Michelle Fairley

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

72

Gender

Female

Birthday

1963-07-11 (62 years old)

Place of Birth

Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, UK

Michelle Fairley

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

  • Game of Thrones

    Game of Thrones

  • Midsomer Murders

    Midsomer Murders

  • Suits

    Suits

  • 24

    24

  • Casualty

    Casualty

  • Casualty

    Casualty

  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

  • Gangs of London

    Gangs of London

  • Misfits

    Misfits

  • The Others

    The Others

  • Trial & Retribution

    Trial & Retribution

  • Crossing Lines

    Crossing Lines

  • Lovejoy

    Lovejoy

  • Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

    Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

  • Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero

    Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero

  • Resurrection

    Resurrection

  • Lark Rise to Candleford

    Lark Rise to Candleford

  • In the Heart of the Sea

    In the Heart of the Sea

  • The White Princess

    The White Princess

  • Fortitude

    Fortitude

  • Small Things Like These

    Small Things Like These

  • Rebus

    Rebus

  • Common

    Common

  • Flea Bites

    Flea Bites

  • The Second Death

    The Second Death

  • Rebellion

    Rebellion

  • Anton Chekhov's The Duel

    Anton Chekhov's The Duel

  • Cardiac Arrest

    Cardiac Arrest

  • In Deep

    In Deep

  • The Long Roads

    The Long Roads

  • Philomena

    Philomena

  • A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries

    A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries

  • Whistle

    Whistle

  • Vicious Circle

    Vicious Circle

  • Responsible Child

    Responsible Child

  • Montana

    Montana

  • Nobody Has to Know

    Nobody Has to Know

  • The Gone

    The Gone

  • National Theatre Live: Julius Caesar

    National Theatre Live: Julius Caesar

  • The Feed

    The Feed

  • The Precious Blood

    The Precious Blood

  • Force of Duty

    Force of Duty

  • The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling

    The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling

  • Hidden City

    Hidden City

  • The Invisible Woman

    The Invisible Woman

  • Ironclad 2: Battle for Blood

    Ironclad 2: Battle for Blood

  • The Broker's Man

    The Broker's Man

  • An Irish Goodbye

    An Irish Goodbye

  • The Golden Hour

    The Golden Hour

  • Game of Thrones: The Last Watch

    Game of Thrones: The Last Watch

  • Cup Cake

    Cup Cake

  • Births, Marriages and Deaths

    Births, Marriages and Deaths

  • Hidden Agenda

    Hidden Agenda

  • Edith

    Edith

  • Hideous Kinky

    Hideous Kinky

  • Life After Life

    Life After Life

  • Safe And Sound

    Safe And Sound

  • The Trap

    The Trap

  • Comics

    Comics

  • McCready and Daughter

    McCready and Daughter

  • A Mug's Game

    A Mug's Game

  • Nazis, U-boats and the Battle for the Atlantic

    Nazis, U-boats and the Battle for the Atlantic

  • Chatroom

    Chatroom

  • The Road to Partition

    The Road to Partition

  • Crossfire

    Crossfire

  • Untameable

    Untameable

  • To Provide All People

    To Provide All People

  • The Trap

    The Trap

  • A Short Stay in Switzerland

    A Short Stay in Switzerland

  • Ahead of the Class

    Ahead of the Class

  • Best: His Mother's Son

    Best: His Mother's Son

  • Lesson 7

    Lesson 7