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 on September 25, 1964) is a talented Irish singer and actress. She has been performing for over 30 years. This makes her one of Ireland's most active artists.

As an actress, she is well-known for her many TV roles. 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) and Siobhán Sadler in Orphan Black (2013–2017). From 2018 to 2022, she was Jocasta Cameron in Outlander. In 2022, she starred as Tannie Maria in the series Recipes for Love and Murder. This show is set in South Africa.

Maria Doyle Kennedy has also appeared in many movies. Some of these are The Commitments (1991), Sing Street (2016), and The Conjuring 2 (2016). In 2020, she was named one of Ireland's greatest film actors by The Irish Times.

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

Early Life and Beginnings

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

She started singing at a young age. Her family loved music and singing together. Her first public performance was at one of her parents' parties when she was 13. She did not plan to be a singer until after college. She studied political science and business at Trinity College Dublin. She also did not think about acting until she was already a singer.

Maria's Music Journey

Starting with The Black Velvet Band

Maria started a band called The Black Velvet Band with Kieran Kennedy. He later became her husband. Music quickly became a big part of her life. Their first album, When Justice Came, came out in 1989. It was recorded in Los Angeles and reached number four on the Irish music charts. It is considered one of the best Irish albums from that time. Their second album, King of Myself, was released in 1992.

In 1994, Maria was featured on a popular album called The Lady Sings The Blues. This album also included famous singers like Aretha Franklin and Billie Holiday. This helped Maria become known in Europe, the U.S., and Japan. She toured Europe and received great reviews from newspapers like The Guardian and The Times.

Maria also created a documentary called Golden Boy. It was about the Irish artist Patrick Scott. She even started her own company, Mermaid Films, for this project. She has also worked as a broadcaster on Irish television.

Solo Music Career

After her time with The Black Velvet Band, Maria started her solo music career. In 2000, she founded her own music label, Mermaid Records. Her first solo album, Charm, was released in 2001. It included the songs "Stars Above" and "Babes".

In 2003, she put together a collection of songs by female artists called Sirens. That same year, she performed on the TV show Other Voices. She also released a special album called Skullcover for a short time. It featured her versions of popular songs like "Lovesong" and "Video Killed the Radio Star".

Her album Mütter came out in 2007. The magazine Hot Press praised her, saying she has "one of the finest voices this country has ever produced." She was nominated for Best Irish Female 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 traditional Appalachian folk and country songs. She also released La Sirena 1992-1997, which was a collection of rock songs she recorded earlier. Her sixth album, Sing, came out in September 2012.

In 2014 and 2015, she released two more albums. Maria Live was a live album recorded with her husband. Mütter's Daughter included new and old songs from her Mütter album.

Maria continued to work on new music with her husband. In 2015, she wrote a song called "Pride" about the Irish Marriage Referendum. She also wrote a song about police violence in the United States. Both songs appeared on her self-titled ninth album, Maria Doyle Kennedy, released in 2017.

Hot Press magazine has called her "truly one of Ireland's greatest vocalists." BBC Music said her voice "sets her apart" from other singers. In 2021, Maria Doyle Kennedy released her tenth studio album, Fire on the Roof of Eden.

Maria's Acting Roles

Early Acting Roles

Maria Doyle Kennedy's first acting role was in 1991. She played Natalie Murphy in the musical movie The Commitments. The director, Alan Parker, chose her and other singers for the film. An image of Maria as Natalie Murphy was even featured on an Irish postage stamp in 1996.

She continued to act in many films and TV shows. These included The Matchmaker (1997), The General (1998), and the TV series Queer as Folk (1999). In 2006, she had success in the TV series Hide & Seek.

Well-Known TV Roles

From 2007 to 2010, Maria gained wide recognition for playing Catherine of Aragon in the historical TV series The Tudors. In 2010, she played Sonya, a nanny, in the crime drama series Dexter. She also acted in her first Irish-language role in the TG4 series Corp & Anam in 2011.

Also in 2011, she joined the cast of Downton Abbey. She played Vera Bates, the estranged wife of the Earl of Grantham's valet. That same year, she had a small role as a maid named Mary in the movie Albert Nobbs.

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

Science Fiction and Fantasy Roles

In 2013, Maria Doyle Kennedy began starring in the Canadian science fiction thriller series Orphan Black. She played Siobhán Sadler. She decided to join the show because the showrunner said her character was inspired by the musician Patti Smith. The series was very popular and won many awards. Maria won a Canadian Screen Award for her role. She was a main cast member from the first season until the fifth and final season.

She returned to her role as Mairéad Mhic Iarnáin for the second series of Corp & Anam in 2014. She also played Jupiter's mother, Aleksa, in the 2015 science fiction action film Jupiter Ascending. In 2016, Maria starred as Penny in the musical comedy-drama film Sing Street. She also appeared in The Conjuring 2, a sequel to the supernatural horror film The Conjuring.

In 2017, Maria was cast as Roisin Kelly in the miniseries Redwater.

From 2018 to 2022, Maria Doyle Kennedy played Jocasta MacKenzie Cameron in the historical romantic drama series Outlander. This show is based on the popular book series by Diana Gabaldon. She also starred as George Cusack in the second season of the RTÉ One drama series Striking Out.

In 2020, Maria was cast as Ila in the epic fantasy drama series The Wheel of Time. This series is based on the novel series by Robert Jordan.

Personal Life

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

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

Influences and Inspirations

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

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

Discography

With The Black Velvet Band

Studio albums

Solo

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

DVD albums

Singles

Filmography

Film

Television

Music video

Awards and Nominations