Kirsten Callaghan

Kirsten Callaghan at CINECITY Brighton Film Festival 2022

Kirsten Sarah Callaghan is a British-Irish actress and playwright. She is best known for her lead role as swimmer Mercedes Gleitze in the 2024 biopic Vindication Swim .

Early life and education

Kirsten Sarah Callaghan graduated from Rose Bruford College in 2015. ^[1]

Career

Callaghan began her career on stage, writing, and performing in one-woman show L'amour Est Mort, based on the French folktale Bluebeard , which was chosen to be performed at the London Symposium Festival.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 2016, Callaghan was cast as Nöel Olivier in Nick Baldock's historical play Verge of Strife,^{[ citation needed ]} and then in the lead role of Thomas Clancy's play, Pussy. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

In 2019 Callaghan was cast as the lead role in the biopic Vindication Swim . ^[5] The film, written and directed by Elliott Hasler, portrays the story of Mercedes Gleitze, who in 1927 became the first British woman to swim the English Channel. ^{[6] [7]} Callaghan spent three years training and filming for the swimming scenes, which were all filmed in the English Channel itself. ^{[8] [9] [10] [11] [12]} Besides starring in the film, Callaghan also served as executive producer on the project, alongside producers Nicola Pearcey, Sally Humphreys, Douglas McJannet, and Simon Hasler. ^[13] Vindication Swim was released in 2024 and marks Callaghan's feature film debut. ^{[14] [15] [16] [17]}

Filmography

Year	Film	Actor	Producer	Notes
2022	Vindication Swim	Yes	Yes

References

1. "Class of 2015". Rose Bruford. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
2. "Verge of Strife". Arsalan Sattari Productions. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
3. "Verge of Strife: 4 star review by Joshua Clarke". broadwaybaby.com. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
4. "Pussy". Views from the gods. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
5. "Elliott, Kirsten & John Interviewed on BBC South East TV & BBC Sussex Radio". Relsah Productions. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
6. Ramos, Dino-Ray (2 November 2020). "Victoria Summer Dives Into Indie Biopic 'Vindication Swim' From Director Elliott Hasler". Deadline. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
7. Bartle, Faye (14 April 2021). "Behind the scenes of film Vindication Swim - shot in Sussex". Great British Life. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
8. "The untold story of a British swimming icon". BBC News. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
9. "Blue plaque unveiled to honour the first British woman to swim the Channel". ITV News. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
10. "Crowds watch as Brighton's forgotten swimming hero is honoured with blue plaque". The Argus. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
11. "5 Live Breakfast - 24/01/2022 - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
12. Blackburn, Jack. "Channel swimmer comes in from cold". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 26 January 2022.
13. "Sally Wood gives positive update on husband Ronnie's cancer battle - EXCLUSIVE". HELLO!. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
14. Carden, George (19 November 2022). "Film about first British woman to swim English Channel screens in her home city". The Argus. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
15. "Vindication Swim – RelsahFilms" . Retrieved 26 January 2022.
16. Yossman, K. J. (28 January 2022). "Elliott Hasler's 'Vindication Swim' Biopic Casts Douglas Hodge, James Wilby (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
17. "Kirsten Callaghan". IMDb. Retrieved 29 January 2022.