Deirdre O'Connell (actress)
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Deirdre O'Connell (born 1953 or 1954) is an American
character actress A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014 ...
who has worked extensively on stage, screen, and television. She has won a
Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
and been nominated for Drama Desk Awards, among other awards and nominations.


Early life

O'Connell grew up in Massachusetts. She is the oldest of three children of Anne Ludlum, playwright and actress, and Thomas E. O'Connell, founding president of Berkshire Community College. She attended Taconic High School. O'Connell enrolled at
Antioch College Antioch College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection and began operating in 1852 as a non-secta ...
in Ohio, but withdrew before graduating.


Career

O'Connell began her career at Stage One, an experimental theatre at the
Boston Center for the Arts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...
.American Repertory Theatre listing
/ref> She made her Broadway debut in the 1986 revival of ''
The Front Page ''The Front Page'' is a Broadway theatre, Broadway comedy about newspaper reporters on the police beat. Written by former Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, it was first produced in 1928 and has been adapted for the cinema severa ...
'', and was nominated for the 1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in the
off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
production ''Love and Anger''. She is the recipient of two Drama-Logue Awards and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for her stage work in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. O'Connell made her screen debut in '' Tin Men''. Additional film credits include '' State of Grace'', ''
Straight Talk ''Straight Talk'' is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Barnet Kellman, and starring Dolly Parton, James Woods, Griffin Dunne, and Michael Madsen. The film follows a woman who leaves her small-town life to move to Chicago, where ...
'', '' Leaving Normal'', '' Fearless'', '' City of Angels'', '' Hearts in Atlantis'', '' Imaginary Heroes'', ''
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' is a 2004 American surrealist science fiction romantic drama film directed by Michel Gondry and written by Charlie Kaufman from a story by Gondry, Kaufman, and Pierre Bismuth. Starring Jim Carrey a ...
'', '' Wendy and Lucy'', '' What Happens in Vegas'', '' Secondhand Lions'', and ''
Synecdoche, New York ''Synecdoche, New York'' ( ) is a 2008 American postmodern psychological drama film written and directed by Charlie Kaufman in his directorial debut. The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as Caden Cotard, a theater director whose attempt to ...
''. She was a regular on '' L.A. Doctors'' and has made numerous guest appearances on series such as '' Kate & Allie'', '' Chicago Hope'', ''
The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...
'', '' Six Feet Under'', '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', and '' Nurse Jackie''. From 1994 to 2010, O'Connell appeared on six episodes of ''
Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...
'', four of them as Dr. Valerie Knight,
Anita Van Buren Anita Van Buren is a fictional character on NBC's long-running police procedural and legal drama television series ''Law & Order'', portrayed by S. Epatha Merkerson. The character of Van Buren was an "authoritative lieutenant" in the New York Cit ...
's oncologist in Season 20. In 2024, she portrayed Francis Cobb in the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
series ''
The Penguin The Penguin (Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character made his first appearance in ''Detective Comics'' #5 ...
''.


Awards and nominations

In 2020, O'Connell received a Special Citation from the
New York Drama Critics' Circle The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 23 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jon ...
for career excellence, including her performance in
Lucas Hnath Lucas Hnath ( ) is an American playwright. He won the 2016 Obie Award for excellence in playwriting for his plays ''Red Speedo'' and ''The Christians''. He also won a Whiting Award. Biography Hnath grew up in Orlando, Florida. He moved to New Yo ...
's '' Dana H.'' at the
Vineyard Theatre The Vineyard Theatre is a 120-seat Off-Broadway non-profit theatre company, located at 108 East 15th Street in Manhattan, New York City, near Union Square. Founded in 1981 by Barbara Zinn Krieger, the Vineyard states that its goal is "to give ...
. She also won the 2010 Ovation Award for Featured Actress in a Play for the role of Judy in the Center Theatre Group production of ''In the Wake''. She received 2020 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show performance in Lucas Hnath's ''Dana H.'' and Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. In 2022, she won the
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality leading roles in a Broad ...
for ''Dana H''. In 2024, she was nominated for Critics' Choice Awards for ''
The Penguin The Penguin (Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character made his first appearance in ''Detective Comics'' #5 ...
'' in the Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries.
/ref>


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

*
Deirdre O'Connell at the Lortel Archives
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnell, Deirdre Living people 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Massachusetts American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses People from Pittsfield, Massachusetts Tony Award winners Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)