Early life

She is part of the Smurfit family, one of the richest in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. The family, headed by Victoria's uncle Michael Smurfit

Michael Smurfit

Sir Michael Smurfit, KBE , is a businessman holding Irish citizenship. In the 2010 Irish Independent Rich List, he was listed at 25th, with a €368 million personal fortune.-Early life:...

, sponsor a number of sporting events including the Smurfit European Open and the Champion Hurdle

Champion Hurdle

The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. As part of a sponsorship agreement with the online sportsbook StanJames.com, the race is now known as the Stan James Champion Hurdle...

. The family is also associated with Smurfit Business School in U.C.D. She was educated at two Anglican schools, Saint Columba's College, Dublin and St. George's School, Ascot

St. George's School, Ascot

St George's School, Ascot is an independent boarding and day school in Ascot, Berkshire, England. It is now a single-sex girls' school , which selects all of its incoming pupils on the basis of examined ability, usually at age 11, with a few entrants at 13 and 16.-History:The school was founded in...

, England. She did an A level in theatre studies and then went to drama school in London.

Career

Smurfit gained fame for her role as Orla O'Connell in the BBC television series Ballykissangel

Ballykissangel

Ballykissangel is a BBC television drama set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern Ireland. The original story revolved around a young English Roman Catholic priest as he became part of a rural community. It ran for six series, which were first broadcast on BBC One in the UK from 1996 to 2001...

. Since 2003, she has taken over from Kate Buffery

Kate Buffery

Katharine Buffery is an English actress/writer, known as Kate Buffery.Buffery is possibly best known for her role in the British TV drama Wish Me Luck, as Liz Grainger and as DI North in Trial and Retribution...

 in the lead role in Trial & Retribution

Trial & Retribution

Trial & Retribution is a feature-length ITV police proceduraltelevision drama series that began in 1997. It was devised and written by Lynda La Plante as a follow-on from her successful television series Prime Suspect. Each episode of the Trial & Retribution series is broadcast over two nights. The...

as DCI Roisin Connor. She has also guest starred in the BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...

 series Baldi

Baldi (radio)

Baldi is a BBC Radio 4 murder mystery series whose central character is Paolo Baldi , a Franciscan priest on sabbatical, lecturing on semiotics at a university in contemporary Dublin. After helping the police as a translator for an Italian witness, he turns sleuth...

. Smurfit appeared in Agatha Christie's Miss Marple TV episode The Mirror Cracked From Side to Side

Miss Marple (TV series)

Miss Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It starred Joan Hickson in the title role, and aired from 1984 to 1992. All twelve original Miss Marple Christie novels have been dramatised. The screenplays were written by T. R...

.

Personal life

Smurfit married advertising executive Douglas Baxter on 29 July 2000, and gave birth to her first child, daughter Evie Dorothy Baxter in Dublin, Ireland on 2 November 2004. A second daughter, Ridley Belle Baxter was born in May 2007. Their third child and first son was born in November 2008 and named Flynn Alexander Baxter.

She writes an opinion blog for The Dubliner

The Dubliner (magazine)

-Publication format:The magazine had ten issues per year, and contents include opinion, reporting, political and social commentary and essays on Irish culture...

, which often features anecdotes from her personal life. and is a patron of the children's charity World Vision Ireland.

Selected credits

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1997	Ivanhoe Ivanhoe (1997 TV series) Ivanhoe was a 1997 television mini-series based on the novel Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. It was a produced by the BBC and A&E Network and consisted of six 50 minute episodes....	Rowena	Television series
1998	Berkeley Square	Hannah Randall	Television series
	Ballykissangel Ballykissangel Ballykissangel is a BBC television drama set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern Ireland. The original story revolved around a young English Roman Catholic priest as he became part of a rural community. It ran for six series, which were first broadcast on BBC One in the UK from 1996 to 2001...	Orla O'Connell	2 series, 1998–1999
2000	The Wedding Tackle (film) The Wedding Tackle (film) -Plot:Hal, an over sexed photographer, has a problem. He is due to marry Vinni in one weeks time and he's got cold feet. In fact, he's got frostbite. His friend, Little Ted, a scheming, sexually frustrated cartoonist is obsessed with Vinni, even though he dumped her when they went out together...	Clodagh	Feature film
	The Beach The Beach (film) The Beach is a 2000 adventure drama film directed by Danny Boyle and based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Alex Garland, which was adapted for the film by John Hodge. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and features Tilda Swinton, Robert Carlyle, Virginie Ledoyen and Guillaume Canet...	Weather girl	Feature film
	Cold Feet Cold Feet Cold Feet is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his award-winning 1997 Comedy Premiere of the same name. The storyline follows three couples experiencing the...	Jane Fitzpatrick	Recurring role, 2000–2001
2002	About a Boy About a Boy (film) About a Boy is a 2002 comedy-drama film directed by brothers Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz, based on the novel of the same name by Nick Hornby. The film stars Golden Globe winner Hugh Grant as Will, Nicholas Hoult as Marcus, Academy Award nominee Toni Collette as Fiona, and Academy Award winner Rachel...	Suzie	Feature film
2003	Bulletproof Monk Bulletproof Monk Bulletproof Monk is a 2003 action film starring Chow Yun-fat, Seann William Scott and Jaime King. The film was directed by Paul Hunter. It is loosely based on the comic book by Michael Avon Oeming....	Nina	Feature film
	Trial & Retribution Trial & Retribution Trial & Retribution is a feature-length ITV police proceduraltelevision drama series that began in 1997. It was devised and written by Lynda La Plante as a follow-on from her successful television series Prime Suspect. Each episode of the Trial & Retribution series is broadcast over two nights. The...	DCI Roisin Connor	2003–2009
	Marple Marple (TV series) Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...	Ella Blunt	1 episode ("The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side")
2006	The Shell Seekers The Shell Seekers (mini-series) The Shell Seekers is a 2006 mini-series starring Academy Award-winners, Vanessa Redgrave and Maximilian Schell. The British-German co-production was directed by Piers Haggard. It is an adaptation of Rosamunde Pilcher's 1987 novel-of-the-same-name and premiered on Germany's ZDF on December 25th,...	Olivia Keeling	Mini-series

External links