Sinead Keenan — things you didn't know about the TV star

Sinead Keenan attends the ITV Palooza 2022 wearing a one shouldered black dress and her hair tied up.
Sinéad Keenan is part of the cast of Unforgotten season 6. (Image credit: Getty)

Sinead Keenan has been acting since 1999 when she landed roles as Margaret in the comedy-drama Sunburn and as Farrah in the Irish soap Fair City. 

She is best known for her roles as werewolf Nina Pickering on BBC Three's supernatural drama Being Human and as DCI Jessica James in ITV crime thriller Unforgotten.

With Unforgotten season 6 now on ITV fans may be wondering where they've seen Sinéad before and other things about the Irish actress, including what career she wanted to pursue before going into acting.

Here are some things you might not know about Sinéad Keenan...

Sinead

Sinead Keenan has joined Unforgotten as Detective Chief Inspector Jess James. (Image credit: ITV)

Sinead Keenan originally wanted to be a lawyer

In an interview with Company, Sinéad revealed she wanted to be a lawyer because she loved the US legal drama, Matlock. However, once she got older she realised that she actually just wanted to play the part of the lawyer, not be one, and decided to go into acting instead.

She's starred in two Shakespeare plays

The cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2005

The cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2005. (Image credit: Royal Shakespeare Company)

Sinéad Keenan starred in two iconic Shakespeare plays. Her first Shakespearian role was Luciana in Comedy of Errors at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The second was the role of Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Novello Theatre in London's West End.

She's from Ireland — and also spent a lot of time in Northern Ireland too

Bronagh Lynch

Sinéad played Bronagh Lynch in London Irish. (Image credit: Channel 4)

Sinéad was born in Dublin, Ireland but she spent a lot of time in Belfast as it's where her mum is from. In an interview with Channel 4, she spoke about what it was like doing the Northern Irish accent for her role in London Irish.

She said: "I’m from Dublin but it was okay. My mum’s from Belfast so I spent a lot of time in Belfast as a kid and she has a very soft Belfast accent as opposed to a strong one but it was fine. 

"I usually play English so if I hear myself using my own Dublin accent I find it weird now because I’ve played English so it was nice to do an Irish accent but not my own."

Her siblings are also actors

Sinéad Keenan has two younger siblings, Rory and Grainne, who are also in the acting profession. 

Her brother Rory played the role of Donal Henry in Peaky Blinders and recently starred in Katherine Ryan's comedy The Duchess where he played the role of Shep.

Meanwhile, Sinéad's sister Grainne has starred in The Wife, Una and also Three Families, where she acted alongside Sinéad. 

She gets uncomfortable when talking about acting

Sinead in Little Boy Blue

Sinéad was awarded her first RTS Programme Award for her role in Little Boy Blue. (Image credit: ITV)

In an interview with the Royal Television Society, Sinéad confessed she gets a bit "funny" whenever she has to speak about how she acts.

She explained: "I remember watching an interview with Paul Bettany once and he said, ‘acting is like sex, it’s nice to do but embarrassing to talk about'. It’s so true.

"I’ve tried to take parts that I find interesting, or well written, challenging. On the other hand, you have to live, you have to eat, you have to work, so it’s within that kind of jobbing actor thing, trying to balance those two things out."

Sinéad Keenan's Fact File

Answers to the most frequently asked questions about the star....

How old is Sinéad Keenan?

Sinéad Keenan was born on 27 December 1977. She is 47 years old.

Is Sinéad Keenan married?

In 2012, Sinéad Keenan married Chris McGill, who is the director at DustHouse Theatre in London.

Does Sinéad Keenan have any children?

Yes, Sinéad Keenan has two sons. Their names are not public knowledge, but she does often tweet about motherhood. In one tweet, she confirmed her children were 7 and 5 years old.

Where was Sinéad Keenan born?

Sinéad Keenan was born in Dublin, Ireland.

How tall is Sinéad Keenan?

Sinéad Keenan is 5 foot 1 inch tall.

Twitter/X: @SineadKeenan

We work hard to ensure that all information is correct. Facts that change over time, such as age, will be correct, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of the last article update.

Claire Crick
Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch

Claire is Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch and has been a journalist for over 15 years, writing about everything from soaps and TV to beauty, entertainment, and even the Royal Family. After starting her career at a soap magazine, she ended up staying for 13 years, and over that time she’s pulled pints in the Rovers Return, sung karaoke in the Emmerdale village hall, taken a stroll around Albert Square, and visited Summer Bay Surf Club in sunny Australia. 

After learning some tricks of the trade at websites Digital Spy, Entertainment Daily, and Woman & Home, Claire landed a role at What’s On TV and whattowatch.com writing about all things TV and film, with a particular love for Aussie soaps, Strictly Come Dancing and Bake Off

She’s interviewed everyone from June Brown — AKA Dot Cotton — to Michelle Keegan, swapped cooking tips with baking legend Mary Berry backstage at the NTAs, and danced the night away with soap stars at countless awards bashes. There’s not a lot she doesn’t know about soaps and TV and can be very handy when a soapy question comes up in a pub quiz! 

As well as all things soap-related, Claire also loves running, spa breaks, days out with her kids, and getting lost in a good book. 

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

News
Stay updated by following
What to Watch