Margaret "Maggie" O'Neill (born 15 November 1962) is an English actress.

Biography

The youngest of six Catholic brothers and sisters, born to head teacher parents, O'Neill grew up in the Midlands, where she was educated at a convent school, and after being inspired by a sixth-form drama teacher, "fell" into acting.

After training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, she starred in the video for Simply Red's Holding Back the Years, before making her professional stage debut in Moving Pictures, by Stephen Lowe, at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds in 1985. After making her screen debut in the British production Mona Lisa opposite Bob Hoskins in 1986, she made her Hollywood screen debut in the Sigourney Weaver film Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey in 1988. She also played alongside Keith Barron & Annette Crosby in the 1989 TV series Take Me Home.

O'Neill played Dr. Alex Redman in ITV1's medical drama Peak Practice, but is best known to British audiences for playing Sheila Jackson in Channel 4's comedy drama Shameless. O'Neill has recently played Suzy Branning in the BBC1 soap opera, EastEnders,.

O'Neill lives in south London and enjoys pilates, yoga and reading.