Saoirse-Monica Jackson


Saoirse-Monica Jackson is an Irish actress from Northern Ireland, known for portraying the role of Erin Quinn on the Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls.

Early life

Born in Derry, Jackson split her time growing up in both Derry and Greencastle, County Donegal where her parents ran a village pub. After obtaining GCSEs and A-Levels at St Cecilia's College in Derry, she trained in acting at the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester.

Career

Jackson's television debut came in 2016 when she landed the role of Sasha in Harlan Coben's The Five, appearing in four episodes. In 2016, she also played Curley's wife in the Birmingham Repertory Theatre tour of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. She appeared briefly in the final episode of 2017 BBC One drama series Broken. In 2018, she portrayed Shena Carney in a West End production of The Ferryman at the Gielgud Theatre.
Jackson made her debut as lead character Erin Quinn in Derry Girls in the show's first episode, airing on Channel 4 on 4 January 2018. Her performance was well received and, in turn, saw her nominated for the IFTA Gala Television Award for Best Female Performance. She returned for the second series of Derry Girls on 5 March 2019.
She appeared in an episode of The Great British Bake Off: Festive Specials.
On 26 June 2020, she and her fellow Derry Girls costars performed a sketch with Saoirse Ronan for the RTÉ fundraising special RTÉ Does Comic Relief. All proceeds from the night went towards those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.