Michelle Fairley
Born: 1963-07-11 in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, UK
Known For: Acting
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.
Filmography
2026
2025
- Nazis, U-boats and the Battle for the Atlantic as Narrator
2024
- Small Things Like These as Mrs. Wilson
2023
- Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story as Princess Augusta
- The Gone as Hannah
- The Trap as Michelle
- Untameable as Self
2022
- Nobody Has to Know as Millie
- An Irish Goodbye as Grainne (voice)
2021
- The Road to Partition as Narrator
2020
- Gangs of London as Marian Wallace
- Lesson 7 as Max
2019
- Responsible Child as Kerry
- Game of Thrones: The Last Watch as Self
- The Feed as Meredith Hatfield
- The Trap as Michelle
2018
- National Theatre Live: Julius Caesar as Caius Cassius
- To Provide All People as Intensive Care Nurse
2017
- The White Princess as Margaret Beaufort
2015
- Fortitude as Freya Lennox
- In the Heart of the Sea as Mrs. Nickerson
2014
- Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero as Queen Igneous (voice)
- Resurrection as Margaret Langston
- Common as Shelagh
- Montana as DCI Rachel Jones
- Ironclad 2: Battle for Blood as Joan De Vesci
2013
- Crossing Lines as Sophie Baines
- The Invisible Woman as Caroline Graves
- Philomena as Sally Mitchell
2011
- Game of Thrones as Catelyn Stark
- Suits as Ava Hessington
2010
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 as Mrs. Granger
- Cup Cake as Annie McNabb
- Chatroom as Rosie
- Anton Chekhov's The Duel as Marya
2009
- Misfits as Louise Young
- A Short Stay in Switzerland as Mrs. Savery
- Best: His Mother's Son as Ann Best
2005
- The Golden Hour as Julia Harper
- Ahead of the Class as Sonia Venning
2001
- 24 as Margot Al-Harazi
- The Others as Mrs. Marlish
- In Deep as Phoebe
2000
- Rebus as Janice Mee
- The Second Death as Aisling
- McCready and Daughter as Bernadette
1999
- Vicious Circle as Frances
- Hideous Kinky as Patricia
- Births, Marriages and Deaths as Pat
1998
- A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries as Miss O'Shaunessy
1997
- Midsomer Murders as Iris Holman
- Trial & Retribution
- The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling as Mrs, Fitzpatrick
- The Broker's Man
1996
- The Precious Blood as Jean McBride
- Safe And Sound as Eleanor Delaney
- A Mug's Game as Kathy Cowan
1995
- Life After Life as Roisin Donaghy
1994
1993
- The Long Roads as Fiona Gibbons
- Comics as Nula O'Reilly
1992
- Flea Bites as Sharon
1991
- Force of Duty as Jenny
1990
- Hidden Agenda as Teresa Doyle
1988
- Crossfire as Scanlon's Girl
1987
- Hidden City as Cleaner
1985
- Screen Two as Jean McBride