Frances Ann O'Connor (born 12 June 1967) is a British-Australian actress and director. She appears in roles in the films '' Mansfield Park'', '' Bedazzled'', '' A.I. Artificial Intelligence'', '' The Importance of Being Earnest'', and ''

Timeline A timeline is a list of events displayed in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representing t ...

''. O'Connor won an AACTA Award for her performance in '' Blessed'', and also earned two Golden Globe Award nominations for her performances in '' Madame Bovary'' and '' The Missing''. In 2022, her debut feature as writer and director, '' Emily'', was released.

Early life

O'Connor was born in

Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Berkshire, it has been a ...

, at the time part of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, England, to a pianist mother and nuclear physicist father; her family moved to

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia, when she was two years old. She is the middle of five children, with one older brother, one older sister, and two younger sisters. O'Connor was raised

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, and attended the Mercedes College in Perth. She then went on to attend the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in literature from Curtin University in Western Australia.

Career

O'Connor made her film debut in Emma-Kate Croghan's critically acclaimed independent romantic comedy ''

Love and Other Catastrophes ''Love and Other Catastrophes'' is a quirky 1996 Australian romantic comedy film featuring Frances O'Connor, Radha Mitchell, Alice Garner, Matthew Dyktynski, Matt Day and Kym Gyngell. The film was the first full-length release by director ...

'' (1996). She received her first AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role nomination for her performance in the film. In 1997, she had the leading role in '' Kiss or Kill'', and starred opposite

Cate Blanchett Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...

and Richard Roxburgh in '' Thank God He Met Lizzie''. In 1999, O'Connor starred as Fanny Price in the British romantic comedy-drama '' Mansfield Park''. The film also received favourable reviews from critics. The following year, O'Connor earned a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

nomination for her performance as Emma Bovary in the film '' Madame Bovary''. In 2000, O'Connor began her Hollywood career with a role in the remake with Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley of the 1967 British film '' Bedazzled''. The following year, she had a leading role in the

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

science fiction drama '' A.I. Artificial Intelligence'', earning her a nomination for a Saturn Award for Best Actress. In 2002, she starred alongside Rupert Everett, Colin Firth and

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

in the romantic comedy-drama '' The Importance of Being Earnest'', directed by Oliver Parker and based on

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's classic play. In 2003, O'Connor starred opposite Paul Walker in the science fiction film ''

'', which bombed at the box office. In 2004, O'Connor returned to independent films and starred in '' Book of Love'' opposite Simon Baker, and '' Iron Jawed Angels'' with Hilary Swank, Julia Ormond and Anjelica Huston. In 2008, she starred in the short-lived ABC comedy-drama series '' Cashmere Mafia'' alongside Lucy Liu,

Miranda Otto Miranda Otto (born 16 December 1967) is an Australian actress. She is the daughter of actors Barry Otto, Barry and Lindsay Otto and the paternal half-sister of actress Gracie Otto. Otto began her acting career in 1986 at age 18 and appeared in a ...

and Bonnie Somerville. In 2009, she won an AACTA Award for Best Actress for her performance in '' Blessed''. She later appeared in '' Jayne Mansfield's Car'', '' Little Red Wagon'' and '' The Truth About Emanuel''; and received two more AACTA Award for Best Actress nominations for '' Three Dollars'' (2005) and '' The Hunter'' (2011). In 2011, O'Connor was cast in the ABC drama pilot ''Hallelujah'', created by Marc Cherry, but the show was not picked up to series. From 2013 to 2014, she starred as Rose Selfridge in the British period drama '' Mr Selfridge''. In 2014, O'Connor was cast as the lead in the British drama '' The Missing''. She was nominated for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film or Best Actress – Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television is a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Associat ...

for her performance in the series. She then appeared as Belle's mother Colette in the fourth season of the American series '' Once Upon a Time''. In 2016, O'Connor co-starred in the horror film '' The Conjuring 2'', alongside Vera Farmiga and

Patrick Wilson Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty (musical), The Full Mont ...

, and in ''Cleverman'', opposite Iain Glen. In 2022, O'Connor made her directorial debut with '' Emily'', a biographical drama she also wrote, about the life of English writer Emily Brontë (portrayed by Emma Mackey).

Personal life

O'Connor and her long-term partner, Gerald Lepkowski, had a son in 2005. The couple married in 2011 at O'Connor's mother's residence in Australia.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Frances 1967 births Living people Actresses from Berkshire Australian film actresses Australian people of Irish descent Australian Shakespearean actresses Australian television actresses Best Actress AACTA Award winners Curtin University alumni Edith Cowan University alumni British emigrants to Australia People from Wantage Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts alumni 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses Actors from Vale of White Horse