Jessie Buckley is one of the most versatile actresses in Hollywood at the moment. She’s only received more attention in recent years. Jessie’s breakout role came in 2021 when she starred in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut The Lost Daughter. Now, she’s won a Golden Globe for her performance in Hamnet.
Throughout her career, the actress has had a number of major roles in recent years. From her past roles to singing skills, here are five key things you should know about Jessie.
Jessie was born in Killarney, County Kerry. She studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music as a child and later went on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She graduated from the latter in 2013.
The actress has starred in a number of television shows, including War and Peace, Chernobyl, and Fargo. She also starred in The Woman in White, Wild Rose, and recently I’m Thinking of Ending Things. Outside of the film and TV world, she was also the star of the National Theater’s production of Romeo & Juliet, which aired on PBS in April 2021 as part of Great Performances. Jessie starred as the one and only Juliet, alongside fellow actor Josh O’Connor’s Romeo, in this contemporary telling of William Shakespeare’s epic romantic tragedy.
Jessie showed off her incredible vocals skills in the 2018 film Wild Rose. She played Rose-Lynn, an aspiring country singer living in Glasgow. Jessie did all of her own singing for the film and recorded the songs in London, Glasgow, and Nashville. She worked with a band and rehearsed for months before filming began, according to the Los Angeles Times. She continued to perform with the band after the movie was released in concerts around the U.K. In 2022, she dropped a collaborative album with Bernard Buckley called For All Our Days That Tear The Heart. The pair promoted their record and appearances via their joint Instagram account.
Jessie competed on the BBC TV series I’d Do Anything in 2008. The competition series searched for a lead to play Nancy in the West End stage revival of Oliver! Jessie came in second place.
Jessie and actor James Norton dated from 2015 to 2017. They met on the set of the BBC One miniseries War & Peace, which premiered in 2016. Despite their split, Jessie and James have remained friends. “We have broken up, yes,” she told The Times in 2018. “It was acrimonious, but it’s a tough job to have a relationship and he is a great man and we are great friends. That’s it. How diplomatic can I sound?”
