Early life

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 years old. She is the middle of five children, with one older brother, one older sister, and two younger sisters. 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 Bachelor of Arts degree in literature from Curtin University in Western Australia.

Career

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 the film. 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 favourable reviews from critics. The following year, O'Connor earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance as Emma Bovary in the film Madame Bovary.

In 2000, O'Connor began her career in Hollywood with a role in the comedy film Bedazzled, a remake of the 1967 film of the same name. She starred opposite Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley. 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 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 films 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 was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film for her performance in the series. She then appeared as Belle's mother Colette in the fourth season of the American series Once Upon a Time. In 2016, O'Connor will co-star in the New Zealand-Australian drama series Cleverman opposite Iain Glen, and the horror film The Conjuring 2 alongside Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson.

Personal life

O'Connor and her long-term partner, Gerald Lepkowski, welcomed a son, Luka, in May 2005. The couple married in 2011 at O'Connor's mother's residence in Australia.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Bathing Boxes	2nd Woman	Short film
1996	Love and Other Catastrophes	Mia
1997	Kiss or Kill	Nikki Davies
1997	Thank God He Met Lizzie	Jenny Follett
1998	A Little Bit of Soul	Kate Haslett
1999	A Margherita with Hot Salami	Diana	Short film
1999	Mansfield Park	Fanny Price
2000	About Adam	Laura Owens
2000	Bedazzled	Alison Gardner
2001	A.I. Artificial Intelligence	Monica Swinton
2002	The Importance of Being Earnest	Gwendolen Fairfax
2002	Windtalkers	Rita Swelton
2003	Timeline	Kate Ericson
2004	Iron Jawed Angels	Lucy Burns
2004	Book of Love	Elaine Walker
2005	Three Dollars	Tanya Harnovey
2005	The Lazarus Child	Alison Heywood
2005	Piccadilly Jim	Ann Chester
2009	Blessed	Rhonda
2011	The Hunter	Lucy Armstrong
2012	Jayne Mansfield's Car	Camilla Bedford
2012	Best Man Down	Jaime Anderson
2012	Little Red Wagon	Margaret Craig
2013	The Truth About Emanuel	Janice
2014	Mercy	Rebecca McCoy
2016	The Conjuring 2	Peggy Hodgson	Completed

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Law of the Land	Marissa Green	Unknown episodes
1994	The Damnation of Harvey McHugh	Georgina	Episode: "Heaven Knows Mr. McHugh"
1995	The Man from Snowy River	Rachel McAlister	2 episodes
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"
2000	Madame Bovary	Emma Bovary	Television film
2008	Cashmere Mafia	Zoe Burden	7 episodes
2009	Nova	Emma Darwin	Episode: "Darwin's Darkest Hour"
2011	Ice	Sarah Fitch	Miniseries; 2 episodes
2011	Hallelujah	Ruth Turner	Unsold pilot
2013	Vegas	Barbara Kent	Episode: "From This Day Forward"
2013-14	Mr Selfridge	Rose Selfridge	20 episodes
2014	The Missing	Emily Hughes	Miniseries; 8 episodes
2014	Once Upon a Time	Colette	Episode: "Family Business"
2016	Cleverman	Charlotte	Upcoming series

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result
1996	AACTA Awards	Best Actress in a Leading Role	Love and Other Catastrophes	Nominated
1997			Kiss or Kill	Nominated
	Film Critics Circle of Australia	Best Actress		Won
	Montreal World Film Festival	Best Actress		Won
	AACTA Awards	Best Actress in a Leading Role	Thank God He Met Lizzie	Nominated
1999	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy	Mansfield Park	Nominated
2000	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film	Madame Bovary	Nominated
2001	Saturn Awards	Best Actress	A.I. Artificial Intelligence	Nominated
	American Film Institute	Featured Actor of the Year - Female - Movies		Nominated
2002	Empire Awards	Best Actress		Nominated
2005	AACTA Awards	Best Actress in a Leading Role	Three Dollars	Nominated
2009			Blessed	Won
	Film Critics Circle of Australia	Best Actress		Won
2011	Film Critics Circle of Australia	Best Actress	The Hunter	Won
	AACTA Awards	Best Actress in a Leading Role		Nominated
2013	Ashland Independent Film Festival	Best Acting Ensemble	The Truth About Emanuel	Won
2014	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film	The Missing	Nominated
	Golden Nymph Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries		Won

[ Source: Wikipedia ]