Maria Doyle Kennedy
Encyclopedia
Maria Doyle Kennedy is an award-winning Irish actress and singer. She is possibly best known for her roles as Natalie, in cult film The Commitments
, Queen Katherine of Aragon in the award winning The Tudors
and as the title character's wife Frances in The General
.
Both of her solo albums have been nominated for Meteor awards and her forthcoming project sees her teamed with U.S. country music legend John Prine
Damien Rice and Paul Brady.
, Cambridge Folk Festival etc.) to the more intimate theatre concerts.
One must include in Maria Doyle's musical history her appearance as Natalie, one of a trio of backup singers in the 1991 film the Commitments. The Commitments documents
the rise and fall of an Irish "Soul" band in Dublin.
Maria released her first album “When Justice Came” in 1989 with The Black Velvet Band. Recorded in Los Angeles in 1989 It reached No.4 in the Irish charts and is ranked among the best Irish albums of the Late 1980s. She then united with producers Clive Langer and Allen Winstanley to record her second Black Velvet Band album "King Of Myself" in 1992.
Irish music magazine Hot Press
later called her "The finest voice this country has ever produced."
'The Lady Sings The Blues' a compilation Album featuring Maria alongside Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Annie Lennox, followed and proved to be a best selling album in 1994. It also established Maria in new markets in Europe the US and Japan. Touring Europe for the first time, she got rave reviews from The Guardian, The Times and others.
Maria produced a documentary -Golden Boy- based on the life and work of Irish artist Patrick Scott
and has appeared as a broadcaster on Irish television filling in for John Kelly on his Mystery Train show and for Tom Dunne on Pet Sounds.
's first wife and mother of Mary I of England
) on The Tudors
. She was rumoured to have returned as Katherine of Aragon in a dream sequence to The Tudors for the fourth and final season in mid 2010,and this was confirmed when the first promotional picture of the season showed Katherine (along with King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr) on the cover. Kennedy will appear on Irish screens early in 2011 on TG4's Corp & Anam in her first Irish language acting role. Kennedy portrayed Sonya, a nanny to Dexter Morgan's son Harrison in the fifth season of Showtime's Dexter
. She joined the cast of ITV
period drama Downton Abbey
, appearing as Vera Bates, estragned wife of Lord's Grantham's valet.
.
The Commitments (film)
The Commitments , the soundtrack for the film, was released on 13 Aug 1991. "Mustang Sally" was released as a single. Most of the songs on the album are performed by the cast band, but two are by Irish singer Niamh Kavanagh.-Track listing:-Chart positions:-The Commitments, Vol...
, Queen Katherine of Aragon in the award winning The Tudors
The Tudors
The Tudors is a Canadian produced historical fiction television series filmed in Ireland, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime...
and as the title character's wife Frances in The General
The General (1998 film)
The General is a British-Irish crime film directed by John Boorman about Dublin crime boss Martin Cahill, who pulled off several daring heists in the early 1980s, and attracted the attention of the Gardaí, PIRA, and UVF. The film was shot in 1997 and released in 1998...
.
Early life
She is an honours graduate of Trinity College Dublin (Joint Honours Politics and Business) faculty of E.S.S.Musical career
In 2001, Maria released music on Mermaid Records, a label she founded herself. Her debut solo album Charm was released in 2001. She coordinated Sirens which is a compilation album of female artists and which was released in 2003. She released an album Skullcover consisting of cover versions in 2005, and Mütter in 2007. Maria’s new album with her husband Kieran is called The Storms Are On the Ocean. A collection of Appalachian standards dressed in darned gowns, its spiritual siblings are Plant's Band of Joy, PJ's White Chalk and Gillian Welch's stark daguerreotypes. Here are courtly tunes, murder ballads, child ballads and death fugues all backlit by Kieran Kennedy's acoustic guitar, banjo and piano.Both of her solo albums have been nominated for Meteor awards and her forthcoming project sees her teamed with U.S. country music legend John Prine
John Prine
John Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.-Biography:...
Damien Rice and Paul Brady.
Musical History
Maria joined a band while still in college in the mid-80s. They formed originally to enter a Slogadh competition (which they won) but music quickly became a motivating force in her life. She has spent the best part of 20 years performing live all over the world to audiences ranging from the many thousands who have enjoyed her show at festivals (Glastonbury, OxegenOxegen
Oxegen is an annual music festival in Ireland held since 2004, sponsored by Heineken. As of 2007, 2008, 2009, the festival has been cited as Ireland's biggest music festival. And by 2009, the festival is cited as the greenest festival, being a 100% carbon neutral event in Ireland. It was previously...
, Cambridge Folk Festival etc.) to the more intimate theatre concerts.
One must include in Maria Doyle's musical history her appearance as Natalie, one of a trio of backup singers in the 1991 film the Commitments. The Commitments documents
the rise and fall of an Irish "Soul" band in Dublin.
Maria released her first album “When Justice Came” in 1989 with The Black Velvet Band. Recorded in Los Angeles in 1989 It reached No.4 in the Irish charts and is ranked among the best Irish albums of the Late 1980s. She then united with producers Clive Langer and Allen Winstanley to record her second Black Velvet Band album "King Of Myself" in 1992.
Irish music magazine Hot Press
Hot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
later called her "The finest voice this country has ever produced."
'The Lady Sings The Blues' a compilation Album featuring Maria alongside Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Annie Lennox, followed and proved to be a best selling album in 1994. It also established Maria in new markets in Europe the US and Japan. Touring Europe for the first time, she got rave reviews from The Guardian, The Times and others.
Maria produced a documentary -Golden Boy- based on the life and work of Irish artist Patrick Scott
Patrick Scott
Patrick Scott is an Irish artist.Patrick Scott had his first exhibition in 1944, but trained as an architect and did not become a full time artist until 1960. He worked for fifteen years for the Irish architect Michael Scott, assisting, for example, in the design of Busáras, the central bus...
and has appeared as a broadcaster on Irish television filling in for John Kelly on his Mystery Train show and for Tom Dunne on Pet Sounds.
Acting career
In 2007 and 2008, Maria played Queen Katherine of Aragon (King Henry VIIIHenry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
's first wife and mother of Mary I of England
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
) on The Tudors
The Tudors
The Tudors is a Canadian produced historical fiction television series filmed in Ireland, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime...
. She was rumoured to have returned as Katherine of Aragon in a dream sequence to The Tudors for the fourth and final season in mid 2010,and this was confirmed when the first promotional picture of the season showed Katherine (along with King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr) on the cover. Kennedy will appear on Irish screens early in 2011 on TG4's Corp & Anam in her first Irish language acting role. Kennedy portrayed Sonya, a nanny to Dexter Morgan's son Harrison in the fifth season of Showtime's Dexter
Dexter (TV series)
Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
. She joined the cast of ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
period drama Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey is a British television period drama series, produced by NBC Universal-owned British media company Carnival Films for the ITV network. The series is set during the late Edwardian era and the First World War on the fictional estate of Downton Abbey in Yorkshire, and features an...
, appearing as Vera Bates, estragned wife of Lord's Grantham's valet.
Personal life
In 1988, she married musician Kieran Kennedy, and they have four sons, Louis, Jesse James, Daniel and Salvador. Kennedy speaks fluent IrishIrish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | The Commitments The Commitments (film) The Commitments , the soundtrack for the film, was released on 13 Aug 1991. "Mustang Sally" was released as a single. Most of the songs on the album are performed by the cast band, but two are by Irish singer Niamh Kavanagh.-Track listing:-Chart positions:-The Commitments, Vol... |
Natalie Murphy | |
| 1995 | Nothing Personal | Ann | |
| 1996 | Moll Flanders Moll Flanders (1996 film) Moll Flanders is a 1996 film starring Robin Wright and Morgan Freeman. The film was directed by Pen Densham. The original music score was composed by Mark Mancina... |
Alice | |
| 1997 | A Further Gesture | Roisin | |
| The MatchMaker The MatchMaker (1997 film) The MatchMaker is a 1997 film comedy film set in Ireland.-Plot:Marcy Tizzard is assistant to Senator John McGlory from Boston, Massachusetts... |
Sarah Kelly | ||
| 1998 | Father Ted Father Ted Father Ted is a comedy series set in Ireland that was produced by Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Written jointly by Irish writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan and starring a predominantly Irish cast, it originally aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May... |
Patsy | TV series (1 episode: "Night of the Nearly Dead") |
| The General The General (1998 film) The General is a British-Irish crime film directed by John Boorman about Dublin crime boss Martin Cahill, who pulled off several daring heists in the early 1980s, and attracted the attention of the Gardaí, PIRA, and UVF. The film was shot in 1997 and released in 1998... |
Frances | ||
| 1999 | I Could Read the Sky I Could Read the Sky I Could Read the Sky is a 1999 Irish/UK film directed by Nichola Bruce. It is based upon a photographic novel by Timothy O'Grady and Steve Pyke, which concerns the Irish experience of emigration and exile. It has been described as an "innovative, melancholic, and deeply moving film"-Plot:The film... |
Maggie | |
| Gregory's Two Girls | Bel | ||
| Miss Julie | Christine | ||
| DDU DDU: District Detective Unit DDU is a serial police drama that was first aired on RTÉ in 1997 as "Making the Cut" and ran for 8 episodes. It starred Sean McGinley.- External links :***... |
Emma Pearson | TV series (2 episodes) | |
| Oliver Twist Oliver Twist (TV miniseries) Oliver Twist is a 1999 television mini-series produced by ITV based on the book Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.-Plot:The first episode revolved around Oliver's parents as they struggled to fight their love for each other... |
Irish Shop Assistant | TV mini-series (1 episode: "Wherein It Is Shown How Oliver Twist Came to Be Born in Such Sad Circumstances") | |
| Queer as Folk Queer as Folk (UK TV series) Queer as Folk is a 1999 British television series that chronicles the lives of three gay men living in Manchester's gay village around Canal Street. Both Queer as Folk and Queer as Folk 2 were written by Russell T Davies... |
Marie Threepwood/Marie Jones | TV series (2 episodes: 1999-2000) | |
| 2000 | Queer as Folk 2 | Marie Jones | TV movie |
| 2001 | J.J Biker | ||
| 2002 | No Tears | Kitty Fogarty | TV mini-series |
| Home for Christmas | Cora Quirke | TV movie | |
| 2003 | Thursday the 12th | Nina Bannister | TV movie |
| Mystics | Foxy | Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Actress in a Film | |
| 2005 | Spin the Bottle | Anastasia | |
| Tara Road Tara Road (film) Tara Road is a film based on the novel of the same name by Maeve Binchy.-Plot:Two women trade houses without ever having met. They're both looking for an escape from their problems, but by running away, both come to discover a great deal about themselves.Ria Lynch is to married Danny Lynch and they... |
Rosemary | ||
| 2006 | Hide & Seek | Emma Holden | TV series |
| Sorted Sorted (TV series) Sorted is a BBC television drama series, first broadcast in 2006, and transmitted on BBC One and BBC HD. It was created by Danny Brocklehurst, who has also written Clocking Off, The Stretford Wives and Shameless... |
Roisin | TV series (6 episodes) | |
| 2007 | The Tudors The Tudors The Tudors is a Canadian produced historical fiction television series filmed in Ireland, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime... |
Queen Katherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales... |
TV series (18 episodes: 2007-2010) IFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress in Television 2008 IFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress in Television 2009 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series Gemini Award The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are... |
| 2010 | (She Owns) Every Thing | Object of Affection | short |
| Dexter Dexter (TV series) Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer... |
Sonya | TV series (8 episodes) | |
| 2011 | Corp & Anam | Mairéad Mhic Iarnáin | TV series |
| Albert Nobbs Albert Nobbs Albert Nobbs is a film starring Glenn Close and directed by Rodrigo García. The screenplay is based on a short story by Irish novelist George Moore.- Plot :Glenn Close plays a woman passing as a man in order to work and survive in 19th century Ireland... |
completed | ||
| Downton Abbey Downton Abbey Downton Abbey is a British television period drama series, produced by NBC Universal-owned British media company Carnival Films for the ITV network. The series is set during the late Edwardian era and the First World War on the fictional estate of Downton Abbey in Yorkshire, and features an... |
Vera Bates | TV series series 2 |
Awards and nominations
- In 2003, Maria Doyle Kennedy was nominated for the IFTA award.
- In 2008, Maria Doyle Kennedy won both the Gemini award and the IFTA award.
- In 2009, Maria Doyle Kennedy won the IFTA award.