Antonia Campbell-Hughes is an actress, writer, director, and former fashion designer from Northern Ireland. She is best known for playing Natascha Kampusch in 3096 Days, Marie-Antoinette in Dangerous Liaisons and the title role in Cordelia.
She first gained notability as a fashion designer while in her teens. After an early career in comedy, she moved on to more serious acting roles, alongside writing for the screen. Her debut feature film as director, the thriller It Is In Us All, was released in 2022.
Early life and education Antonia Campbell-Hughes was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, living there until the age of two. Until the age of 16 she moved between the United States, Switzerland, Germany, and England, due to her father's job with chemical firm DuPont.
After experimenting with short film, she went to art school in Dublin. During this time, as a teenager, she started her own fashion label.Biodata, timesonline.co.uk. Accessed 13 November 2022. Her clothing line would sell internationally under her own name, and a diffusion line for high street store Topshop.
Screen career Television Campbell-Hughes' first role was in Jack Dee's sitcom Lead Balloon, which ran for four series, where she played his daughter. Her early career was mostly in comedy, with roles in a variety of comedy shows on British television, alongside Jennifer Saunders and Alex Macqueen, in Sharon Horgan and Stephen Mangan's series Free Agents, among others. In 2009, she created her own show, Bluebell Welch, for MTV, where she played an overzealous, obsessive MTV presenter.
Alongside her comedy projects, she performed smaller, serious roles in popular UK TV series such as Silent Witness, Casualty, Blackbeard: Terror at Sea, and Spooks. She was co-lead in an episode of Channel 4's anthology series Coming Up.
Later, alongside a film career, she took on occasional TV roles, in series such as Lewis, Doll & Em, and London Spy. In 2016 she was a series regular on My Mother and Other Strangers. She played Marie Antoniette in the 2022 STARZ series adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons.
Film Her first notable film role was in the Jane Campion feature film Bright Star in 2010.The View from Riverside Park Her first starring role was the 2011 indie drama Lotus Eaters. This was followed by the lead role in the 2012 film Kelly + Victor.
The following year she played Natascha Kampusch in 3096 Days. Natascha, an Austrian, was abducted at age 10 and held captive for eight years, escaping in 2006, a case that made headlines worldwide. Other notable roles followed in movies like Les Cowboys, The Canal and Never Grow Old. She co-starred in the 2022 David Lynch production The Other Me, written and directed by Georgian Giga Agladze.
In 2022, she released her directorial debut It Is In Us All, a thriller that she wrote and in which she plays a supporting role. It was nominated for a pair of British Independent Film Awards and was selected for a number of festivals.
Awards 2012: Shooting Stars Award at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, annual acting award for up-and-coming actors by European Film PromotionEuropean Film Promotion unveils 2012 Shooting Stars longlist 2022: It Is In Us All, winner, Extraordinary Cinematic Vision award at the SXSW Film Festival 2022: It Is In Us All, nominated - SXSW Grand Jury Award, Narrative Feature and two British Independent Film Awards
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes2007Tonight Is CancelledNesmir2009Bright StarAbigail O'Donaghue Brown2009Once Upon a Time in DublinMarina2010Five Day ShelterPaula2011Angel2011Lotus EatersAlice2011Arlene Kelly2011Albert NobbsEmmy2012Storage 24Shelley2012Kelly + VictorKelly20133096 DaysNatascha Kampusch2013Under the SkinThe Shadow Alien2014Claire2015Les CowboysEmma2015SwansongJamie2015MindGamersAgnes2015AndronValerie2015Fading AwayLeila2015Margaret2016SplitShelley2018Black '47Brigid Ní Dhomhnaill2018Paul, Apostle of ChristIrenica2018ZooEmily2019She's MissingMarina 2019Never Grow OldMaria Pike 2019 Rare Beasts Cathy2019CordeliaCordelia / Caroline2020Zone 414 Jaden2022It Is In Us AllCara Daly Directorial debut
Television Year Title Role Notes2005CasualtyAvril Skinner"Enough's Enough"2006BlackbeardLouis ArrotTV miniseries2006Silent WitnessFenella Lee"Schism: Parts 1 & 2"2006–2011Lead BalloonSam SpleenRegular role2007DamageLauren WardTV film2007Abigail WilsonRegular role2007Coming UpCarly"Scapegoat"2008Delta ForeverMiranda"Pilot"2009Free AgentsLucy"1.2"2009Not Safe for WorkClaire CampbellTV film2009Bluebell WelchBluebell WelchTV series2009SpooksNina Gevitsky"8.3"2010Material GirlPlum"1.4"2010When Harvey Met BobMarsha HuntTV film2011LewisChloe Brooks"Old, Unhappy, Far Off Things"2013Doll & EmMiranda"Six"2013ViolettaTV film2014ButterflyTeriTV short2015London SpyMagician"I Know"2016My Mother and Other StrangersKettie BradyRegular role2024Black DovesGeorge1 episode
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