
Kelly O'Sullivan (born 1983/1984) is an American actress, screenwriter, and producer. She wrote and starred in Saint Frances (2019), which won the Audience Award and the Special Jury Award at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival.
O'Sullivan was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, to an accountant mother and a father who worked in health insurance. She was raised Irish Catholic and attended Immaculate Conception School until eighth grade.
O'Sullivan always wanted to be an actor and supported by her cinephile parents, she performed in local children's theatre plays from age five. She studied theatre at Northwestern University and is also an alumna of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company's School at Steppenwolf in Chicago.
Inspired by Greta Gerwig, who directed Lady Bird, O'Sullivan wrote Saint Frances based on the experiences she had while working as a nanny to support her struggling acting career in her 20s and an abortion she had in her early thirties. She started work on the script in January 2018, already intending the film to be directed by partner Alex Thompson. She wrote the parts for the lesbian parents in the film for actors Lily Mojekwu and Charin Alvarez.
Known For

The Graduates
Vicki
2024

Hangdog
Wendy
2023

Cha Cha Real Smooth
Bella
2022

Rounding
Dr. Kayla Matthews
2022

Saint Frances
Bridget
2020

Not Welcome
Penelope
2018

Battleground
Sarah · (4 episodes)
2012

In Memoriam
Kelly
2011
The Steel Harp
Jessica
Pam
2016

Henry Gamble's Birthday Party
Candice Noble
2015

Sirens
Valentina 'Voodoo' Dunacci · (22 episodes)
2014

The Mob Doctor
Annabelle Hanson · (1 episode)
2012