Emily O'Brien


Emily Roya O'Brien is an English three-time Daytime Emmy-nominated actress and writer who is known for her five-year series regular role of Jana Hawkes Fisher on The Young and the Restless from 2006–2011. She also portrayed Julia in the 2014 film Pernicious and provided the voices of Camille in League Of Legends, and Y'shtola in '. Emily also voiced Gamora in ' and Special Agent Iman Avesta in the 2017 video game . In 2018, she became part of the main cast of the animated film Dagon Troll World Chronicles. She also voiced Amelie and young Bridget Strand in the 2019 game Death Stranding. O'Brien recently joined the cast of Days of Our Lives and currently portrays the character Gwen on the daytime drama.

Life and career

Emily O'Brien was born on May 28, 1985, in Bedfordshire, England, but moved with her family to Carlsbad, California, when she was nine years old. She was in plays at Carlsbad High School, where she graduated in 2003, and at MiraCosta College, where she completed a theater major in 2005. In 2005, she graduated with a degree in theater from Mira Costa College.
She was named a finalist in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival’s Irene Ryan Acting Competition in 2005, where she was pitted against several hundred students from colleges and universities across the country. She attended Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England and wrote, produced and directed her first project Beatrice in 2011 which won best film at BIFF.
She portrayed Jana Hawkes Fisher in The Young and the Restless. O'Brien was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards for her performance in The Young and the Restless. She portrayed the role again in November 2008, when a parody of the show was the theme of the 1st showcase on The Price Is Right. O'Brien portrayed the role initially on a recurring status from May 11 to September 5, 2006, and then on contract from October 10, 2006 to February 20, 2007, when the character disappeared from the canvas temporarily until her return on June 15, 2007. O'Brien earned two Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Younger Actress in 2008 and 2009. In March 2011, news broke that O'Brien had been let go from The Young and the Restless, with her final airdate on May 6, 2011. Prior to her firing, O'Brien was pre-nominated for another Daytime Emmy in the same category.
O’Brien is in much demand as a voice actor, and provided the voices of Y'Shtola in ', Camille in League Of Legends, Faris Scherwiz in World of Final Fantasy, and Veruca Salt in '.
Emily then portrayed Julia in the 2014 supernatural horror film Pernicious, directed by James Cullen Bressack.
She also voiced Gamora in the Telltale video game, '. She has received wide recognition for her portrayal of Special Agent Iman Avesta in ', a fan of Batman. O'Brien is partially deaf, and teared up having to voice a scene where the character could be rendered deaf by the Riddler. While the game itself was moderately received, her performance was generally praised by critics.
In 2018, she briefly played Jillian Marshall in the Focus on the Family radio program Adventures in Odyssey. That same year, she provided the voice of Renee Chandler in the CW Seed animated series '. She also appeared as the suspicious Portia in the thriller Dangerous Matrimony, then signed on to play the voice of Ruth the human mother and wife of the Ambassador of Earth in the upcoming dark fantasy motion comic that is set to be released in 2019. She reprised the role of Gamora in '.
O'Brien appeared in Hideo Kojima's 2019 game Death Stranding as the voices of Amelie and the young Bridget Strand, characters using the likeness of Lindsay Wagner. She has several projects in hand that are currently in post-production, like Vampire Dad, Iris, and Beautifully Flawed.
In May 2020, it was announced that O'Brien had joined the cast of Days of Our Lives in the role of Gwen; she made her first appearance on 1 June of the same year.

Personal life

Her mother is Persian and her father is British. Emily's parents, Flora and Michael, say, “Acting is the only thing she wanted to do.” She has a sister named Natalie. O'Brien speaks Persian fluently and has studied French and Spanish. Born and raised in England and capable of multiple British dialects plus various other European accents. She also sings professionally and is currently the national narrator for the eBay and PayPal campaign. O'Brien describes herself as a feminist. O'Brien is partially deaf.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2006What About BrianGirl at ClubEpisode: "Two in Twenty-Four"
2006–2011The Young and the RestlessJana HawkesSeries regular
2016Rock in a Hard PlaceYoung DebbieUnknown episodes
2017One Day at a TimeVO OperatorEpisode: "Hold, Please"
2018–2019'Renee Chandler 2 episodes; web series
2019Love, Death & RobotsZawora Episode: "The Witness"
2019Beautifully FlawedSusanTV Movie
2020Days of Our LivesGwenRecurring role

YearTitleRoleNotes
2013Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm RebornY'shtolaEnglish dub
2014'Eryn
2015'Additional Voices
2016World of Final FantasyFaris ScherwizEnglish dub
2016League Of LegendsCamille
2017'Gamora
2017–2018'Iman Avesta / Bartender / Agency Female #3
2017Paranormal Activity: The Lost SoulThe Witch
2017'Rats Whisperers
2018God of WarAdditional Voices
2018'Additional Voices
2018Thief of ThievesTaraneh Jamshidi
2019Elder Scrolls OnlineKhamira / Additional Voices
2019Days GoneAdditional Voices
2019'Gamora
2019IndivisibleMary
2019Death StrandingAmelie, young BridgetLindsay Wagner as model
2019Apex LegendsAdditional Voices

Other