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

  • Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero

    Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero

  • Lovejoy

    Lovejoy

  • Resurrection

    Resurrection

  • Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

    Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

  • Lark Rise to Candleford

    Lark Rise to Candleford

  • The White Princess

    The White Princess

  • In the Heart of the Sea

    In the Heart of the Sea

  • Fortitude

    Fortitude

  • Rebus

    Rebus

  • Small Things Like These

    Small Things Like These

  • Rebellion

    Rebellion

  • Common

    Common

  • Flea Bites

    Flea Bites

  • Cardiac Arrest

    Cardiac Arrest

  • The Second Death

    The Second Death

  • In Deep

    In Deep

  • Anton Chekhov's The Duel

    Anton Chekhov's The Duel

  • A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries

    A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries

  • Whistle

    Whistle

  • The Long Roads

    The Long Roads

  • Responsible Child

    Responsible Child

  • The Feed

    The Feed

  • National Theatre Live: Julius Caesar

    National Theatre Live: Julius Caesar

  • Montana

    Montana

  • Philomena

    Philomena

  • Nobody Has to Know

    Nobody Has to Know

  • The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling

    The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling

  • The Gone

    The Gone

  • Hidden City

    Hidden City

  • The Precious Blood

    The Precious Blood

  • Vicious Circle

    Vicious Circle

  • The Broker's Man

    The Broker's Man

  • The Invisible Woman

    The Invisible Woman

  • Hidden Agenda

    Hidden Agenda

  • Force of Duty

    Force of Duty

  • The Golden Hour

    The Golden Hour

  • Game of Thrones: The Last Watch

    Game of Thrones: The Last Watch

  • Ironclad 2: Battle for Blood

    Ironclad 2: Battle for Blood

  • Births, Marriages and Deaths

    Births, Marriages and Deaths

  • An Irish Goodbye

    An Irish Goodbye

  • Cup Cake

    Cup Cake

  • Edith

    Edith

  • Hideous Kinky

    Hideous Kinky

  • Safe And Sound

    Safe And Sound

  • Life After Life

    Life After Life

  • Comics

    Comics

  • McCready and Daughter

    McCready and Daughter

  • A Mug's Game

    A Mug's Game

  • The Trap

    The Trap

  • Chatroom

    Chatroom

  • To Provide All People

    To Provide All People

  • The Road to Partition

    The Road to Partition

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

    Nazis, U-boats and the Battle for the Atlantic

  • Crossfire

    Crossfire

  • Untameable

    Untameable

  • A Short Stay in Switzerland

    A Short Stay in Switzerland

  • The Trap

    The Trap

  • Best: His Mother's Son

    Best: His Mother's Son

  • Ahead of the Class

    Ahead of the Class

  • Lesson 7

    Lesson 7