Jennifer Gibney
Gibney in 2015
Born
Jennifer Ann Gibney

(1964-07-07) 7 July 1964 (age 59)
Dublin, Ireland
OccupationActress
Years active1996–present
TelevisionMrs. Brown's Boys
Strictly Come Dancing
All Round to Mrs. Brown's
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2005)​

Jennifer Ann O'Carroll (née Gibney; born 7 July 1964) is an Irish actress. She is best known for playing Cathy Brown in the BBC television sitcom, Mrs. Brown's Boys and its adaptions. She also appeared as contestant on the twelfth series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2014.

Early life

Jennifer Ann Gibney was born on 7 July 1964 in Dublin, Ireland.[1][2] She worked as a civil servant in the Irish tax office for seven years and then joined the Bank of Ireland. Gibney studied for a drama degree while at the bank and joined the company's amateur dramatics group. She trained to be an actress at Dublin Oscar Theatre School.[3]

Career

Gibney's first professional acting role came in 1996, with a minor part in Some Mother's Son, a film starring Helen Mirren.[4] In 1999, she appeared in the film Agnes Browne as Winnie the Mackerel.[5] In 2007, she appeared in Prosperity as Linda.[6]

Gibney's most prominent role is her portrayal of Cathy Brown, the daughter of Agnes Brown, played by her real-life husband, Brendan O'Carroll, a part she began playing in the 1990's in the original Mrs Browne, and subsequently the BBC sitcom Mrs. Brown's Boys since 2011.[7] She also appeared as Cathy in the film adaption Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie and the talk show All Round to Mrs. Brown's between 2017 and 2020.[8][9] Gibney and O'Carroll reprised their roles as the characters in the Netflix film A Madea Homecoming (2022).[10]

Strictly Come Dancing

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing

In 2014, Gibney took part in the twelfth series of Strictly Come Dancing.[11] She was partnered with Irish professional Tristan MacManus.[12] Gibney and MacManus were the second couple to be eliminated in week three of the competition after dancing to ABBA's "Mamma Mia" on Movie Week.[13][14] She competed in the bottom two against Blue star Simon Webbe and his partner Kristina Rihanoff.[15]

Week No. Dance/Song Judges' score Result
Craig Revel Horwood Darcey Bussell Len Goodman Bruno Tonioli Donny Osmond Total
1 Jive – "Happy" 3 5 5 5 – 18 None
2 Waltz – "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" 4 5 5 5 – 19 Bottom two
3 Foxtrot – "Mamma Mia" 3 5 5 5 5 23 Eliminated

Personal life

Gibney has been married to Brendan O'Carroll since 2005 and has three stepchildren, Fiona and Danny, who also appear in Mrs. Brown's Boys, and Eric.[16][17]

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Ref.
2002–2008 Mrs. Brown's Boys The Original Series Cathy Brown [18]
2007 Prosperity Linda [19]
2009 Mrs. Brown's Boys: Pilot Cathy Brown [20]
2011–present Mrs. Brown's Boys Cathy Brown [21]
2014 Strictly Come Dancing Herself; series 12 contestant [22]
2017–2020 All Round to Mrs. Brown's Cathy Brown [23]
2018 For Facts Sake Herself; team captain [24]

Film

Year Title Role Ref.
1996 Some Mother's Son Woman searcher No.2 [25]
1999 Agnes Browne Winnie the Mackerel [26]
2014 Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie Cathy Brown [27]
2022 A Madea Homecoming Cathy Brown [28]

References

  1. ^ "Jennifer Ann O'CARROLL". GOV.UK. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  2. ^ "BBC One - Strictly Come Dancing, Series 12 - Jennifer Gibney". BBC.
  3. ^ "Jennifer Gibney - Biogs.com". Biogs.com. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  4. ^ "Who is Jennifer Gibney? Strictly Come Dancing 2014 contestant profile". Daily Mirror. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Jennifer Gibney". TVGuide.com.
  6. ^ "Jennifer Gibney; What would Mammy say?". BBC. 7 September 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  7. ^ Brocklehurst, Steven (23 December 2012). "BBC News - Mrs Brown's Boys - 'We are not the Waltons'". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  8. ^ "Mrs Brown: How the feck did it become a movie?". Digital Spy. 27 June 2014.
  9. ^ "Mrs Brown's Boys is queen of the sitcoms – now creator Brendan O'Carroll is going after chat shows". Radio Times. 25 March 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Why is Mrs Brown in Netflix's A Madea Homecoming?". Digital Spy. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Jennifer Gibney: 'I want to have fun and learn to dance on Strictly'". Digital Spy. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  12. ^ Post, Irish. "Ireland's Strictly couple wave goodbye after foxtrot falls flat". The Irish Post.
  13. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing 2014: Jennifer Gibney becomes second celebrity". The Independent. 13 October 2014.
  14. ^ "Strictly 2014: Jennifer Gibney eliminated". Digital Spy. 12 October 2014.
  15. ^ Hogan, Michael (12 October 2014). "Jennifer Gibney is the second celebrity voted off Strictly Come Dancing". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  16. ^ Ward, Shauna Bannon (14 October 2022). "Brendan O'Carroll nearly called off wedding to wife Jennifer after huge fights". RSVP Live.
  17. ^ "Mrs Brown's Boys family tree - how the cast and characters are related". Radio Times.
  18. ^ "Mrs Brown's Boys: The Original Series - Aired Order - All Seasons - TheTVDB.com". thetvdb.com.
  19. ^ "Jennifer Gibney". TVGuide.com.
  20. ^ "How Mrs Brown's Boys took over the comedy world". Radio Times.
  21. ^ "How to watch Mrs Brown's Boys - what's it about and who's in the cast?". Radio Times.
  22. ^ "Jennifer Gibney leaves Strictly". BBC. 12 October 2014.
  23. ^ ""If my husband was like Mrs Brown, we'd be divorced": Jennifer Gibney talks All Round to Mrs Brown's". Radio Times.
  24. ^ "BBC One - For Facts Sake, Series 1, Episode 2". BBC.
  25. ^ Hayes, Katy (5 October 2023). "This has gone beyond a joke, mammy!" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  26. ^ "Agnes Browne". TVGuide.com.
  27. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie Cast and Crew Credits". British Comedy Guide.
  28. ^ "Meet Agnes Brown, Madea's Spiritual Irish Cousin". Netflix Tudum.
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