Basics
Celia Marie McDonaghy is an American actress of film and television. She is best known for her roles as Matilda in Matilda and Gerda in The Danish Girl. She is the youngest child of the famous McDonaghy family, which includes such prominent names as Darsy, Colin and Cliff.
For much of her early life, Celia was content to be a normal child. Or as normal as a McDonaghy could be. Or at least until she was nearly six years old. While she had been absentee from the older children's lives, Alice McDonaghy seemed to take an interest in her youngest daughter. Whether Celia was asked if she wanted to go to her first audition would be something of a family mystery. Alice insisted it was Celia's idea, but Celia wasn't talking. Literally. She never said a word about the process that landed her her first role at the age of six. All anyone knew was that from that point on, her life would be different. Even if she had wanted to stay in the background of her famous family, that was no longer an option. She would continue to work steadily throughout her childhood. Critics said she had a natural talent, something that she secretly resented. She began to use her voice when it came to her education. She fought hard to be allowed to attend public school whenever she wasn't filming, even when her older siblings warned her against it. It would be difficult, but she wasn't one to see a challenge or adversity as a bad thing. In her oldest brother, Darsy, she found an ally on the subject. He, too, had chosen to go to public school despite the challenges one of their kind could face. He encouraged her to branch out, to participate in clubs and sports. In short, it was his influence and backing that got her in to public school. And she took his advice to heart. She surrounded herself with people, all kinds of people, even those she knew only wanted to be close to her because of her name. She didn't actively hide the fact that she had access to things that most people didn't but she didn't flaunt it either. But as her star continued to rise, there grew a divide in Celia's life. There was the girl she was expected to be, the girl the media wanted to see. They wanted the actress to be the new and fresh face to hang all of their hopes on. They wanted Celia and Alice to be Kate Hudson and Goldie Hawn: Hollywood familial royalty. But Celia and her own mother were not anything alike. But time and again Alice McDonaghy gave the media what they wanted. She took more and more of an interest in her youngest child's life that had been absent from the start. Celia resented it.
From the moment she knew what her mother was doing, in some ways Celia began to change. On the outside and to the public she was the perfect child star. She was well mannered, well spoken and well behaved. She never did anything in interviews that would raise eyebrows. She never seemed to step out of line in the slightest. But in private she was very different. She began to use her growing celebrity and her name to get what she wanted. A very few knew that she had begun, purposefully, to travel the path that many child stars had taken before her. Alcohol. Drugs. Partying. She was always discreet, but the signs could have been obvious to her parents. Her mother especially. But Celia became a very charming, almost manipulative girl to the adults around her, save her siblings. She was subtle about the ways in which she set out to sabotage what her mother wanted from her. She would miss meetings that Alice set up. She would show up late. She would go behind her mother's back and change meeting times to a time that better suited her. There were few people who could reign in the animosity that grew within her, a circle that contained her siblings and her nanny. But none of them could quite put their finger on exactly what Celia was doing or if she was also trying to self-sabotage her own growing success.
Following McDonaghy's Oscar win for Silver Linings Playbook, what looked like a storybook life took a dramatic turn. Stories of drug and alcohol abuse, coupled with emotional instability, had plagued the young actress her entire career, but none but the latter issue was anything more than a problem made up by the media. However, after a mildly publicized relationship with fellow actor Oliver Moorman, including speculation of an Emerald Isle engagement, the couple suddenly and drastically went their separate ways. While neither side expressly talked about the ending of their relationship, the aftereffects were seen in a very big way. McDonaghy moved to New York City, making the move seemingly permanent, and began acting out in ways that seemed to be more reminicent of her younger, wilder days. In truth, the young actress had simply reached a breaking point and while rumors of McDonaghy's spiral, not all of which were tied to the end of her relationship, were whispered about for months following the split, they were seen in a real way while the actress promoted the film Aint Them Bodies Saints. Evidence of, at the very least, some sort of drug or alcohol dependence was obvious. Shortly after an embarrassing red carpet incident, McDonaghy withdrew from the public eye, citing exhaustion, and entered a rehab facility. McDonaghy was rarely seen or heard from during that time, until the disasterous release of her film Serena in early 2015.
To many, it appeared that McDonaghy's bright career had been irrevocably derailed. It took a lot of backroom deals and cashing in of favors that Mother McDonaghy had saved up over the years to get the youngest McDonaghy any auditions at all, and most importantly, an audition for Tom Hooper's film, The Danish Girl. Whether those favors led to McDonaghy landing the role, or if she landed the role based solely on her talents, is not known. The film is considered award season fodder and has garnered McDonaghy a number of awards for her portrayal of Gerda Wegener already, along with her second Oscar nomination. The quiet and not so quiet screams of nepotism that had plagued the early part of her career were back, but McDonaghy is focusing on getting her career back on track and remaining far from the demons that threatened to eat her alive.
A boyfriend from college claims he is in possession of nude pictures and/or a sex tape featuring the actress and threatens to release it every so often.
Was speculated to have gone to rehab for alcohol abuse, but it was actually for dependency on prescription drugs.
Has an American Wirehair cat named Lucy she adopted in 2012.
Splits her time between Los Angeles and New York
FEATURE FILMS(20??) bad monkeys (in development)
... margot robbie's role
(2018) untitled han solo star wars anthology film (filming)
... emilia clarke's role
(2018) the life and death of john f. donovan (post-production)
... natalie portman's role
(2017) wildlife (pre-production)
... jeannette brinson
(2017) submergence (post-production)
... danielle flinders
(2017) wind river
... jane banner
(2016) the light between oceans
... isabel graysmark
(2015) the danish girl
... gerda wegener
(2015) serena
... serena pemberton
(2014) laggies
... megan
(2013) aint them bodies saints
... ruth guthrie
(2012) smashed
... kate hanna
(2010) last night
... joanna
(2009) tanner hall
... fernanda
(2008) the wrestler
... stephanie
(2008) vicky cristina barcelona
... cristina
(1998) the horse whisperer
... grace maclean
(1996) matilda
... matilda wormwood
>(1993) mrs. doubtfire
... natalie hillard
TELEVISION(1999-2001) 'as the world turns'
... lucinda montgomery (27 episodes)
Early Life
By the time Celia Marie McDonaghy was born, one would have thought that the world would no longer be so enamored with the children of Dermot and Alice McDonaghy. But that was not true. With each child the actress and musician had, the more the world wanted a piece of their life. Celia would be the last of the children to be born, stubbornly refusing to enter the world after her fraternal twin, Noah. In what should have been the family's first clue that young Celia would never quite do what she was expected to do, doctors had to wait nearly another half hour before she decided to make her entrance in to the world. Celia was a bit of a contrast to her siblings from the start. She was quiet while the siblings around her, most of whom were nearly grown by the time she had come around, were louder and much more opinionated. Being the youngest, if even by a half hour, had its advantages and disadvantages. Her elder siblings, coupled with the nanny, Marianela, who would become more of a mother to her than the woman who had given birth to her, made sure that Celia grew up in as normal of a home as they could manage with their level of visibility throughout the world. Being the baby did not mean she was exempt from teasing or tormenting, in fact she often was the subject of her elder siblings pranks. It wasn't unheard of for Celia to end up in some sort of trouble, simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But she would get them back, in small ways. On the outside, Celia could be sullen and stubborn. But behind closed doors she was a very different girl, learning about life from the only people who mattered to her, or who ever would matter to her: Her brothers and sisters. From an early age, she was a bit of a chameleon, able to adapt to many of the situations that the family found themselves in, but no one could ever really put their finger on what made her tick.
For much of her early life, Celia was content to be a normal child. Or as normal as a McDonaghy could be. Or at least until she was nearly six years old. While she had been absentee from the older children's lives, Alice McDonaghy seemed to take an interest in her youngest daughter. Whether Celia was asked if she wanted to go to her first audition would be something of a family mystery. Alice insisted it was Celia's idea, but Celia wasn't talking. Literally. She never said a word about the process that landed her her first role at the age of six. All anyone knew was that from that point on, her life would be different. Even if she had wanted to stay in the background of her famous family, that was no longer an option. She would continue to work steadily throughout her childhood. Critics said she had a natural talent, something that she secretly resented. She began to use her voice when it came to her education. She fought hard to be allowed to attend public school whenever she wasn't filming, even when her older siblings warned her against it. It would be difficult, but she wasn't one to see a challenge or adversity as a bad thing. In her oldest brother, Darsy, she found an ally on the subject. He, too, had chosen to go to public school despite the challenges one of their kind could face. He encouraged her to branch out, to participate in clubs and sports. In short, it was his influence and backing that got her in to public school. And she took his advice to heart. She surrounded herself with people, all kinds of people, even those she knew only wanted to be close to her because of her name. She didn't actively hide the fact that she had access to things that most people didn't but she didn't flaunt it either. But as her star continued to rise, there grew a divide in Celia's life. There was the girl she was expected to be, the girl the media wanted to see. They wanted the actress to be the new and fresh face to hang all of their hopes on. They wanted Celia and Alice to be Kate Hudson and Goldie Hawn: Hollywood familial royalty. But Celia and her own mother were not anything alike. But time and again Alice McDonaghy gave the media what they wanted. She took more and more of an interest in her youngest child's life that had been absent from the start. Celia resented it.
From the moment she knew what her mother was doing, in some ways Celia began to change. On the outside and to the public she was the perfect child star. She was well mannered, well spoken and well behaved. She never did anything in interviews that would raise eyebrows. She never seemed to step out of line in the slightest. But in private she was very different. She began to use her growing celebrity and her name to get what she wanted. A very few knew that she had begun, purposefully, to travel the path that many child stars had taken before her. Alcohol. Drugs. Partying. She was always discreet, but the signs could have been obvious to her parents. Her mother especially. But Celia became a very charming, almost manipulative girl to the adults around her, save her siblings. She was subtle about the ways in which she set out to sabotage what her mother wanted from her. She would miss meetings that Alice set up. She would show up late. She would go behind her mother's back and change meeting times to a time that better suited her. There were few people who could reign in the animosity that grew within her, a circle that contained her siblings and her nanny. But none of them could quite put their finger on exactly what Celia was doing or if she was also trying to self-sabotage her own growing success.
Career
Celia began her acting career when she was five years old, landing a part in the wildly popular film, Mrs. Doubtfire. The film would solidify the youngest McDonaghy as a child star, a mantle that, in later years, the actress maintains she didn't know if she even wanted. McDonaghy landed a role on the then-popular soap opera Days of Our Lives, a rerurring role that would allow her some semblance of a childhood. She moved back into film after her time on the soap ended and stayed in that medium almost exclusively.
Last time on...
Following McDonaghy's Oscar win for Silver Linings Playbook, what looked like a storybook life took a dramatic turn. Stories of drug and alcohol abuse, coupled with emotional instability, had plagued the young actress her entire career, but none but the latter issue was anything more than a problem made up by the media. However, after a mildly publicized relationship with fellow actor Oliver Moorman, including speculation of an Emerald Isle engagement, the couple suddenly and drastically went their separate ways. While neither side expressly talked about the ending of their relationship, the aftereffects were seen in a very big way. McDonaghy moved to New York City, making the move seemingly permanent, and began acting out in ways that seemed to be more reminicent of her younger, wilder days. In truth, the young actress had simply reached a breaking point and while rumors of McDonaghy's spiral, not all of which were tied to the end of her relationship, were whispered about for months following the split, they were seen in a real way while the actress promoted the film Aint Them Bodies Saints. Evidence of, at the very least, some sort of drug or alcohol dependence was obvious. Shortly after an embarrassing red carpet incident, McDonaghy withdrew from the public eye, citing exhaustion, and entered a rehab facility. McDonaghy was rarely seen or heard from during that time, until the disasterous release of her film Serena in early 2015.
To many, it appeared that McDonaghy's bright career had been irrevocably derailed. It took a lot of backroom deals and cashing in of favors that Mother McDonaghy had saved up over the years to get the youngest McDonaghy any auditions at all, and most importantly, an audition for Tom Hooper's film, The Danish Girl. Whether those favors led to McDonaghy landing the role, or if she landed the role based solely on her talents, is not known. The film is considered award season fodder and has garnered McDonaghy a number of awards for her portrayal of Gerda Wegener already, along with her second Oscar nomination. The quiet and not so quiet screams of nepotism that had plagued the early part of her career were back, but McDonaghy is focusing on getting her career back on track and remaining far from the demons that threatened to eat her alive.
Personal Life
McDonaghy is extremely close to her older siblings, but has little to no contact with her parents.
A boyfriend from college claims he is in possession of nude pictures and/or a sex tape featuring the actress and threatens to release it every so often.
Was speculated to have gone to rehab for alcohol abuse, but it was actually for dependency on prescription drugs.
Has an American Wirehair cat named Lucy she adopted in 2012.
Splits her time between Los Angeles and New York
filmography
FEATURE FILMS
TELEVISION