Kelly Thornton Explained

Kelly Thornton
Birth Date:13 April 1997
Birth Place:Dublin, Ireland
Nationality:Irish
Occupation:Actress
Years Active:2011–present
Notable Works:Life's a Breeze (2013)
Clean Break (2015)
Height:5 ft 4 in (163cm)
Awards:Bingham Ray New Talent Award (2013)

Kelly Thornton (born 13 April 1997) is an Irish actress who began her career as a child actress. She is best known for her roles as Corrina Mallon in the RTÉ drama Clean Break (2015) and Emma in the film Life's a Breeze (2013), which earned her an IFTA nomination for Best Actress.[1]

Early life and education

Thornton is from Terenure, a suburb in South Dublin and attended St Louis High School, Rathmines. She has a younger sister Robyn. She was discovered when she was 14 whilst shopping on Grafton Street with her friends by a casting director who invited her to audition.[2] [3]

Career

Thornton made her screen debut in the 2013 Irish comedy film Life's a Breeze. She played the role of Emma, the main protagonist, alongside fellow Irish actors Pat Shortt and Fionnula Flanagan. The film was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[4] Thornton earned an IFTA nomination for her role, as well as receiving the Bingham Ray New Talent Award at the 2013 Galway Film Fleadh.[5]

In late 2013, Thornton made her Irish television debut, featuring in the fourth series of the popular RTÉ Television drama Love/Hate, playing the part of Kellie in a single episode appearance. Her sister Robyn had a guest role in the drama. In 2015, Thornton got her biggest role to date, starring as Corrina Mallon in the four-part RTÉ drama Clean Break. The series, directed by Gillies MacKinnon and Damien O’Donnell, told the story of Frank Mallon, Corrina's father and a car dealer. Struggling to make ends meet, Frank kidnaps the family of his local bank manager and consequently finds himself involved with some notorious local criminals. A second series of the show has yet to be announced by RTÉ.

The same year, Thornton played the lead role of Molly in the Irish short film Battle. The film was written and directed by Megan K. Fox and told the story of a "teenager finding strength and happiness in music in the face of her battle with depression".[6] This film would later be the focus of an episode of Beyond the Lens in 2016.

Thornton gained further recognition for her part in the 2016 film Sing Street, playing the role of Ann Lawlor, the older sister of the main protagonist Conor. Set in mid-1980s inner-city Dublin, Sing Street follows the story of Conor "Cosmo" Lawlor, a teenager who is forced to move schools, from a private fee-paying school to the non-fee-paying Synge Street CBS.

In October 2016, Thornton was featured in the music video for Don't Mind Me by Irish alternative rock band Walking on Cars.[7]

Thornton has since starred in three short films: Inside I'm Racing in 2017, Jack Reynor's Bainne opposite Will Poulter and Ciarán Dooley's Twin, both in 2019.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2013Life's a BreezeEmma
2015BattleMollyShort film
2016Sing StreetAnn Lawlor
2017Inside I'm RacingKatieShort film
2019BainneShort film
2019TwinAvaShort film
2023Flora and SonHeart

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Love/Hate Kellie 1 episode
2015 Clean Break Corrina Mallon Main cast, miniseries
2016 Beyond The Lens Molly 1 episode

Music videos

Year Title Artist Role
2016 "Don't Mind Me" Girl
2021 Fall Into Me Love Interest

Awards and nominations

Award Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2013 Bingham Ray New Talent Award Life's a Breeze
2014 Best Lead Actress - Film

Notes and References

  1. Web site: IFTA nominated 'Life's A Breeze' on Netflix . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160424072315/http://filmireland.net/2014/03/28/ifta-nominated-lifes-a-breeze-on-netflix/ . 2016-04-24 . 2020-02-25.
  2. Young siblings bring real-life sister act to new 'Love/Hate'. Independent.ie. Laura. Butler. 7 October 2013. 21 July 2021.
  3. Life's a breeze for teen Kelly. Independent.ie. 28 July 2013. 21 July 2021.
  4. Web site: Toronto Film Review: 'Life's a Breeze' . dmy-all . Debruge . https://web.archive.org/web/20150415012726/http://variety.com/2013/film/markets-festivals/toronto-film-review-lifes-a-breeze-1200612011/ . live . Peter . 2013-09-15 . . 2020-02-25 . 2015-04-15.
  5. Web site: Caldecott . Glenn . 25th Galway Film Fleadh Awards – All the Winners . . 26 February 2017 . 21 June 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180621015906/http://filmireland.net/2013/07/16/25th-galway-film-fleadh-awards-all-the-winners/ . dead .
  6. Web site: Film-maker Megan tells of her 'Battle' with depression . Horan . Niamh . 2014-12-27 . . 2020-02-25 . dmy-all.
  7. Web site: Kelly Thornton, Actor . Thornton . Kelly . Kelly Thornton . . 2020-02-25 . . 2017-02-26 . dmy-all.