Frances O'Connor Biography

Frances Ann O'Connor (born 12 June 1967) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her roles in such films as Mansfield Park (1999), Bedazzled (2000), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), The Importance of Being Earnest (2002), and Timeline (2003). O'Connor has won an AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Blessed (2009), and earned a Golden Globe Award nominations for Madame Bovary (2000), and BBC miniseries The Missing (2014).

Life and career

O'Connor was born in Wantage, Oxfordshire, England to a pianist mother and nuclear physicist father; her family moved to Perth, Australia when she was two. O'Connor was raised Roman Catholic, and attended the Mercedes College in Perth. She then went on to attend the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and earned a BA in literature from the Curtin University of Technology in Western Australia. O'Connor and her long-term partner, Gerald Lepkowski, have a son, Luka, born in April 2005.

O'Connor made her film debut in Emma-Kate Croghan's critically acclaimed independent romantic comedy Love and Other Catastrophes (1996). She received her first AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role nomination for her performance in this movie. In 1997 she had the leading role in Kiss or Kill, and starred opposite Cate Blanchett and Richard Roxburgh in Thank God He Met Lizzie. In 1999, O'Connor starred as Fanny Price in the British romantic comedy-drama Mansfield Park. The film also received favorable reviews from critics. In the next year O'Connor earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance as Emma Bovary in Madame Bovary.

In 2000, O'Connor began her career in Hollywood, with role in the comedy film Bedazzled, remake of the 1967 film of the same name, opposite Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley. In the following year she had a leading role in the Steven Spielberg science fiction drama A.I. Artificial Intelligence. She was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film. In 2002, she starred alongside Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, and Judi Dench in the romantic comedy-drama The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Oliver Parker, and based on Oscar Wilde's classic comedy of manners play. In 2003, O'Connor starred opposite Paul Walker in the science fiction film Timeline, which bombed at the box office.

In 2004, O'Connor returned to independent movies and starred in Iron Jawed Angels with Hilary Swank, Julia Ormond, and Anjelica Huston. She received two more AACTA Award for Best Actress nominations for Three Dollars (2005) and The Hunter. In 2008, she starred in the short-lived ABC comedy-drama series Cashmere Mafia opposite Lucy Liu, Miranda Otto, and Bonnie Somerville. In 2009 she won an AACTA Award for Best Actress for her performance in Blessed. She later appeared in Jayne Mansfield's Car, Little Red Wagon, and The Truth About Emanuel. In 2011, O'Connor was cast in the ABC drama pilot Hallelujah, created by Marc Cherry, but the show was not picked up to series. From 2013 to 2014 she starred as Rose Selfridge in the British period drama Mr Selfridge. In 2014, O'Connor was cast as lead in the British drama The Missing. She also appeared as Belle's mother Colette for the fourth season of the American series Once Upon a Time.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Bathing Boxes	2nd woman	Short film
1996	Love and Other Catastrophes	Mia	Nominated"?AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1997	Kiss or Kill	Nikki Davies	Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actress Montreal World Film Festival Award for Best Actress Nominated"?AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1997	Thank God He Met Lizzie	Jenny	Nominated"?AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated"?Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actress
1998	A Little Bit of Soul	Kate Haslett
1999	A Margherita with Hot Salami	Diana	Short film
1999	Mansfield Park	Fanny Price	Nominated"?Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2000	About Adam	Laura Owens
2000	Madame Bovary	Emma Bovary	TV Movie Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
2000	Bedazzled	Alison / Nicole
2001	A.I. Artificial Intelligence	Monica Swinton	Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Actress Nominated"?AACTA Award for Featured Actor of the Year"?Female"?Movies Nominated"?Empire Award for Best Actress
2002	The Importance of Being Earnest	Gwendolen Fairfax
2002	Windtalkers	Rita
2003	Timeline	Kate Ericson
2004	Iron Jawed Angels	Lucy Burns
2004	Book of Love	Elaine Walker
2005	Three Dollars	Tanya Harnovey	Nominated"?AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
2005	The Lazarus Child	Alison Heywood
2005	Piccadilly Jim	Ann Chester
2009	Blessed	Rhonda	AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actress
2011	The Hunter	Lucy	Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated"?AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
2012	Jayne Mansfield's Car	Camilla Bedford
2012	Best Man Down	Jaime
2012	Little Red Wagon	Margaret Craig
2013	The Truth About Emanuel	Janice	Ashland Independent Film Festival Award for Best Acting Ensemble
2014	Mercy

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Law of the Land	Marissa Green	Series regular
1994	'	Georgina	Episode: "Heaven Knows Mr. McHugh"
1995	The Man from Snowy River	Rachel McAlister	Episodes: "A New Life: Part 1" and "A New Life: Part 2"
1995	Halifax f.p.	Frances	Episode: "The Feeding"
1996	Blue Heelers	Gabe Greenway	3 episodes
1996	G.P.	Karen Papadopoulos	Episode: "Someone to Turn To"
1997	Frontline	Kristy	Episode: "I Get the Big Names"
2008	Cashmere Mafia	Zoe Burden	Series regular, 7 episodes
2011	Ice	Sarah	Miniseries
2011	Hallelujah	Ruth Turner	TV pilot
2013	Vegas	Barbara Kent	Episode: "From This Day Forward"
2013-2014	Mr Selfridge	Rose Selfridge	Series regular, 20 episodes
2014	The Missing	Emily Hughes	Miniseries Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film