Early life

Elaine Cassidy's family moved to Kilcoole, County Wicklow, when she was three years old. Her first role was as the title character in a school production of Pinocchio when she was five.

Career

In 1996, she was nominated for the Most Promising Actress at the Geneva Film Festival for her role in The Sun, the Moon and the Stars. She played the starring role in Felicia's Journey with Bob Hoskins, for which she was nominated Best Actress at the 20th Genie Awards. She has won 2 Irish Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTA) for Best Actress in a Lead Role in Film in 2003 for her role as Runt in Disco Pigs, opposite Cillian Murphy, and in 2010 for Best Actress in a Lead Role in Television for her role as Abby Mills in the American CBS TV series Harper's Island. She was also nominated for an IFTA in 2005 as Best Actress in a Lead Role in Television for her role as "Maud Lilly" in the BBC BAFTA nominated drama Fingersmith, in 2007 as Best Actress in a Supporting Role in Film for her role as Sandra in And When Did You Last See Your Father? alongside Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth, and in 2009 as Best Actress in a Lead Role in Television for her role as Annie Mulcahy in Little White Lie.

She is also a stage actress, appearing in The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2002) and The Crucible (2006) with the Royal Shakespeare Company and in There Came A Gypsy Riding at the Almeida Theatre in 2007. She appeared in the music video for Coldplay's "The Scientist". She plays DC Dinah Kowalska in Paul Abott's No Offence.

She also plays Maureen in the one-off ITV drama special of the book Just Henry, which was made into film in August 2011 and screen on ITV on 18 December 2011.

Personal life

She is married to actor Stephen Lord, whom she met on the set of The Truth. They live in Greenwich, London, with their daughter Kila, born on 16 September 2009. Their second child, a son named Lynott Lord Cassidy, was born around 23 January 2013.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Stranger Within Me, TheThe Stranger Within Me	Michelle	Short film
1996	Sun, the Moon and the Stars, TheThe Sun, the Moon and the Stars	Shelley
1999	Felicia's Journey	Felicia
2001	Others, TheThe Others	Lydia
2001	Disco Pigs	Runt - Sinead
2002	Bay of Love and Sorrows, TheThe Bay of Love and Sorrows	Carrie Matchett
2006	Truth, TheThe Truth	Candy
2007	And When Did You Last See Your Father?	Sandra
2012	Hannah Cohen's Holy Communion	Rachel Cohen	Short film
2014	Loft, TheThe Loft	Ellie Seacord
2015	Program, TheThe Program	Betsy Andreu
????	Strangeways Here We Come	Steph Nolan	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Mission Top Secret	Mary	"The Crown Jewels Are Missing"
2001	Lost World, TheThe Lost World	Agnes Cluny	TV film
2003	Watermelon	Anna Ryan	TV film
2005	Uncle Adolf	Geli Raubal	TV film
2005	Fingersmith	Maud Lilly	TV miniseries
2005	Ghost Squad, TheThe Ghost Squad	Det. Amy Harris	Main role
2007	Room with a View, AA Room with a View	Lucy Honeychurch	TV film
2008	Little White Lie	Annie Mulcahy	TV film
2009	Dr Hoo	Zara	TV series
2009	Harper's Island	Abby Mills	Lead role
2011	Just Henry	Maureen Dodge	TV film
2011	Miraculous Year, TheThe Miraculous Year	Brona McKinney	TV film
2012-13	Paradise, TheThe Paradise	Katherine Weston	Main role
2015	No Offence	DC Dinah Kowalska	Main role

Theatre

• The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2002)
• Scenes from the Big Picture (2002)
• The Crucible (2006)
• There Came a Gypsy Riding (2007)
• Les Liaisons Dangereuses (2015)

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Result	Role
1996	Geneva Film Festival	Most Promising Actress	Won	Shelley in The Sun, the Moon and the Stars
2000	Golden Satellite Award	Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama	Nominated	Felicia in Felicia's Journey
	Genie Award	Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role	Nominated
2002	British Independent Film Award	Best Actress	Nominated	Runt in Disco Pigs
2003	Irish Film and Television Awards	Best Actress in a Feature Film	Won
2005		Best Actress in Television	Nominated	Maud Lilly in Fingersmith
2008		Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Feature Film	Nominated	Sandra in And When Did You Last See Your Father?
2009		Best Actress in Television	Nominated	Annie Mulcahy in Little White Lie
2010		Best Actress in Television	Won	Abby Mills in Harper's Island
2016		Best Actress in a Lead Role - Drama	Nominated	Dinah Kowalska in No Offence

[ Source: Wikipedia ]