Sally Rooney’s acclaimed novel Normal People has been adapted for a similarly well-received BBC TV series.
The book tells the on-off love story of teenagers Marianne and Connell, from their school days in a small town in Ireland to their undergraduate years at Trinity College.
The adaption features rising stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, 21, as Marianne and Paul Mescal, 24, as Connell, with both earning praise for their performances.
While Marianne is described as unpopular and intimidating in the book, Edgar-Jones is proving popular thanks to the series.
Here is everything you need to know about her:
Who is Daisy Edgar-Jones?
Edgar-Jones grew up in Muswell Hill, London, with a Scottish father and a mother from Northern Ireland.
She said the eclectic upbringing came in handy for her Irish accent in Normal People.
“My mum and I always speak in accents with each other,” Edgar-Jones said. “And everyone always asks me where I’m from.
“So, I’ve always been tuned into accents. It’s kind of like singing, once you know the tune and the rhythm of it.”
Edgar-Jones began acting when she was in year five at school, describing herself as “very average” at academic subjects.
The “quite shy” student appeared in a play at primary school and decided acting was the road she wanted to go down.
She later studied at the National Youth Theatre, where famous alumni include Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Daniel Day-Lewis and Daniel Craig.
What else has she starred in?
Edgar-Jones is perhaps best-known to audiences for playing Olivia Marsden is the revived ITV sitcom Cold Feet from 2016 to 2018.
She played Kate in the 2016 Outnumbered Christmas special as well as roles in long-running crime drama Silent Witness and period drama Gentleman Jack.
Edgar-Jones made her film debut in 2018’s Pond Life, which tells the story of a group of young friends who embark on a life-changing fishing trip in the summer of 1994.
What has she said about Normal People?
During the early casting process, Edgar-Jones read the book in one day, saying: “I’m a massive romantic so I loved the fact it was a love story.”
She said Normal People is about growing up and being young.
Edgar-Jones told the BBC: “It’s about being a human being and growing up from the age of 17 to 22, those years in your life are so massive. At 18, I thought I knew it all and people would say how I would feel different when I’m 21.
“The book is so beautifully written in so many tiny moments that at the time feel so insignificant but can change the course of your life. In the series, Connell says something along the lines of how the smallest thing can change everything, and that’s what the book is about, being a young person.”
All 12 episodes of BBC Three’s Normal People are available to watch on iPlayer now.
