Jamie Lee O'Donnell

JamieLee ODonnell is an actress known for her role as Michelle Mallon in Channel 4s comedy series Derry Girls ODonnell was born on 4 March 1987 in Derry Northern Ireland She attended St Annes Primary School St Cecilias College and North West Regional College She began acting at a young age in school plays Upon graduation she decided to pursue it professionally despite not being able to afford drama school She instead studied performing arts at the De Montfort University campus in Bedfordshire but did not complete the course She began auditioning and dividing her time between England and home taking part in theatrical productions and working as a dancer for promotions and pantomimes She moved around in search of employment also working as a barista and at one point taking on a corner shop which failed as a business Between 2012 and 2015 ODonnell played her first significant role as Eva Maguire one of the main characters of the BBC2 NI series 6Degrees after the end of which she took part in the film Urban the Shed Crew by Candida Brady In 2018 she starred in a theatre production I Told My Mum I Was Going on an RE Trip by Julia Samuels playing an underage girl who decides to undergo an abortion The following year she joined the cast of Girls and Dolls a play by the Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee8 and acted in Martin McDonaghs The Cripple of Inishmaan at the Gaiety Theatre ODonnell landed the role of Michelle Mallon in Derry Girls a sitcom by Channel 4 which gained international fame Of her role as Michelle she says Michelle really thinks shes maybe just a bit too big for the place she was born in and shes ready to take on the world one swearword at a time Shes really feisty really ballsy doesnt really care about authority just sort of up for anything and up for a laugh ODonnell and her fellow Derry Girls costars participated in the RTÉ fundraising special RTÉ Does Comic Relief performing a sketch alongside Saoirse Ronan All proceeds from the night went towards those affected by the COVID19 pandemic She is a patron of the Liverpoolbased youth theatre company 20 Stories High