Kelly O'Sullivan
Actor
Biography
Kelly O'Sullivan (born 1983/1984) is an American actress, screenwriter, and producer. She wrote and starred in Saint Frances (2019), which won the Audience Award and the Special Jury Award at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival.
O'Sullivan was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, to an accountant mother and a father who worked in health insurance. She was raised Irish Catholic and attended Immaculate Conception School until eighth grade.
O'Sullivan always wanted to be an actor and supported by her cinephile parents, she performed in local children's theatre plays from age five. She studied theatre at Northwestern University and is also an alumna of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company's School at Steppenwolf in Chicago.
Inspired by Greta Gerwig, who directed Lady Bird, O'Sullivan wrote Saint Frances based on the experiences she had while working as a nanny to support her struggling acting career in her 20s and an abortion she had in her early thirties. She started work on the script in January 2018, already intending the film to be directed by partner Alex Thompson. She wrote the parts for the lesbian parents in the film for actors Lily Mojekwu and Charin Alvarez.
As Director
Filmography
Cha Cha Real Smooth
as Bella 2022
Henry Gamble's Birthday Party
as Candice Noble 2015
Saint Frances
as Bridget 2020
Rounding
as Dr. Kayla Matthews 2022
Hangdog
as Wendy 2023
The Graduates
as Vicki 2024
Jessica
as Pam 2016
In Memoriam
as Kelly 2011
Not Welcome
as Penelope 2018
The Steel Harp
as Amy TBA