Jump to content

Aisling Bea

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 78.144.248.97 (talk) at 22:51, 29 March 2019 (→Panel show appearances). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Aisling Bea
Bea on stage during the Wikimania 2014
Born
Aisling Cliodhnadh O'Sullivan

(1984-03-16) 16 March 1984 (age 40)
County Kildare, Ireland
NationalityIrish
Occupation(s)Actress, writer, comedian
Years active2002–present
WebsiteOfficial website

Aisling Bea (/ˈæʃlɪŋ/; born Aisling Cliodhnadh O'Sullivan, 16 March 1984) is an Irish actress, comedian and writer.

Early life

Bea was born and raised in rural County Kildare.[1][2] Her father, Brian, was an equine vet who died suddenly when she was three years old.[3] Bea and her younger sister, Sinéad,[4] were raised by their mother, Helen (née Moloney), a secondary school teacher, jockey trainer[5] and former professional jockey.[6][7] Her family were "obsessed" with horses and race meetings and, during her young years, Bea worked as a tour guide at the Irish National Stud.[3] However, she knew from a young age that she was not interested in the racing industry "as a career" and instead enjoyed performing.[3]

Her grandfather was the Irish language novelist and poet Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin; her great-aunt was the playwright Siobhán Ní Shúilleabháin.[8] Musician Liam O'Flynn was a family friend.[9]

When Bea was thirteen, her mother revealed that her father had died by suicide.[10] She adopted the stage name ‘Bea’ as a tribute to her father[11][4] and wrote an article for The Guardian in 2017 about her family's experience of suicide.[12]

Bea was educated at a Catholic convent school[13] and then studied French and philosophy at Trinity College Dublin.[2][14][13] She was part of a student sketch comedy group[15] and moved to London after graduation to study acting. In 2008, she completed a two-year course at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).[16]

Career

Bea on stage

After drama school, Bea spent two years trying to get work in theatre as a dramatic actress.[17] Instead, she found she was cast mainly in comedic television series including Cardinal Burns and Dead Boss (both 2012).[18][19] While filming Dead Boss in 2011, Bea decided to try stand-up comedy.[13][20] In 2012, she won the Gilded Balloon So You Think You're Funny award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe[21] and, in 2013, was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards for her show C'est La Bea.[22]

The exposure brought by these awards marked a "turning point" in Bea's career[23] and she began to appear as a regular guest on panel shows including QI and Insert Name Here.[24] Bea and Yasmine Akram co-wrote and co-hosted the BBC Radio 4 comedy folklore series Micks and Legends (2012, 2015);[25] it was nominated for a Chortle Award in 2013.[26] Bea won the 2014 British Comedy Award for Best Female TV Comic and returned to Edinburgh in 2015 with the live show Plan Bea. In 2016, she became a team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats and was a cast member on Taskmaster in 2017.

Bea has continued to act in television sitcoms including Trollied (2014–2015) and The Delivery Man (2015), and the crime dramas The Fall (2016) and Hard Sun (2018). In 2018, she and Sara Pascoe began to co-host the BBC Radio 2 comedy chat show What's Normal?.[27] She has recorded a 15 minute stand-up special to be aired on Netflix in late 2018.

Personal life

Bea was a vocal supporter of the Repeal the 8th campaign to introduce legal abortion in Ireland,[23][28] and contributed an essay to Una Mullally's Repeal the 8th in 2018.[29] She previously campaigned for same-sex marriage legislation in the successful 2015 Irish referendum.[23]

Filmography

Acting

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Fair City Cliodhna Norris 3 episodes
2009 We Are Klang Inspector 1 episode
2009 Roy Ticket girl 1 episode

Voice only

2009 Belonging to Laura Leanne Thompson TV3 television movie
2010 Inn Mates Elf Pilot
2009-2014 The Savage Eye Various 4 episodes
2010 L.O.L Various Pilot

(also writer)

2010 Freedom Aisling Pilot
2010 Come Fly with Me Mary O'Mara 1 episode
2011 Lewis Hotel receptionist 1 episode
2011 Holby City Amelia Warner 1 episode
2012 Cardinal Burns Sally 5 episodes
2012 Dead Boss Laura Stephens 6 episodes
2012 In with the Flynns Naimah 1 episode
2012 The Town Carly 3 episodes
2012 Trivia Ruth 6 episodes
2012 Assassin's Creed III Emily Burke Voice only

Video game

2013 Fit Various
2013 Soul Sacrifice Similia Voice only

Video game

2013 Quick Cuts Customer 1 episode
2013 Tattooed Eve Short
2013 Very Few Fish Gráinne Short
2014 Playhouse Presents Toddler Woman 1 episode
2014 The Architects Hayley BBC Radio 4 sitcom

4 episodes

2014 The Assets Kara Jensen 1 episode
2014 Vodka Diaries Nic Pilot
2014 The Sunny Emma Pilot
2014-2015 Trollied Charlie 13 episodes
2015 Funny Valentines Sarah Short

2 episodes

2015 The Delivery Man Lisa 13 episodes
2015 The Trap Marie Feature film
2015 Nish Kumar's Christmas Agent Short
2016 Bullet to the Heart Jane Short

(also writer)

2016 Damned Anne-Marie 1 episode
2016 The Fall Kiera Sheridan 4 episodes
2017 Drunk History Guinevere 1 episode
2017 Gap Year Kendra 2 episodes
2018 Hard Sun Mari Butler 5 episodes
2018 Plebs Minerva 1 episode
2018 I Feel Bad Simone 1 episode
2018 Finding Joy Amelia 6 episodes

Stand-up comedy

Year Title Channel Venue
2009 Sabotage BBC Radio 4 Extra Live at Hoxton Hall
2009 Fresh From The Fringe BBC Radio 4 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
2013 Seann Walsh's Late Night Comedy Spectacular BBC Three Edinburgh Festival Fringe
2013 Russell Howard's Good News BBC Three
2013 Set List Nerdist Channel
2014 Live At The Apollo BBC One Hammersmith Apollo
2014-2016 Channel 4's Comedy Gala Channel 4 O2 Arena
2018 Netflix Comedy Lineup Netflix

Panel show appearances

Since 2016, Bea is a team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats. She has made guest appearances on many other panel shows:

References

  1. ^ "Five Essentials: Actor". Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b "Aisling Bea Official Site". AislingBea.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b c "In another life: Aisling Bea". Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b Jones, Alice (12 August 2015). "Aisling Bea interview: The prize-winning comedian with the CV of a veteran on bringing her second stand-up show to the Fringe". The Independent. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  5. ^ http://www.edfestmag.com/20120815aislingbea/
  6. ^ "Insider Interrogation: writer and actor Aisling Bea - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  7. ^ Fitzpatrick, Richard (18 July 2014). "Funny woman, Aisling Bea, is of good stock". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  8. ^ "From horses to hilarity". Galway Advertiser. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  9. ^ @WeeMissBea (15 March 2018). "Aisling Bea" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "My father's death has given me a love of men, of their vulnerability and tenderness".
  11. ^ Fitzpatrick, Richard (18 July 2014). "Funny woman, Aisling Bea, is of good stock". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  12. ^ "Aisling Bea: 'My father's death has given me a love of men, of their vulnerability and tenderness'". the Guardian. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  13. ^ a b c "Prize-winning comedian Aisling Bea on making the leap into stand-up". The Independent. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  14. ^ Jarlath Regan (19 September 2015). "Aisling Bea". An Irishman Abroad (Podcast) (105 ed.). SoundCloud. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  15. ^ "Interviews - Development & Alumni". Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  16. ^ "The buzz about funny girl Aisling Bea". Mail Online. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Interview with Aisling Bea (Humour Me Comedy Podcast)". Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  18. ^ Gannon, Louise. "The buzz about funny girl Aisling Bea". Mail Online. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  19. ^ Jones, Alice (12 August 2015). "Prize-winning comedian Aisling Bea on making the leap into stand-up". The Independent. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  20. ^ "Biography.... WHO IS THIS BROAD?". www.aislingbea.com. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  21. ^ "Aisling Bea wins So You Think You're Funny". BBC News. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  22. ^ Duffy, Claire. "Aisling Bea is nominated for Edinburgh Fringe Best Newcomer Award". Entertainment.ie. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  23. ^ a b c Parkinson, Hannah Jane (18 September 2016). "Aisling Bea: 'I am making no money in LA, but creatively it is rewarding'". the Guardian. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  24. ^ "Interview: Rarely Asked Questions – Aisling Bea". Beyond The Joke. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  25. ^ "Comedy Irish Micks and Legends back on BBC Radio 4". RTE.ie. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  26. ^ "Irish Micks And Legends". www.radiolistings.co.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  27. ^ Guide, British Comedy (11 April 2018). "Sara Pascoe and Aisling Bea pilot Radio 2 chat show". Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  28. ^ "Standup for Choice - Repeal Eight". Repeal Eight. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  29. ^ "Autonomy edited by Kathy D'Arcy, Repeal the 8th edited by Una Mullally review". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aisling Bea.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Aisling_Bea&oldid=890080114"