Maria Doyle Kennedy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Maria Doyle Kennedy
Maria Doyle Kennedy in 2014
Born	Maria Josephine Doyle (1964-09-25) 25 September 1964 (age 60) Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Singer actress
Years active	1980s–present
Spouse(s)	Kieran Kennedy ​ (m. 1988)​
Children	4
Musical career
Genres	Folk alternative folk country folk Appalachian rock
Instruments	Vocals
Associated acts	Snow Patrol Kieran Kennedy The Black Velvet Band John Prine Damien Rice Paul Brady

Maria Josephine Doyle Kennedy (born 25 September 1964) is a talented Irish singer and actress. She has been performing for over 30 years. Maria is known as one of Ireland's most active artists.

As an actress, she has played many roles on TV. These include Patsy in Father Ted (1998) and Catherine of Aragon in The Tudors (2007–2010). She also played Vera Bates in Downton Abbey (2011). Later, she was Siobhán Sadler in Orphan Black (2013–2017). More recently, she played Jocasta Cameron in Outlander (2018–present). In 2022, she starred as Tannie Maria in Recipes for Love and Murder. This show is set in South Africa.

Maria Doyle Kennedy has also been in many movies. Some of these are The Commitments (1991) and Sing Street (2016). In 2020, she was named one of Ireland's greatest film actors. She was number 46 on The Irish Times list.

As a singer, Maria has released nine solo albums. She also released two live albums. Before her solo career, she released two albums with her band, The Black Velvet Band.

Maria's Early Life and Passions

Maria Doyle Kennedy was born in Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland. Her family later moved to Enniscorthy, County Wexford. This was because of her father's job. They finally settled in Bray, County Wicklow. Maria still feels a strong connection to Bray.

She started singing when she was very young. Her family loved to sing together. Maria first sang in public at one of her parents' parties. She was 13 years old then. She didn't plan to be a professional singer at first. She studied political science and business at Trinity College Dublin. She only thought about acting after she became a singer.

Maria's Amazing Career Journey

Exploring Music and Sound

Maria started a band called The Black Velvet Band. She formed it with her future husband, Kieran Kennedy. Music quickly became a huge part of her life. Their first album, When Justice Came, came out in 1989. It was recorded in Los Angeles. The album reached number four on the Irish music charts. It is considered one of the best Irish albums from the late 1980s.

She then worked with producers Clive Langer and Allen Winstanley. They recorded her second Black Velvet Band album, King of Myself, in 1992. In 1994, Maria was featured on The Lady Sings The Blues. This album also included famous singers like Aretha Franklin and Billie Holiday. It became a best-selling album. This helped Maria become known in Europe, the U.S., and Japan.

She toured Europe for the first time. She received great reviews from The Guardian and The Times. Maria also produced a documentary called Golden Boy. It was about the Irish artist Patrick Scott. She even created her own company, Mermaid Films, for this project. She has also been a TV presenter in Ireland.

After her time with The Black Velvet Band, Maria started her solo music career. In 2000, she founded her own record label, Mermaid Records. Her first solo album, Charm, was released in 2001. It included the singles "Stars Above" and "Babes". In 2003, she put together Sirens. This was a collection of songs by female artists. That same year, she performed on the TV show Other Voices.

She released an album called Skullcover in 2004-2005. This album had her versions of popular songs. These included "Lovesong" and "Video Killed the Radio Star". In 2008, she was nominated for a Best Irish Female award. This was at the 2008 Meteor Awards. A DVD album called The Band of Maria's was also released. It showed live performances from her tour.

In 2011, Maria and her husband Kieran released The Storms Are on the Ocean. This album featured Appalachian folk and country songs. She also released La Sirena 1992-1997. This was a collection of rock songs she recorded earlier. Her sixth album, Sing, came out in September 2012. Warner Music Group helped distribute it in the UK.

In 2014 and 2015, she released two more albums. Maria Live was a live album with her husband. Mütter's Daughter had new and old songs from her album Mütter. In 2015, Maria wrote a song called "Pride". This was about the Irish Marriage Referendum of 2015. She also wrote a song about police violence in the United States. Both songs are on her self-titled ninth album. "Pride" was the first single, released in June 2017. The album came out in September.

Hot Press magazine called her "truly one of Ireland's greatest vocalists." BBC Music said her voice "sets her apart." Nicole Byrne of Shout4Music called Sing "one of the best Irish albums of the year." Maria's voice is often called one of Ireland's national treasures. On 4 May 2021, Maria released her tenth studio album, Fire on the Roof of Eden.

Acting on Screen

Maria's first acting role was in 1991. She played Natalie Murphy in the movie The Commitments. The director, Alan Parker, chose her and other singers for the film. A picture of Maria as Natalie Murphy was even put on an Irish postage stamp. This stamp was part of a series celebrating Irish cinema.

She continued to act in more films. These included The Matchmaker (1997) and The General (1998). She also appeared in the miniseries Oliver Twist (1999). In 2006, she had success on TV in the series Hide & Seek.

From 2007 to 2010, Maria gained wide fame. She played Katherine of Aragon in the TV series The Tudors. In 2010, she played Sonya in Dexter. Sonya was a nanny to Dexter Morgan's son. In 2011, she acted in her first Irish-language role in Corp & Anam. That same year, she joined Downton Abbey. She played Vera Bates, the estranged wife of the Earl's valet. She also had a small role in the film Albert Nobbs.

In 2012, Maria played a main role in the miniseries Titanic. She also appeared with Saoirse Ronan in the film Byzantium. This movie premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.

In 2013, Maria started co-starring in Orphan Black. This was a Canadian science fiction thriller. She played Siobhán Sadler. Maria decided to join the show when she learned her character was inspired by Patti Smith. The series was very popular and won many awards. Maria won a Canadian Screen Award for her role. She was part of the main cast for all five seasons.

She returned to her role as Mairéad Mhic Iarnáin in Corp & Anam in 2014. She also played Jupiter's mother, Aleksa, in the 2015 film Jupiter Ascending. In 2016, Maria starred as Penny in the musical film Sing Street. This movie debuted at South by Southwest. She also appeared in The Conjuring 2, a horror film sequel.

In 2017, Maria was cast as Jocasta MacKenzie Cameron. This was for the fourth season of Outlander. The show is based on the novel series by Diana Gabaldon. The season started in 2018, and she continued in the role for several seasons. In 2018, she also played George Cusack in the second season of Striking Out.

In 2020, Maria was cast as Ila in The Wheel of Time. This fantasy series is based on Robert Jordan's novel series.

Maria's Personal Life

Maria Doyle Kennedy met musician Kieran Kennedy at one of her gigs. He asked her to sing on his demo. This turned into their first date. They got married in 1988. Maria and Kieran have four sons.

Maria believes music is the most important part of her life. She prefers her music work over acting. She says, "I do not miss acting when I am not doing it, but I would not spend a day without singing." She still gets nervous before singing on stage. But she has learned ways to control her nerves. When acting, Maria likes characters who are complex. She enjoys playing roles that show both a loving and a strong side.

Maria's Inspirations

Maria gets musical ideas from jazz singer Billie Holiday. She also admires American country singer John Prine. She even sang a duet with him on her Sing album. Another inspiration is Irish folk musician Dónal Lunny, who is a close friend. People have called her "an Irish Patti Smith."

For acting, Maria looks up to Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton. She even starred with them on Downton Abbey. Irish artist Patrick Scott was also a big inspiration for Maria. He was one of her dearest friends. She admired how he let his life influence his art. She found inspiration in his idea that people can still improve as they get older.

Maria's Music Albums

With The Black Velvet Band

Studio albums

Solo

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

DVD albums

Singles

Maria's Film and TV Roles

Film Appearances

Television Roles

Music Video Appearances

Awards and Recognitions

Maria Doyle Kennedy has won several awards for her acting and singing. Here are some of her notable awards and nominations: