Irish actress
Victoria Smurfit
Smurfit in 2016
Born (1974-03-31 ) 31 March 1974 (age 50) Occupation Actress Years active 1995–present Spouse
Douglas Baxter
(
m. 2000;
div. 2015)
Children 3 Relatives Michael Smurfit (uncle)
Victoria Smurfit (born 31 March 1974) is an Irish actress. She is known for playing Orla O'Connell in the BBC television series Ballykissangel , Detective Chief Inspector Roisin Connor in the ITV police procedural Trial & Retribution and Cruella de Vil in Once Upon a Time for which she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress in 13th IFTA Film & Drama Awards in 2016.
Early life
Victoria Smurfit is part of the Smurfit family which, through Smurfit Kappa , is one of the richest in Ireland. The family, headed by Victoria's uncle Michael Smurfit , sponsors a number of sporting events including the Smurfit European Open and the Champion Hurdle . The family is also associated with Smurfit Business School in University College Dublin (UCD). Smurfit studied for an A-level in theatre studies and subsequently went onto the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School .[1]
Career
Smurfit gained fame for her role as Orla O'Connell in the BBC television series Ballykissangel from 1998 to 1999. She played Nina in the 2003 film Bulletproof Monk . From 2003 to 2009, Smurfit portrayed the lead role of Detective Chief Inspector Roisin Connor in the ITV police procedural Trial & Retribution .[2] She also guest starred in the BBC Radio 4 series Baldi . In 2011 Smurfit appeared in the Agatha Christie's Marple television episode "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side ".
In 2013, Smurfit co-starred as Lady Jayne Wetherby in the NBC television period drama Dracula .[3] In 2014, she began playing the recurring guest role of Cruella de Vil in ABC 's Once Upon a Time .[4] [5]
In the run-up to shooting for her role in Homecoming , she described the film as a "mean girls for grown-ups". She played Nikki, the "head mean girl".[6] In 2021 she played Pippa in Deadly Cuts and in 2022 played Olivia Foyle in "Bloodlands ".
Personal life
Smurfit married advertising executive Douglas Baxter on 29 July 2000 in Surrey , England and gave birth to their first child, daughter Evie Dorothy Baxter in Dublin, Ireland on 2 November 2004. A second daughter, Ridley Belle Baxter was born in May 2007.[7] Their third child, a boy, was born in November 2008 and named Flynn Alexander Baxter.[8] In 2012 the family relocated to Santa Monica , California , US.[9] In February 2015 it was announced that Smurfit and her husband had filed for divorce.[10] Smurfit has said she was not able to eat anything[clarification needed ] during that time.[11]
She wrote an opinion blog for The Dubliner , which often featured anecdotes from her personal life,[12] and is a patron of the children's charity World Vision Ireland.[13]
Filmography
Awards and nominations
References
^ Irish Times Magazine, page 10, 10 January 2009
^ "14 years on, but Ballykissangel fans still stop Victoria Smurfit in the street" . evoke.ie . 31 August 2015. Archived from the original on 2 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015 .
^ Hall, Eva (4 February 2013). "Victoria Smurfit To Sink Teeth Into Jonathan Rhys Meyers' Dracula " . IFTN . Retrieved 4 February 2013 .
^ "Once Upon a Time: Victoria Smurfit Talks Cruella de Ville, and Season 4" . collider.com . 17 April 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2016 .
^ "Once Upon a Time : Victoria Smurfit set to return as Cruella" . ew.com . Retrieved 23 September 2016 .
^ Butler, Laura. "Putting divorce aside, actress Victoria Smurfit lines up role after role" . Evoke.ie . Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015 .
^ Lyons, Eoin (9 September 2005). "Couple mix comfort with designer good looks" . The Irish Times . Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2013 .
^ " 'Cannes-do' Irish go networking - Independent.ie" . Retrieved 25 June 2023 .
^ "Exclusive Victoria Smurfit interview: 'It's me, three kids, two dogs and a cup of tea now' " . Independent.ie . 1 March 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2023 .
^ "Victoria Smurfit & husband Doug Baxter split after 15 years of marriage" . evoke.ie . 20 February 2015. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015 .
^ "Victoria Smurfit" . 13 January 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2023 – via open.spotify.com.
^ Smurfit, Victoria. "(sampling of column entries by Smurfit, March to June 2008)" . The Dubliner . Archived from the original on 5 July 2008.
^ "World Vision Ireland" . Retrieved 25 June 2023 .
^ "Victoria Smurfit and Aidan Turner star in adaptation of racy Jilly Cooper novel" . Independent.ie . 21 March 2023.
External links
International National People