Tara Lynne O'Neill
Encyclopedia
Tara Lynne O'Neill is a film
, theatre
and television
actress.
, Northern Ireland
, United Kingdom
.
on Saturday Disney from 1993-1996. She was also a main presenter on a young-people television show, The Over the Wall Gang for the BBC Northern Ireland
.
She then started acting in film and television productions including The Informant
(1997), Disco Pigs
(2001), Full Circle and Omagh
(2004).
O'Neill received her big break as Joanne Ryan on EastEnders
in 2002. She played Phil Mitchell
's nanny and had a crush on him. She left in 2003 after she got into bed with Phil.
She appeared in Becoming Jane
(2007), playing a whine whore.
O'Neill also appeared in film roles such as the town's seductress
in The Most Fertile Man in Ireland (1999).
in Belfast as Sandy in a production of the musical
Grease
.
In 2006 O'Neill appeared as Rita in a theatre production of Educating Rita
staged at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actress.
Early life
She was born Lynne James in BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Film and television
O'Neill's career started as a television presenterPresenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
on Saturday Disney from 1993-1996. She was also a main presenter on a young-people television show, The Over the Wall Gang for the BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland is the main public service broadcaster in Northern Ireland.The organisation is one of the three national regions of the BBC, together with BBC Scotland and BBC Wales. Based at Broadcasting House, Belfast, it provides television, radio, online and interactive television content...
.
She then started acting in film and television productions including The Informant
The Informant (1997 film)
The Informant is a 1997 cable TV movie produced by Showtime, starring Cary Elwes and Timothy Dalton. It was directed by Jim McBride and written by Nicholas Meyer based upon the book Field of Blood by Gerald Seymour.-Plot:...
(1997), Disco Pigs
Disco Pigs
Disco Pigs is a 2001 Irish 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 Cork teenagers who have a lifelong, but unhealthy, friendship that is imploding as they approach adulthood.-Plot:The...
(2001), Full Circle and Omagh
Omagh (film)
Omagh was a film dramatising the events surrounding the Omagh bombing and its aftermath, co-produced by Irish state broadcaster RTÉ and UK network Channel 4, and directed by Pete Travis. It was first shown on television in both countries in June, 2004....
(2004).
O'Neill received her big break as Joanne Ryan on EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
in 2002. She played Phil Mitchell
Phil Mitchell
Philip James "Phil" Mitchell is a long-running fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden.Phil first arrived in Albert Square on 20 February 1990, and was soon joined by his brother, Grant, sister Sam and mother Peggy...
's nanny and had a crush on him. She left in 2003 after she got into bed with Phil.
She appeared in Becoming Jane
Becoming Jane
Becoming Jane is a 2007 historical film directed by Julian Jarrold. It is inspired by the early life of author Jane Austen , and her posited relationship with Thomas Langlois Lefroy . Also appearing are Julie Walters, James Cromwell and Maggie Smith...
(2007), playing a whine whore.
O'Neill also appeared in film roles such as the town's seductress
Seduction
In social science, seduction is the process of deliberately enticing a person to engage. The word seduction stems from Latin and means literally "to lead astray". As a result, the term may have a positive or negative connotation...
in The Most Fertile Man in Ireland (1999).
Stage
In addition to television and film, at age 19 she appeared on stage at the Grand Opera HouseGrand Opera House (Belfast)
The Grand Opera House is a theatre in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by the most prolific theatre architect of the period, Frank Matcham. It opened on 23 December 1895....
in Belfast as Sandy in a production of the musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
.
In 2006 O'Neill appeared as Rita in a theatre production of Educating Rita
Educating Rita
Educating Rita is a stage comedy by British playwright Willy Russell. It is a play for two actors set entirely in the office of an Open University lecturer....
staged at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.