Tara Lynne O'Neill (born 18 September 1975) is an Irish actress from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, who has appeared in film, theatre and television.

Early life

During her childhood, she aspired to become a dentist, but abandoned this after failing her

General Certificate of Secondary Education The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

in chemistry. At sixth-form college, she opted for a career in acting.

Career

Film and television

O'Neill started work as a

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

on '' Saturday Disney'' from 1993 to 1996. She was also a main presenter on ''The Over the Wall Gang'', a young people's television show from

BBC Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. BBC Northern Ireland is one of the four BB ...

. O'Neill also appeared in film roles such as the town's seductress in '' The Most Fertile Man in Ireland'' (1999), and as Claire McKee in ''Wild About Harry'' (2000). She later played Joanne Ryan in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television 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 East End of London, the ...

,'' appearing in 58 episodes between 20 September 2002, and 21 August 2003. Between 2013 and 2016, she appeared in '' The Fall''. In 2018, she joined the main cast of '' Derry Girls'' as Mary Quinn, remaining on the show until the airing of the final episode on 18 May 2022. In April 2024, O'Neill was cast as Inspector Eve Dunlop in

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's '' Hope Street'' for the show's fourth series. Her other roles include '' The Informant'' (1997), ''

Disco Pigs ''Disco Pigs'' is a 2001 Irish coming of age romantic crime film directed by Kirsten Sheridan and written by Enda Walsh, who adapted it from his 1996 play of the same name. Cillian Murphy and Elaine Cassidy star as two young people from Cork ...

'' (2001), ''Full Circle'' and ''

Omagh Omagh (; from , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. Northern Ireland's c ...

'' (2004).

Stage

In addition to television and film, at the age of 19, she appeared on stage at the Grand Opera House in Belfast as Sandy in a production of the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

'' Grease''. In 2006, O'Neill appeared as Rita in a theatre production of '' Educating Rita'' staged at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast. In 2021, she wrote and starred in ''Rough Girls'', a play about women's football in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

in 1917–21; it was aired on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

in 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Tara Lynne Irish stage actresses Irish television actresses Film actresses from Northern Ireland Living people Musical theatre actresses from Northern Ireland Stage actresses from Northern Ireland Actresses from Belfast Television actresses from Northern Ireland 1975 births