Genevieve O’Reilly

Genevieve O’Reilly is an Irish-Australian actress born on January 6, 1977. She has established a wide-ranging career across stage, television, and film. She is widely recognized for playing the character Mon Mothma in the Star Wars media franchise, a role she first portrayed in 2005 and has continued to revisit across multiple film and television projects.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, O’Reilly relocated to Adelaide, South Australia, at the age of ten alongside her family, which included two younger siblings. She subsequently became an Australian citizen. Pursuing a career in dramatic arts, she gained admission to Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art on her third application, graduating in 2000.

Her stage career began shortly after graduation when she served as an understudy in a production of The White Devil, followed by an appearance in The Way of the World for the Sydney Theatre Company. She later appeared in The Weir at Dublin's Gate Theatre and Richard II at the Old Vic. Her work at the Royal National Theatre includes the play 13 and the 2011 staging of Emperor and Galilean, in which she played Helena. Her subsequent theatrical work includes The Doctor's Dilemma in 2012, Splendour at the Donmar Warehouse in 2015, and the role of Mary Carney in The Ferryman at both the Royal Court Theatre and the West End's Gielgud Theatre in 2017.

O’Reilly's early film work includes Australian-filmed productions such as The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions in 2003, as well as the lead role of Dash MacKenzie in the 2004 science fiction movie Avatar, also marketed as Cyber Wars. She was cast as a young Mon Mothma in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). Though her scenes were largely removed from the theatrical edit, they were released on DVD. She reprised the role in the 2016 feature Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, voiced the character in the animated series Star Wars Rebels, and appeared in the live-action series Ahsoka as well as the first and second seasons of Andor.

On television, O’Reilly debuted in 2001 with a guest role on BeastMaster, followed by a spot on Young Lions and a recurring role as Leanne Curtis on All Saints from 2002 to 2005. After moving to the United Kingdom, she starred in the miniseries The State Within, played Princess Diana in the 2007 docudrama Diana: Last Days of a Princess, and took the leading role in The Time of Your Life. Her UK television credits also include Spooks, Waking the Dead, and the 2009 remake of The Day of the Triffids.

Between 2011 and 2014, O’Reilly maintained a recurring presence on Episodes. She later appeared in Crossing Lines, The Honourable Woman, Banished, Glitch, The Secret, and played Angela Worth in Tin Star starting in 2017. Her performance in Andor earned her two Saturn Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress.

O’Reilly moved to London in 2005 with her husband, Luke Mulvihill. Although initially planning a temporary stay, the couple remained in London through at least 2020. They have two children, a son and a daughter.