Michelle Fairley
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- July 11, 1963 (age 63)
- Birthplace
- Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, UK
Biography
Michelle Fairley (born 11 July 1963) is an actress from Northern Ireland. She is best known for playing Catelyn Stark in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011–2013). She has since appeared in the USA Network series Suits (2013), the Fox series 24: Live Another Day (2014), the RTÉ miniseries Rebellion (2016), the science fiction series The Feed (2019), and the Sky Atlantic crime drama Gangs of London (2020–). Fairley was born in Coleraine to parents Brian and Teresa Fairley, the second eldest of six children. Her father was a popular publican, owner of Fairley's Bar and several off-licences, in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, but Fairley remembers both Catholics and Protestants frequenting the pub. Fairley appeared in a number of British television shows, including The Bill, Holby City and Casualty. Some of her earlier roles were as Cathy Michaels on ITV1's Inspector Morse in the episode titled "The Way Through The Woods" and as Nancy Phelan in Lovejoy in the episode 9 of Season 3 titled "Smoke Your Nose". She took over the role of Mrs. Granger from Heather Bleasdale (who had played Mrs. Granger in Chamber of Secrets) in the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows films. From 2011 to 2013, Fairley starred as Catelyn Stark (née Tully) in the first three seasons of the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, replacing Jennifer Ehle who played the character in the original, unaired, pilot episode. Fairley joined the cast of the USA Network series Suits for its third season, playing the recurring role of Dr. Ava Hessington, a chemical engineer and oil CEO accused of bribery, and after that, accused for murder. She played Margot Al-Harazi in 24: Live Another Day on Fox. Her film roles included The Invisible Woman (2013) and In the Heart of the Sea (2015). In 2014, Fairley was cast as Margaret Langston in the ABC TV Series Resurrection (2014-2015). In 2017, it was announced Fairley would appear in a revival of Jim Cartwright's play Road at the Royal Court Theatre In 2018, she played Cassius in Julius Caesar at the Bridge Theatre, alongside David Calder, David Morrissey and Ben Whishaw. In 2019, Fairley led the Virgin Media and Amazon Prime science fiction series The Feed as Meredith Hatfield. As of June 2020, Fairley stars as Marian Wallace in the Sky Atlantic crime drama Gangs of London. She starred as Millie in the 2021 film Nobody Has To Know alongside Bouli Lanners. In 2023, Fairley starred as Princess Augusta in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story on Netflix. She also contributed to The Gone a TVNZ and RTE coproduction.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Alma
Movie · as Mercy
Whistle
Movie · as Ivy Raymore
No Ordinary Heist
Movie · as Mags Fulton
You'll Never Believe Who's Dead
Movie · as Mary Cosgrove
How to Get to Heaven from Belfast
TV · as Margo · 7 eps
Nazis, U-boats and the Battle for the Atlantic
TV · as Narrator · 2 eps
Small Things Like These
Movie · as Mrs. Wilson
The Trap
Movie · as Michelle
Untameable
Movie · as Self
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
TV · as Princess Augusta · 6 eps
The Gone
TV · as Judge Hannah Martin · 11 eps
An Irish Goodbye
Movie · as Grainne (voice)
Nobody Has to Know
Movie · as Millie
The Road to Partition
Movie · as Narrator
The Road to Partition
TV · as Narrator · 2 eps
Lesson 7
Movie · as Max
Gangs of London
TV · as Marian Wallace · 25 eps
Game of Thrones: The Last Watch
Movie · as Self
The Trap
Movie · as Michelle
Responsible Child
Movie · as Kerry
Lost Lives
Movie · as Self (voice)
The Feed
TV · as Meredith Hatfield · 10 eps
National Theatre Live: Julius Caesar
Movie · as Caius Cassius
To Provide All People
Movie · as Intensive Care Nurse
The White Princess
TV · as Margaret Beaufort · 8 eps
Edith
Movie · as Shelia
Rebellion
TV · as Dolly Butler · 5 eps
In the Heart of the Sea
Movie · as Mrs. Nickerson
Fortitude
TV · as Freya Lennox · 10 eps
Ironclad 2: Battle for Blood
Movie · as Joan De Vesci
Common
Movie · as Shelagh
Montana
Movie · as DCI Rachel Jones
Resurrection
TV · as Margaret Langston · 13 eps
Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero
TV · as Queen Igneous (voice) · 1 ep
The Invisible Woman
Movie · as Caroline Graves
Philomena
Movie · as Sally Mitchell
Crossing Lines
TV · as Sophie Baines · 2 eps
Game of Thrones
TV · as Catelyn Stark · 30 eps
Suits
TV · as Ava Hessington · 8 eps
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Movie · as Mrs. Granger
Cup Cake
Movie · as Annie McNabb
Chatroom
Movie · as Rosie
Anton Chekhov's The Duel
Movie · as Marya
Best: His Mother's Son
Movie · as Ann Best
A Short Stay in Switzerland
Movie · as Mrs. Savery
Misfits
TV · as Louise Young · 2 eps
Lark Rise to Candleford
TV · 1 ep
Ahead of the Class
Movie · as Sonia Venning
The Golden Hour
TV · as Julia Harper · 1 ep
Coming Up
TV · as Jen · 1 ep
The Others
Movie · as Mrs. Marlish
McCready and Daughter
TV · as Bernadette · 6 eps
In Deep
TV · as Phoebe · 2 eps
24
TV · as Margot Al-Harazi · 8 eps
The Second Death
Movie · as Aisling
Rebus
TV · as Janice Mee · 2 eps
Hideous Kinky
Movie · as Patricia
Vicious Circle
Movie · as Frances
Births, Marriages and Deaths
TV · as Pat · 4 eps
A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries
Movie · as Miss O'Shaunessy
The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling
TV · as Mrs, Fitzpatrick · 5 eps
The Broker's Man
TV · as Gabby Rodwell · 6 eps
Midsomer Murders
TV · as Iris Holman · 1 ep
The Precious Blood
Movie · as Jean McBride
Safe And Sound
TV · as Eleanor Delaney · 6 eps
A Mug's Game
TV · as Kathy Cowan · 4 eps
Silent Witness
TV · as D.I. Suzy Harte · 2 eps
Life After Life
Movie · as Roisin Donaghy
Cardiac Arrest
TV · as Casualty Sister Karen Teller · 3 eps
The Long Roads
Movie · as Fiona Gibbons
Comics
TV · as Nula O'Reilly · 2 eps
Flea Bites
Movie · as Sharon
Force of Duty
Movie · as Jenny
Hidden Agenda
Movie · as Teresa Doyle
Saracen
TV · as Maeve · 1 ep
4 Play
TV · as Maureen · 1 ep
Crossfire
Movie · as Scanlon's Girl
Hidden City
Movie · as Cleaner
Lovejoy
TV · as Nancy Phelan · 1 ep
Casualty
TV · as Kathy Emerick, Kate Maguire · 1 ep
ScreenPlay
TV · as Jenny · 1 ep
Screen Two
TV · as Jean McBride, Roisin Donaghy, Fiona Gibbons - Liverpool · 1 ep
Theatre Night
TV · as Ruth · 1 ep