Gemma-Leah Devereux


Gemma-Leah Devereux is an Irish actress. She is known for her role as Lady FitzGerald in the fourth and final season of the television series The Tudors.

Personal and early life

Gemma-Leah Mary Devereux was born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, the daughter of Irene and Francis Devereux. Her mother is a renowned hairdresser. She is the youngest of four children. She wanted to be an actress from a very early age, and has stated, "I've never wanted to be anything else". Devereux attended Loreto College St Stephens Green and left school at the age of 16. That same year she moved to London to study drama. She trained at the Arts Educational Schools, London for three years.

Acting career

Devereux made her acting debut as Lady Elizabeth Fitzgerald in Showtime's historical fiction television series The Tudors. with Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Henry Cavill. Shortly afterwards she made her theatrical westend debut in The Dreamers of Inishdara at the Jermyn Street Theatre alongside "Rocky Horror Show" star Patricia Quinn. In 2012 she was cast as her first leading role in a feature film as Kate alongside Ross Noble and Tommy Knight in "Stitches" directed by Conor McMahon which premiered at Film4 Frightfest 2012 in Empire Leicester Square. That same year she was cast in Comedown, an urban horror-thriller film about a group of South-East London teenagers break into an abandoned tower block to install an aerial for a Pirate Radio Station. It is directed by Menhaj Huda, and starring Adam Deacon, Geoff Bell, Jessica Barden, and Jacob Anderson. The film had its premiere at the Grimmfest 2012 film festival on 4 October. In 2013 she joined Casualty as nurse Aoife O'Reilly. She filmed 14 episodes before her exit. That same year she starred opposite Brian Gleeson in How To Be Happy which follows relationship counsellor Cormac Kavanagh who starts sleeping with his clients in a misguided attempt to reignite their passions but gets in-tangled when he starts falling for Flor, the attractive young private detective assigned to investigate his affairs. In 2014 she starred opposite Killian Scott and Peter Coonan in Get Up And Go an indie film about four 20 something years olds who face a cross road over one day. For her performance in this role she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 2016 Irish Film & Television Academy Awards. In 2015 she starred opposite Callum Blue, Rebecca Knight and David Hayman in psychological thriller Dartmoor Killing which won "Best thriller" at the National Film awards. That same year she filmed feature film Poison Pen; Property of the State opposite Patrick Gibson, Aisling Loftus and Elaine Cassidy. In 2016 she was cast in Simon Bird's directorial debut Ernestine & Kit with Pauline Collins and Rosaleen Linehan. The following year she was cast opposite John Connors in Mark O'Connor's Cardboard Gangsters. The story follows a group of young lads in Darndale, led by Jay Connolly, who sell drugs to make a living. It became the highest-grossing film that year. She was cast as a heroin addict in RTE's legal drama Striking Out with Neil Morrissey and Amy Huberman. In 2018 she played Ruth Shine opposite Tom Vaughan-Lawlor in the docodrama Citizen Lane about the life of art dealer Hugh Lane. That same year she was cast opposite John Connors again in Paddy Slattery's directional debut Broken Law. In 2019 she starred as Ciara in RTE's Comedy Drama Bump; a story of two sisters who have been very much at odds since they were young with Charlene McKenna playing her sister and Seán McGinley playing her Father. That same year she filmed period drama Dead Still alongside Michael Smiley and Eileen O'Higgins directed by Imogen Murphy. In 2018 it was announced Devereux would be playing Liza Minnelli in the upcoming Biopic Judy of Judy Garland's life opposite Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland directed by Rupert Goold. Principal photography began on 19 March 2018, in London. Filming locations included West London Film Studios. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on 30 August 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on 27 September 2019, and in the United Kingdom on 2 October 2019.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2020Broken LawAmia McNamara
2019JudyLiza Minnelli
2019JudithJudithShort
2018Citizen LaneRuth Shine
2018A Break in the CloudsSarahShort
2017Cardboard GangstersRóisín
2016Ernestine & KitPregnant WomanShort
2016Property of the StateBeth
2015AfterwardsWomanShort
2015Dartmoor KillingBecky
2014Poison PenEva
2014Get Up And GoLola
2013How to Be HappyFlor
2012StitchesKate
2012Wedding PlannersLauraShort
2012BlondeStephShort
2012ComedownNurse Samantha Harris

YearTitleRoleNotes
2019BumpCiara1 Episode
2019Dead StillHanna Dubby3 Episodes
2017Inspektor Jury – Der Tod des HarlekinGemma/Dillys
2013CasualtyAoife O'ReillyMain cast, 14 episodes
2012Trouble Times ThreeEmmalina4 episodes
2011MarúKitty Bryce1 episode
2011Saor Sinn o OlcAine2 episodes
2010The TudorsLady Fitzgerald5 episodes