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.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
- Actor, writer, director and producer
- 12 on MovieCove · 17 credits in all
What are Kelly O'Sullivan's films like?
Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 7
Light 2 · Serious 4 · Dark 1
Grounded 6 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 2 · Charged 4 · Intense 1
Steady 5 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1
Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
A split, not a type: Casual 3 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 3
A split, not a type: Resolved 5 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1
Roles they play
- Heroas Bridget in Saint Frances (2019)
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet5
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Kelly O'Sullivan's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).
Subscription and free streaming for Kelly O'Sullivan's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
17 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page.
Mouse(2026)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
The Graduates(2023)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Ghostlight(2024)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Hangdog(2023)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
Cha Cha Real Smooth(2022)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
My Summer Vacation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Rounding(2022)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
Saint Frances(2019)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Not Welcome (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Jessica(2016)
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all filmsThe History of Us (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Sirens(2014)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all shows
The Mob Doctor(2012)
Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all shows
Battleground(2012)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows
In Memoriam (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
The Steel Harp (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 17 titles, 16 of them dated from 2011 to 2026.
Biggest box office
Ghostlight (2024)
Highest rated
Ghostlight (2024)
Most popular right now
Sirens (2014)
Film career
- 2014Screen debut· Sirens
- 2015First film· Henry Gamble's Birthday Party
- 2020First top-billed film· Saint Frances
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
3 major nominations and no wins, 2021–2026.
- Berlinale award, nominated · Best Feature Film
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Kelly O'Sullivan's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 59th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 72nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th4
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 12 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved1
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Mixed5
Reviewers score the acting 81/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles; fans 86, detractors 50. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Kelly O'Sullivan work with?
People who share at least 2 of Kelly O'Sullivan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Alex Thompson shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Alex ThompsonShared titles: Mouse (2026), Ghostlight (2024), Rounding (2022), Saint Frances (2019)See all 4 shared titles with Alex Thompson
Actors
- Katherine Mallen KupfererShared titles: Mouse (2026), Ghostlight (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Katherine Mallen Kupferer
- Tara MallenShared titles: Mouse (2026), Ghostlight (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Tara Mallen
- Bradley Grant SmithShared titles: Ghostlight (2024), Rounding (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Bradley Grant Smith
- Charin AlvarezShared titles: Rounding (2022), Saint Frances (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Charin Alvarez
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Mike S. SmithShared titles: Mouse (2026), Ghostlight (2024), Rounding (2022)See all 3 shared titles with Mike S. Smith
- Nate HurtsellersShared titles: Mouse (2026), Rounding (2022), Saint Frances (2019)See all 3 shared titles with Nate Hurtsellers
- Quinn TsanShared titles: Ghostlight (2024), Rounding (2022), Saint Frances (2019)See all 3 shared titles with Quinn Tsan
- Luke DyraShared titles: Mouse (2026), Ghostlight (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Luke Dyra
Producers
- Alex WilsonShared titles: Mouse (2026), Ghostlight (2024), Rounding (2022), Saint Frances (2019)See all 4 shared titles with Alex Wilson
- Edwin LinkerShared titles: Mouse (2026), Ghostlight (2024), Rounding (2022), Saint Frances (2019)See all 4 shared titles with Edwin Linker
- Ian KeiserShared titles: Mouse (2026), Ghostlight (2024), Rounding (2022), Saint Frances (2019)See all 4 shared titles with Ian Keiser
- Pierce CravensShared titles: Mouse (2026), Ghostlight (2024), Rounding (2022), Saint Frances (2019)See all 4 shared titles with Pierce Cravens
