# Victoria Smurfit

Victoria Smurfit (born 31 March 1974) is an Irish actress. She is known for playing Orla O'Connell in the BBC television series Ballykissangel, Detective Chief Inspector Roisin Connor in the ITV police procedural Trial & Retribution and Cruella de Vil in Once Upon a Time for which she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress in 13th IFTA Film & Drama Awards in 2016. Most recently she played Maud O’Hara in Rivals on Disney+.

## Early life

Victoria Smurfit is part of the Smurfit family which, through Smurfit Kappa, is one of the richest in Ireland. The family, headed by Victoria's uncle Michael Smurfit, sponsors a number of sporting events including the Smurfit European Open and the Champion Hurdle. The family is also associated with Smurfit Business School in University College Dublin (UCD). Smurfit studied for an A-level in theatre studies and subsequently went onto the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

## Career

Smurfit gained fame for her role as Orla O'Connell in the BBC television series Ballykissangel from 1998 to 1999. She played Nina in the 2003 film Bulletproof Monk. From 2003 to 2009, Smurfit portrayed the lead role of Detective Chief Inspector Roisin Connor in the ITV police procedural Trial & Retribution. She also guest starred in the BBC Radio 4 series Baldi. In 2011 Smurfit appeared in the Agatha Christie's Marple television episode "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side".
In 2013, Smurfit co-starred as Lady Jayne Wetherby in the NBC television period drama Dracula. In 2014, she began playing the recurring guest role of Cruella de Vil in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
In the run-up to shooting for her role in Homecoming, she described the film as a "mean girls for grown-ups". She played Nikki, the "head mean girl". In 2021 she played Pippa in Deadly Cuts and in 2022 played Olivia Foyle in "Bloodlands". In 2024 she played Maud O’Hara in Disney Plus’s ‘Rivals’, based on the Jilly Cooper novel of the same name, which was renewed for a second season in December 2024.

## Personal life

Smurfit married advertising executive Douglas Baxter on 29 July 2000 in Surrey, England, and gave birth to their 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, a boy, was born in November 2008 and named Flynn Alexander Baxter. In 2012 the family relocated to Santa Monica, California, US. In February 2015 it was announced that Smurfit and her husband had filed for divorce.
She wrote an opinion blog for The Dubliner, which often featured anecdotes from her personal life, and is a patron of the children's charity World Vision Ireland. Victoria Smurfit tied the knot with her partner Steve Jacobs at the end of 2023.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1995 | The Run of the Country | Annagh | |
| 1996 | The Leading Man | Annabel | |
| 1997 | Romance and Rejection | Helen | |
| 2000 | The Beach | Weathergirl | |
| 2000 | The Wedding Tackle | Clodagh | |
| 2002 | The Last Great Wilderness | Claire | |
| 2002 | About a Boy | Suzie | |
| 2003 | Bulletproof Monk | Nina Strucker | |
| 2011 | Honeymoon for One | Hilary | Television film |
| 2011 | A Proper Send-Off | Natalia | Short film |
| 2014 | Amnesia: Who Are You? | Monica | |
| 2014 | Among Ravens | Emma | |
| 2014 | Bait | Bex | |
| 2016 | Best Fake Friends | Nikki | |
| 2017 | The Lears | Diana | |
| 2017 | The Secret Market | Dr. Amy McCarthy | Short film |
| 2021 | Deadly Cuts | Pippa | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1997 | Ivanhoe | Lady Rowena | Miniseries; 6 episodes |
| 1998 | Berkeley Square | Hannah Randall | Series regular; 10 episodes |
| 1998–1999 | Ballykissangel | Orla O'Connell | Series regular; 24 episodes |
| 2000 | North Square | Helen Fernyhough | Series regular; 10 episodes |
| 2000–2001 | Cold Feet | Jane Fitzpatrick | Recurring role; 3 episodes |
| 2003–2009 | Trial & Retribution | DCI Róisín Connor | Series regular; 24 episodes |
| 2004 | The Alan Clark Diaries | Clark's Mistress | Episode: "Into the Wilderness" |
| 2006 | The Shell Seekers | Olivia Keeling | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
| 2009 | The Clinic | Dr. Edel Swift | Recurring role; 5 episodes |
| 2010 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Ella Blunt | Episode: "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side" |
| 2012 | Missing | Sloane | Episode: "Ice Queen" |
| 2013–2014 | Dracula | Lady Jayne Wetherby | Series regular; 10 episodes |
| 2014 | The Mentalist | Monica Giraldi | Episode: "Blue Bird" |
| 2014 | Rush | Isabel Thoreau | Episode: "Don't Ask Me Why" |
| 2014–2018 | Once Upon a Time | Cruella De Vil | Series regular; 15 episodes |
| 2018 | Marcella | Maya Whitman | Recurring role; 7 episodes |
| 2019 | Strike Back: Revolution | Lauren Gillespie | Recurring role; 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Around the World in 80 Days | Lady Clemency Rowbotham | Episode: "Episode 5" |
| 2022 | The Man Who Fell to Earth | Penny Morgan | Recurring role; 3 episodes |
| 2022 | Bloodlands | Olivia Foyle | Series regular; 6 episodes |
| 2024 | Rivals | Maud O’Hara | Series regular; 8 episodes |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Title | Role | Awards | Result |
| 2014 | Amnesia: Who Are You? | Monica | IFS Award Best Actress | Won |
| 2016 | Once Upon A Time | Cruella de Vil | 13th IFTA Film & Drama Awards Best Actress in Supporting Role in Drama | Nominated |
| 2018 | The Lears | Diana | 15th Irish Film & Television Academy Awards Best Actress in Supporting Role in Film | Won |