Saoirse-Monica Jackson is a Derry-born actress best known for playing the expressive and ambitious Erin Quinn in Channel 4’s Derry Girls. The comedy made her internationally recognisable, but her career has since expanded into film, crime drama, period comedy and theatre. Now 32 as of September 2026, Jackson has appeared in The Flash, The Decameron and This City Is Ours, while also returning to the stage in New York and Ireland.
More recently, she appeared in Lisa McGee’s 2026 Netflix comedy-thriller How to Get to Heaven from Belfast and is part of the cast of the forthcoming Irish-American film The Body Is Water. Away from acting, Jackson married Scottish DJ and producer Denis Sulta, whose real name is Hector Barbour, in Ireland in 2025.
Bio
| Profile Detail | Verified Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Saoirse-Monica Jackson |
| Profession | Actress |
| Date of Birth | 24 November 1993 |
| Age | 32 years old, as of September 2026 |
| Birthplace | Derry, Northern Ireland |
| Raised In | Derry and County Donegal |
| Education / Acting Training | Arden School of Theatre, Manchester |
| Career Began | 2016 |
| Television Debut | The Five (2016) |
| Best Known For | Playing Erin Quinn in Channel 4’s Derry Girls |
| Other Notable Work | The Flash, The Decameron, The Doll Factory, This City Is Ours |
| Father | Sean Jackson |
| Mother | Ruth Jackson |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Husband | Hector Barbour, professionally known as Denis Sulta |
| Marriage Year | 2025 |
Who Is Saoirse-Monica Jackson?
Jackson was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, in November 1993. She spent her childhood between Derry and County Donegal. In interviews, she has spoken about how strongly her upbringing shaped both her personality and her connection with Derry Girls, which was set in her home city during the final years of the Troubles.
Her father, Sean, is from Derry, while her mother, Ruth, is from County Donegal. Jackson told The Observer that her parents had worked in several different fields and businesses over the years and strongly encouraged her ambition to become an actor. Rather than pushing her towards a conventional backup career, they supported her decision to pursue acting professionally.
Read The Guardian’s profile of Saoirse-Monica Jackson
Education and Early Acting Ambitions
Jackson left home at 18 and trained at the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester. An earlier Guardian interview reported that her mother had insisted she complete her A-levels before going to drama school. Jackson selected Arden partly because its course included comedy training, although at the time she did not necessarily expect comedy to become the genre that launched her career.
Her early professional years were not immediately glamorous. Before Derry Girls, she spent periods without acting work and sold HelloFresh recipe boxes door-to-door in London while trying to establish herself. Her early television work included Sasha in the 2016 crime series The Five, while her stage experience later included the West End production of Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman.
Derry Girls Made Her a Breakout Star
The defining early role for Saoirse-Monica Jackson arrived with Erin Quinn in Lisa McGee’s Derry Girls. The Channel 4 comedy premiered in 2018 and followed a group of teenagers growing up in Derry during the 1990s against the backdrop of the Troubles. Jackson starred alongside Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Nicola Coughlan, Louisa Harland and Dylan Llewellyn.
Erin became memorable partly because of Jackson’s highly physical performance. She used exaggerated expressions, awkward movements and bursts of teenage indignation to give the character a distinctive comic identity. Jackson later explained that she initially worried such an unusually physical performance might limit her future opportunities. Instead, Derry Girls became an international success and ran for three series before concluding in 2022.
The series also had unusual personal significance for Jackson because she had grown up in the same city it portrayed. She has repeatedly spoken about the importance of seeing Derry represented through young women rather than solely through political conflict.
Films and TV Roles After Derry Girls
Jackson deliberately broadened her work after Derry Girls. She appeared as Emma Callaghan in the 2021 romantic drama Finding You, alongside Rose Reid, Jedidiah Goodacre, Vanessa Redgrave and others.
One of her biggest film productions came with DC’s The Flash in 2023, in which she played Patty Spivot. Jackson told The Observer that the superhero film represented a major change of scale from television and gave her her first experience of working on a large studio film lot.
She also played Bluebell in the Victorian drama The Doll Factory. In 2024, Jackson took on the more substantial role of Misia in Netflix’s The Decameron, a dark ensemble comedy loosely inspired by Giovanni Boccaccio’s famous collection of stories. Netflix describes Misia as the highly devoted servant of Pampinea, played by Zosia Mamet.
Read Netflix’s interview with Jackson about The Decameron
This City Is Ours and a Move into Crime Drama
In 2025, Jackson became part of the ensemble of BBC crime drama This City Is Ours, playing Cheryl Crawford. Created by Stephen Butchard and produced by Left Bank Pictures, the Liverpool-set series also features James Nelson-Joyce, Hannah Onslow, Jack McMullen and Julie Graham.
The role allowed Jackson to move further away from the schoolgirl comedy with which many viewers initially associated her. The BBC drama proved successful enough to earn a second series, and Left Bank Pictures confirmed in October 2025 that filming had begun with Jackson returning as Cheryl.
Her willingness to move between comedy and darker material has become a clear feature of her post-Derry Girls career. A 2026 Vogue profile noted that she continues to embrace both dramatic and comedic work rather than trying to establish herself within only one genre.
Return to Theatre
Television has not replaced Jackson’s interest in theatre. In spring 2025, she made her Off-Broadway debut in Ciara Elizabeth Smyth’s Irishtown at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York. The production began previews on 2 April and officially opened on 13 April.
Later that year, she returned to Chekhov’s Three Sisters as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival. Jackson had previously participated in a reading of the play in Derry in 2018, making the later production a return to material she already knew.
This stage work has helped Jackson maintain a career that moves between live performance, streaming productions, BBC drama and film rather than relying solely on the profile created by Derry Girls.
Saoirse-Monica Jackson’s Husband
Saoirse-Monica Jackson is married to Scottish DJ and electronic music producer Hector Barbour, better known professionally as Denis Sulta. The couple first met during the pandemic and later became engaged after Barbour proposed during a visit to a beach in Donegal.
They married in August 2025 during a three-day celebration at Dromquinna Manor near Kenmare in County Kerry. The ceremony incorporated elements of Jackson’s Irish background and Barbour’s Scottish heritage. Jackson’s Derry Girls co-star and close friend Jamie-Lee O’Donnell was among her bridesmaids.
In August 2026, the couple publicly marked their first wedding anniversary. Their marriage therefore remains current as of September 2026.
See British Vogue’s report on Jackson’s wedding
What Is Saoirse-Monica Jackson Doing Now?
Jackson remains busy across television and film. She appeared as Feeney in How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, the 2026 Netflix mystery-comedy created by Derry Girls writer Lisa McGee. Netflix and the BBFC both list Jackson among the cast of the eight-episode series, which premiered on 12 February 2026.
She is also part of the cast of The Body Is Water, written and directed by Vicky Wight. Screen Ireland lists Jackson alongside Isiah Whitlock Jr., Stephen Rea, Aidan Quinn, Eva Birthistle, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and other established performers. Jackson plays Lou, a young woman whose friendship becomes important to a man trying to disappear into life in a small Irish community.
FAQs
How old is Saoirse-Monica Jackson?
She is 32 as of September 2026. Reliable interviews place her birth in November 1993.
Where is Saoirse-Monica Jackson from?
She is from Derry, Northern Ireland, and also spent part of her childhood in County Donegal.
Who did Saoirse-Monica Jackson play in Derry Girls?
She played Erin Quinn, one of the central teenagers in Lisa McGee’s Channel 4 comedy.
Is Saoirse-Monica Jackson married?
Yes. She married Scottish DJ and producer Denis Sulta, whose real name is Hector Barbour, in County Kerry in August 2025.
What is Saoirse-Monica Jackson working on now?
Her recent work includes How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, the returning BBC drama This City Is Ours, and the film The Body Is Water.
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