Michelle Fairley
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.
Available on CineVibes
Full Filmography
All Credits (75)
You'll Never Believe Who's Dead
as Mary Cosgrove
No Ordinary Heist
as Mags Fulton
How to Get to Heaven from Belfast
as Margo
Nazis, U-boats and the Battle for the Atlantic
as Narrator
Small Things Like These
as Mrs. Wilson
The Trap
as Michelle
The Gone
as Judge Hannah Martin
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
as Princess Augusta
Untameable
as Self
Nobody Has to Know
as Millie
An Irish Goodbye
as Grainne (voice)
The Road to Partition
as Narrator
Lesson 7
as Max
Gangs of London
as Marian Wallace
Responsible Child
as Kerry
Lost Lives
as Self (voice)
The Feed
as Meredith Hatfield
The Trap
as Michelle
Game of Thrones: The Last Watch
as Self
National Theatre Live: Julius Caesar
as Caius Cassius
The White Princess
as Margaret Beaufort
Edith
as Shelia
Rebellion
as Dolly Butler
In the Heart of the Sea
as Mrs. Nickerson
Fortitude
as Freya Lennox
Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero
as Queen Igneous (voice)
Montana
as DCI Rachel Jones
Common
as Shelagh
Resurrection
as Margaret Langston
Ironclad 2: Battle for Blood
as Joan De Vesci
The Invisible Woman
as Caroline Graves
Philomena
as Sally Mitchell
Crossing Lines
as Sophie Baines
Suits
as Ava Hessington
Chatroom
as Rosie
Anton Chekhov's The Duel
as Marya
Cup Cake
as Annie McNabb
Misfits
as Louise Young
Best: His Mother's Son
as Ann Best
A Short Stay in Switzerland
as Mrs. Savery
Lark Rise to Candleford
as Unknown
The Golden Hour
as Julia Harper
Ahead of the Class
as Sonia Venning
24
as Margot Al-Harazi
The Others
as Mrs. Marlish
McCready and Daughter
as Bernadette
In Deep
as Phoebe
Rebus
as Janice Mee
The Second Death
as Aisling
Births, Marriages and Deaths
as Pat
Vicious Circle
as Frances
Hideous Kinky
as Patricia
A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries
as Miss O'Shaunessy
The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling
as Mrs, Fitzpatrick
The Broker's Man
as Gabby Rodwell
Midsomer Murders
as Iris Holman
The Precious Blood
as Jean McBride
Silent Witness
as D.I. Suzy Harte
Life After Life
as Roisin Donaghy
Cardiac Arrest
as Casualty Sister Karen Teller
Comics
as Nula O'Reilly
The Long Roads
as Fiona Gibbons
Force of Duty
as Jenny
Hidden Agenda
as Teresa Doyle
Saracen
as Maeve
Crossfire
as Scanlon's Girl
Hidden City
as Cleaner
Casualty
as Kathy Emerick
Casualty
as Kate Maguire
ScreenPlay
as Jenny
Lovejoy
as Nancy Phelan
Theatre Night
as Ruth
Screen Two
as Jean McBride
Screen Two
as Roisin Donaghy
Screen Two
as Fiona Gibbons - Liverpool