Charlene McKenna
McKenna in 2008
Born	Charlene Lee McKenna (1984-03-26)26 March 1984 (age 41) Glaslough,County Monaghan, Ireland
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2005–present
Spouse	Adam Rothenberg ​ (m. 2021)​
Children	1[1]

Charlene Lee McKenna (Irish:Searlaoin Nic Chionaoith; born 26 March 1984) is anIrish actress. She became a household name inIreland after starring as Jennifer Jackson in the miniseriesPure Mule (2005).^[2] She appeared on Irish television inSingle-Handed 2 (2008),Whistleblower (2008), andRaw (2008–2013). ForRaw, she won Best Actress (Television) at the Irish Film & Television Awards, and forWhistleblower, she won Outstanding Actress in a Mini-Series at theMonte Carlo Television Festival.

Since 2009, McKenna has appeared on British television as Rose Erskine in the BBC mystery dramaRipper Street (2012–2016), Leah Liebermann in the BBC psychological thrillerVienna Blood (2019–present), Laura McKee in series five and six ofPeaky Blinders (2019–2022), and DS Niamh McGovern in the BBC police proceduralBloodlands (2021–2022)..

McKenna grew up inGlaslough,County Monaghan where her parents owned a mushroom farm and later The Pillar House pub. She has five older brothers.^[3] She attended St Louis Secondary School in Monaghan before going on to studyClassical Music andReligious Education atMater Dei Institute of Education in Dublin.^[2] However, she deferred her third year to make time for her career before withdrawing from the course altogether.^[4]

McKenna first appeared on stage at the age of eleven, playing a small role inOklahoma! with the Monaghan Youth Theatre. Her first large-scale production wasPure Mule which launched her career.^[2] She played Jennifer Jackson, a racy character, in the series.^[5] She also appeared inThe Old Curiosity Shop, a 2007ITV adaptation of theCharles Dickens novel of the same name starringDerek Jacobi,Toby Jones,Bradley Walsh,Zoë Wanamaker,Martin Freeman,Steve Pemberton,Anna Madeley andGina McKee.^[6]

In 2007, she appeared in the shortDanger High Voltage at theElectric Picnic music festival inStradbally,County Laois. The film, which also starred Barry Ward and was directed by Luke McManus, went on to win awards at both the Galway Film Fleadh and the Cork Film Festival in 2008. McKenna also appeared as Mary McMahon inDorothy Mills.

She appeared in the second episode ofSingle-Handed 2, broadcast on 1 January 2008, in which Garda Sergeant Jack Driscoll investigated the case of the missing two-year-old son of her character, Eilish.^[5][7] Eilish also had to endure several resentful in-laws.^[8] This performance was described as "outstanding".^[9]

Whistleblower, a two-part fact-based drama broadcast in August 2008, was based on the late 1970s scandal atOur Lady of Lourdes Hospital inDrogheda,County Louth, involvinggynaecologistMichael Neary.^[10] McKenna played Karen, a young mother who has an unnecessaryhysterectomy performed on her after giving birth.^[10]Emma Stansfield played the nurse whoblew the whistle.^[10] McKenna won the Outstanding Actress in a Mini-Series award for her role inWhistleblower at theMonte Carlo Television Festival in June 2009.^[11]

McKenna starred in the RTÉ seriesRaw. Scenes involving restaurant staff tampering with their guests' food failed to attract much complaint.^[12] McKenna's character in the series is Jojo, a young chef, working under Tanya, a stressed manager, and a head chef. In the second episode, Jojo organises a party but the alcohol runs out and tensions rise.^[13][14]Raw, a six-part series set in a fictitious restaurant in Dublin, saw McKenna interact withBachelors Walk actorKeith McErlean andMistresses actressShelley Conn.^[15] McKenna won the Best Actress (Television) award for her role inRaw at the Irish Film & Television Awards inFebruary 2009.^[11][16] McKenna departedRaw following the Season 5 finale on 10 February 2013.

In 2009, McKenna played the role of Paula Abbot in the second series ofThe Fixer. In 2010, McKenna portrayed the young version of Josie, the love interest of vampire John Mitchell (Aidan Turner) inBBC supernatural comedy-dramaBeing Human. In 2011, McKenna appeared in an episode of Channel 4 comedy-dramaSirens. She played the eponymousantagonist "Lamia" (/lɑːmiːə/) in the eighth episode of the fourth season ofMerlin. She starred as Seth's dead girlfriend Shannon inMisfits.^[17] In 2013, she appeared onSkins Pure as Maddie. Between 2012 and 2016, McKenna appeared as Rose Erskine in BBC mystery dramaRipper Street. In 2015, McKenna played Eva inA.D. The Bible Continues.

In 2019, McKenna appeared in the role of Leah Liebermann in BBC crime dramaVienna Blood.^[18] In February 2021, McKenna played a lead role as Detective Sergeant Niamh McGovern in the BBCpolice procedural drama series,Bloodlands.^[19]

McKenna announced her engagement to American actorAdam Rothenberg in 2019.^[20] They were married in January 2021 atCastle Leslie adjacent to McKenna's hometown.^[21] McKenna splits her time between Monaghan, New York, and London.^[22]

• Charlene McKenna atIMDb

• 1984 births
• Living people
• 20th-century Irish people
• 21st-century Irish people
• Irish television actresses
• Irish stage actresses
• Alumni of Mater Dei Institute of Education
• Actresses from County Monaghan
• People from Glaslough

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from March 2022
• Articles with hCards
• Articles containing Irish-language text