Lorraine Pilkington


Lorraine Pilkington 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.

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

Television

Stage

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.