Eileen O'Higgins


Eileen O'Higgins is a Northern Irish actress. She trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Her breakthrough role was playing a young pregnant woman in the play Hold Your Tongue, Hold Your Dead which led to a supporting role in the film Brooklyn.

Early life

O'Higgins grew up in Castlewellan. She attended St. Malachy's Primary School and Assumption Grammar School in Ballynahinch, County Down. O'Higgins later studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff.

Career

After graduating, O'Higgins starred in the BBC television miniseries adaptation Emma, and the television film Enid based on the life of Enid Blyton with Helena Bonham Carter. She then appeared in theatre productions including Alice Birch's And Then There Were Four Little Beats of Four Little Hearts on the Edge of the World at The Old Vic. Her breakthrough role was a supporting role as a young pregnant woman in the play Hold Your Tongue, Hold Your Dead. A reviewer for The Harvard Crimson commented that her performance "conveyed an urgency... that was immediate and relatable". Her appearance helped her to be cast in a supporting role in her first film Brooklyn which also starred Saoirse Ronan. O'Higgins then appeared in the BBC television series My Mother and Other Strangers.
O’Higgins reteamed with Ronan in the film Mary Queen of Scots playing Scottish noblewoman Mary Beaton.
In 2020, she appeared in the crime drama series Dead Still.

Personal life

O’Higgins is best friends with fellow actress Saoirse Ronan, who she first met during the filming of Brooklyn in 2014.