Lorraine Pilkington (born 18 April 1974) is an Irish actress from Dublin who is best known for her roles as Katrina Finlay from Monarch of the Glen and Lulu in Human Traffic.
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Early life and education
Born in Dublin in 1974, one of four children, Pilkington grew up in the affluent suburban village of Malahide, and attended Manor House School, Raheny until the age of 15. She trained at the Gaiety School of Acting.
Career
Pilkington began her acting career at the age of 15 when she appeared in The Miracle directed by Neil Jordan. She appeared onstage in the plays The Plough and the Stars and The Iceman Cometh. At age 18 she moved to London where she was given a part in a Miramax film which eventually fell through after a meeting with Harvey Weinstein. She later returned to Dublin, living in Ballsbridge for a time.
After a period involving substantial voiceover work, she moved back to London in the late 1990s, with the self-described aim of relaunching her career. Pilkington subsequently appeared in films including Human Traffic and My Kingdom, a retelling of King Lear. In 1999, she was cast as Katrina Finlay, a schoolteacher in a Scottish village, a major role in the BBC television series Monarch of the Glen, which was broadcast from 2000. After leaving the show at the beginning of the third season, she appeared in various other television productions such as Rough Diamond and Outnumbered.
In 2008, she appeared in a short film by Luke Massey Within the Woods, with James Chalmers. In 2016 she voiced the lead role in a Paramount animated film Capture the Flag.
Filmography
1991 The Miracle
1994 All Things Bright and Beautiful (direct to TV)
1996 The Last of the High Kings
1997 The Boxer
1998 The Nephew
1999 Human Traffic
2001 My Kingdom
2004 Rabbit on the Moon (Conejo en la Luna, Mexico)
2006 After Thomas
2006 In a Day
2008 Within the Woods (short film)
2012 What Richard Did
2016 Capture the Flag (voice role)
Television
2000 Monarch of the Glen as Katrina Finlay
2003 The Clinic on RTÉ One
2003 Waking the Dead episode "Walking on Water" as Mandy Lovell
2005 Robotboy on Cartoon Network as Tommy Turnbull, Debbie Turnbull, and Computer Teacher
2007 Rough Diamond on RTÉ One
2008 Britannia High on ITV1 as Anna
2008 Outnumbered on BBC1 as Barbara
2011 Narrator on Masterchef Ireland on RTÉ Two
2016, 2017 & 2019 Casualty on BBC One as Rosa Hide (Nurse David Hide's ex-wife)
Stage
1990s The Plough and the Stars and The Iceman Cometh
1999 Trust (Gary Mitchell), Royal Court Theatre, London
2015 When we were women (Orange Tree Theatre)
Personal life
In late 2001, in Wicklow, Pilkington married Simon Massey. They originally met on the set of Ballykissangel in 1999, and he was later director of Monarch of the Glen. She has three sons with Massey, and two step-children from his previous marriage.
