Jennifer Ann O’Carroll (née Gibney), Irish actress, is born on July 7, 1964, in Dublin. She is best known for playing Cathy Brown in the BBC television sitcom, Mrs. Brown’s Boys and its adaptions. She also appears as contestant on the twelfth series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2014.
Gibney works as a civil servant in the Irish tax office for seven years and then joins the Bank of Ireland. She studies for a drama degree while at the bank and joins the company’s amateur dramatics group. She trains to be an actress at Dublin Oscar Theatre School.
Gibney’s first professional acting role comes in 1996, with a minor part in Some Mother’s Son, a film starring Helen Mirren. In 1999, she appears in the film Agnes Browne as Winnie the Mackerel. In 2007, she appears in Prosperity as Linda.
Gibney’s most prominent role is her portrayal of Cathy Brown, the daughter of Agnes Brown, played by her real-life husband, Brendan O’Carroll, a part she begins playing in the 1990’s in the original Mrs. Browne, and subsequently the BBC sitcom Mrs. Brown’s Boys since 2011. She also appears as Cathy in the film adaption Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie and the talk show All Round to Mrs. Brown’s between 2017 and 2020. She and O’Carroll reprise their roles as the characters in the Netflix film A Madea Homecoming (2022).
In 2014, Gibney takes part in the twelfth series of Strictly Come Dancing. She is partnered with Irish professional Tristan MacManus. She and MacManus are the second couple to be eliminated in week three of the competition after dancing to ABBA‘s “Mamma Mia” on Movie Week. She competes in the bottom two against Blue star Simon Webbe and his partner Kristina Rihanoff.
Gibney has been married to Brendan O’Carroll since 2005 and has three stepchildren, Fiona and Danny, who also appear in Mrs. Brown’s Boys, and Eric.
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