Orlagh Cassidy

Orlagh Cassidy (born August 17, 1968) is an Irish-American actress and audiobook narrator, known for her work on stage, television, and film. She made her Broadway debut in the 1991 production of Timberlake Wertenbaker's Our Country's Good at the Nederlander Theatre. Subsequent Broadway credits include Tennessee Williams' Garden District, Noël Coward's Present Laughter (1996), and Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage (2009). Additionally, Cassidy starred as Maimie Flanagan in the 2006 revival of John B. Keane's The Field at the Irish Repertory Theatre, earning a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play nomination.

On television, Cassidy is best known for her portrayal of Doris Wolfe on the long-running CBS soap opera Guiding Light (1999–2009). She has had recurring roles on various primetime dramas, including Another World (1992–1993), The Sinner (2017), and Chicago Med (2025). Her film credits include Caryn Waechter's The Sisterhood of Night (2014) Josephine Decker's Shirley (2020), and Kogonada's After Yang (2021).

Also a prolific voice actress, Cassidy has narrated more than 160 audiobooks, earning 25 Earphones Awards, as well as 2 Audie Award nominations. Notable titles include Dune by Frank Herbert, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, and Trust by Hernán Díaz, winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Early life and education Cassidy was born on August 17, 1968, in Washington, D. C.

Cassidy received her BFA in Acting from SUNY Purchase, where she was known as the “Queen of Dialects.”

Career Cassidy began her professional acting career at age fourteen, working at the Folger Theatre in Washington, D.C., where she performed the prologue in Troilus and Cressida. During the spring semester of her senior year of high school, Cassidy appeared as Peaseblossom in A Midsummer Night's Dream and, upon graduating, became an apprentice company member. During this season, she performed in eight shows a week for ten months in classics by Molière, William Shakespeare, and Anton Chekhov, appearing as Anne Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Anya in The Cherry Orchard.

Shortly after graduating from drama school, Cassidy made her Broadway debut in Timberlake Wertenbaker's Our Country's Good in 1991, understudying roles for Cherry Jones, Amelia Campbell, and J. Smith-Cameron.

A long-time company member of the Irish Repertory Theatre, her various credits include John B. Keane's The Field (2006), Brian Friel's Aristocrats (2009) and Dancing at Lughnasa (2012, 2024), Christine Evans Can't Complain (2011), and Anthony E. Palermo's It's a Wonderful Life (2017).

In early 2020 Cassidy portrayed Nancy Pelosi in the world premiere of Bill McMahon's The Adult in the Room, at Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago.

In 2023 Cassidy made her professional playwriting debut, writing and performing in the one-woman-show It's in The Play at The Cell Theatre, Off-Broadway, programmed as part of the Origin 1st Irish Theatre Festival. The production was subsequently awarded Origin's Femme First Award.

Personal life Cassidy married Nico Sidoti on September 9, 1995. Together they had two sons. Sidoti died in December 2024 from stomach cancer.

Credits

Film + Year Title Role