Saoirse Una Ronan ( SUR-shə OO-nə ROH-nən; born 12 April 1994) is an American-born Irish actress. Primarily known for her work in period dramas, she has received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Scottish BAFTA, with nominations for four Academy Awards and seven British Academy Film Awards.
Ronan made her acting debut when she was a child, in 2003 on the Irish medical drama series The Clinic and had her breakthrough role as a precocious teenager in the period drama film Atonement (2007), which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She gained further recognition for her performances in supernatural drama The Lovely Bones (2009), the action thriller Hanna (2011), and the ensemble comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).
Ronan received critical acclaim and nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for playing an Irish immigrant in New York in Brooklyn (2015), the eponymous high school senior in Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird (2017)—which also won her a Golden Globe Award—and Jo March in Gerwig's Little Women (2019).