Ronnie Masterson (4 April 1926 – 10 February 2014) was an Irish

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. Masterson was born in Dublin. She trained at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

and first appeared on stage there in 1944. At the Abbey, she met and then married actor

Ray McAnally Ray McAnally (30 March 1926 – 15 June 1989) was an Irish actor. He was the recipient of three BAFTA Awards in the late 1980s: two BAFTA Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor (for ''The Mission'' in 1986 and ''My Left Foot'' in 1989), and a ...

in 1951, and they remained married until his death, although they resided in different homes; her husband with Irish actress Britta Smith. McAnally and Masterson had four children;

Conor Conor is a male given name of Irish origin. The meaning of the name is "Lover of Wolves" or "Lover of Hounds". '' Conchobhar/Conchubhar'' or from the name ''Conaire'', found in Irish legend as the name of the high king Conaire Mór and other her ...

, Aonghus, Máire and Niamh. They formed Old Quay Productions, which presented an assortment of plays such as ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of middle-aged couple Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they rece ...

'', ''

The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televis ...

'' and many others. Masterson had also played in the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

and in many Dublin Theatre Festival productions. She has appeared on many series broadcast on

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

and toured extensively in the United States in her own one woman shows. She made her film debut in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, playing Bridie in ''

The Dawning ''The Dawning'' is a 1988 British drama film based on Jennifer Johnston's novel, '' The Old Jest'', which depicts the Irish War of Independence through the eyes of the Anglo-Irish landlord class. It stars Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Grant, Jean Simmon ...

''. In November 2005, she was in the United States again, this time to take the lead role in ''The Sea Captain'', a short film directed by her son, veteran television producer Conor McAnally.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Masterson, Ronnie 1926 births 2014 deaths Irish film actresses Irish stage actresses Irish television actresses Actresses from Dublin (city)