Introduction
Science fiction and fantasy movies have some of the biggest fan bases, and any actor who appears in some of the big titles has made a fortune and gained fame for his or her entire lifetime. This happened to Irish actress Genevieve O’Reilly. Who is Genevieve O’Reilly truly? Is she married?
Early life and Education
Genevieve O’Reilly was born on 6 January 1977, in Dublin, Ireland, but was raised with three younger siblings in the capital city of South Australia, Adelaide, from 10 years of age. Her parent’s names and professions haven’t been disclosed, nor her early years and early education.
Happy Birthday to Genevieve O'Reilly!
Posted by Horrorbles on Friday, January 6, 2017
O’Reilly moved to Sydney, Australia, in 1997, so she could enroll at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA), and graduated in 2000 with a degree in Performing Arts. In 2005 she moved again, this time to London, to pursue further acting options.
Theatre Career
O’Reilly started her career in theatre a week after her drama school graduation, as the understudy in “The White Devil”, directed by Gale Edwards. This helped her to land the role in another of Edwards’ productions, this time in the Sydney Theatre Company version of William Congreve’s “The Way of the World”.
Her other theatre works include “Richard II”, played at the Old Vic, as well as Conor McPherson’s “The Weir”, performed at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. She also performed at the Royal National Theatre in London in the production of Ibsen’s “Emperor and Galilean” from 2011, portraying Helena, wife of emperor Julian who was played by Andrew Scott, as well as in “13” directed by Mike Bartlett. In 2012, she performed in “The Doctor’s Dilemma” by George Bernard Shaw, and he was also seen in Abi Morgan’s “Splendour” in 2015 portraying Kathryn. During 2017 she performed in “The Ferryman” as Mary Carney, firstly at the Royal Court Theatre, continuing at the Gielgud Theatre located in London’s West End.
Film and Television Career
O’Reilly’s television debut came when she landed a guest role in the adventure series “Beast Master”, as the character of Nagha in the 2001 episode entitled “Slayer’s Return”. After that she appeared as Officer Wirtz in sequels of “The Matrix” – “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions”, both in 2003. The next year she appeared in the science fiction film from Singapore, “Avatar” – also known as “Matrix Hunter”, “Cyber Wars” and “Avatar Exile”. The film was directed by Kuo Jian Hong and O’Reilly starred as headhunter Dash MacKenzie.
In 2005 O’Reilly was cast as Mon Mothma, the Republic senator and later leader of the Rebel Alliance in the prequel of the popular “Star Wars” franchise “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”.
Most of her scenes were eventually cut, but she can be seen in the bonus material that was included in the DVD release. This gave her a huge fan base, as Mon Mothma was a character who first appeared in the “Star Wars: Episode VI – Empire Strikes Back” in 1983, and was loved by many then!
Apart from her appearances in two big science fiction serials, “The Matrix” and “Star Wars”, O’Reilly can be seen in a number of other television series and films, including “All Saints” medical drama portraying Leanne Curtis, “The State Within”, “Diana: Last Days of a Princess”, a docudrama where she played Princess Diana, and in “The Time of Your Life”.
She appeared in the eighth season of “Spooks”, a BBC drama, as CIA officer Sarah Caulfield. In 2009, she portrayed Michelle Beadly in BBC’s remake of the famous “The Day of the Triffids”, and in 2011 landed the role of Jamie Lapidus, TV executive’s Merc Lapidus’ blind wife, in the BBC comedy “Episodes”, a role she kept until 2014.
O’Reilly had a guest role in the first episode of “Crossing Lines”, an international crime drama series that aired in 2013. Two years later, O’Reilly was cast in two starring roles, firstly in “Banished” directed by Jimmy McGovern, portraying Mary Johnson, and the second as Dr. Elishia McKellar in “Glitch”, a paranormal drama series set in the fictional Australian town Yoorana.
O’Reilly reprised the role of Mon Mothma in late 2016, when she appeared in another “Star Wars” prequel, “Rogue One”, and she even voiced Mon Mothma in “Star Wars Rebels”, an animated TV show from 2017.
In 2019 she played Sophie in “The Kid Who Would Be King”, and also landed the role of Mrs Smith in “Tolkien”, a biographical drama about the great J. R. R. Tolkien, writer of “Lord of the Rings”, “The Hobbit” and many other epic fantasy books.
O’Reilly also voiced Moira in video game “Overwatch”.
Personal Life
O’Reilly keeps her life private, but she’s married to Luke Mulvihill for more than 15 years, but the exact date or year of their wedding isn’t known. The couple has two children, a daughter named Harper and a son whose name they haven’t revealed. In 2005 O’Reilly moved to the London, UK, with her husband, and as of March 2020 is still residing there. In an interview for Express, she said this about moving away from her parents: ‘They’re very positive, energetic and outgoing so they painted it as an adventure, so there was never any feeling of loss or sorrow.’
Apart from her acting career, O’Reilly works as an agent at UK literary and talent agency United Agents.
Net Worth
O’Reilly is considered one of the richer stage actresses in Australia, despite being best known for her roles in science fiction films and series. As of 2020, her net worth is estimated at close to million and $5 million.
Physical characteristics
O’Reilly is a natural blonde, with light blue eyes. She stands at 5ft 5ins (1.65 meters) tall, her weight is around 127lbs (57kgs), and her vital statistics are 35-23-33; her bra size is 32C.