresses English soap opera actresses 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses