Aisling Franciosi ( , ; born 6 June 1993) is an Irish-Italian actress. She won an AACTA Award for her leading role in the film The Nightingale (2018). On television, she is known for her roles in the RTÉ–BBC Two crime drama The Fall (2013–2016), season 2 of the TNT series Legends (2015), and the BBC One miniseries Black Narcissus (2020).
Early and personal life Aisling Franciosi was born on 6 June 1993 at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of an Irish mother from Meath and an Italian father from Milan, who had met when her mother was working as an English teacher in his city; her father is a heart surgeon. She has two older brothers and a younger sister. After her birth, the family spent a few years in Italy, until her parents divorced and the children followed their mother to Dublin, where they were raised; Italy remained their holiday destination, with Franciosi still frequently visiting her father in Milan.
Franciosi studied French and Spanish at Trinity College Dublin, but left before graduating; she is a native bilingual speaker of English and Italian. She is also a singer and has performed post-synchronised dialogue recording for a few Italian actresses in English.
Career From 2013 to 2016, Franciosi starred as Katie Benedetto in the RTÉ and BBC Two crime drama series The Fall. She made her feature film debut in 2014 in Jimmy's Hall. The following year, she starred in the second season of the TNT series Legends as Kate Crawford.
In 2016, Franciosi appeared in the HBO series Game of Thrones in the sixth season as Lyanna Stark and reprised her role in the seventh season.White, James. "Game Of Thrones: the Jon Snow revelation and what it all means" , Empire Online, 28 June 2016. Retrieved on 28 June 2016. She landed the lead role of Clare Carroll in The Nightingale, a 2018 period drama set in Tasmania and directed by Jennifer Kent.Nordine, Michael (14 March 2017). "'The Nightingale': Jennifer Kent Begins Production on Her Follow-up to 'The Babadook'" , IndieWire. Retrieved 30 March 2017. For The Nightingale, Francioisi received critical acclaim and a number of accolades, including an AACTA. She also had supporting and recurring roles in season 1 of the BBC thriller Clique as Georgia Cunningham and in the Picasso instalment of the National Geographic anthology Genius as Fernande Olivier.
Franciosi played Sister Ruth in the 2020 miniseries Black Narcissus opposite Gemma Arterton. Since then, she has appeared in the films Home, The Unforgivable, God's Creatures, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, Stopmotion, Speak No Evil, and Turn Up The Sun!.
Filmography Film
Year Title Role Notes 2014 Jimmy's Hall Marie 2014 Ambition Apprentice Short film for the European Space Agency Rosetta mission2016 Ambition – Epilogue Master Short film for the ESA Rosetta mission The Sticks Sarah Short film 2018 The Nightingale Clare Carroll 2020 Home Delta 2021 The Unforgivable Katherine "Katie" Malcolm / Katie Slater 2022 God's Creatures Sarah Murphy 2023 The Last Voyage of the Demeter Anna 2023 Stopmotion Ella Blake 2024 Speak No Evil Ciara 2025 Twinless Marcie Pose Patricia
Television Year Title Role Notes 2012 Trivia Trish Episode 2.5 2013–2016 The Fall Katie Benedetto Main role 2014 Quirke Phoebe Griffin 3 episodes 2015 Vera Sigourney O'Brien Episode: "Muddy Waters" 2015 Legends Kate Crawford Main role (season 2) 2016–2017 Game of Thrones Lyanna Stark Episodes: "The Winds of Winter", "The Dragon and the Wolf" 2017 Clique Georgia Cunningham Recurring role (series 1) 2018 Genius: Picasso Fernande Olivier Recurring role (season 2)2020 I Know This Much Is True Young Dessa Constantine Miniseries Black Narcissus Sister Ruth Miniseries 2023–2024 The Legend of Vox Machina Kaylie (voice) Season 2 (4 episodes); Season 3 (6 episodes); Season 4 (1 episode) 2025 The Abandons Trisha Van Ness Main role
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2015 Irish Film & Television Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Drama The Fall 2019 Gotham Awards Breakthrough Performer The Nightingale Detroit Film Critics Society Best Breakthrough Performance The Nightingale AACTA Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role The Nightingale Chicago Film Critics Association Most Promising Performer The Nightingale Dublin Film Critics' Circle Breakthrough Performance The Nightingale 2020 Alliance of Women Film Journalists Most Daring Performance The Nightingale Irish Film & Television Awards Best Actress in a Lead Role – Film The Nightingale Rising Star— 2021 Irish Film & Television Awards Best Actress in a Lead Role – Drama Black Narcissus 2022 British Independent Film Awards Best Supporting Performance God's Creatures 2023 Irish Film & Television Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role – FilmGod's Creatures
See also List of Irish actors References
External links