# Aoife Hinds
**Aoife Hinds** (born 1991) is a British actress known for playing Helen in *Normal People*, Sister Emeline in *Dune: Prophecy*, and Sophy in the BBC and A24 series *The Ministry of Time*. She is the daughter of the Belfast actor [Ciarán Hinds](https://www.edgepedia.org/ciaran-hinds) and the actress Hélène Patarot.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9501566) • [2](https://1883magazine.com/aoife-hinds/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1991, London, England, UK[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9501566) |
| Parents | Actor Ciarán Hinds and actress Hélène Patarot[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9501566) • [2](https://1883magazine.com/aoife-hinds/) |
| Training | Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique, after a degree at the London School of Economics[3](https://observer.co.uk/style/features/article/future-greats-young-actors-on-the-brink-of-stardom) |
| Breakthrough role | Helen, Connell's college girlfriend, in *Normal People* (2020, 4 episodes)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9501566) |
| Genre role | Sister Emeline, a Bene Gesserit trainee, in HBO's *Dune: Prophecy* (2024)[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/221461/aoife-hinds) • [5](https://winteriscoming.net/dune-prophecy-star-aoife-hinds-talks-to-us-about-playing-a-bene-gesserit-trainee) |
| Lead role | Sophy in *The Ministry of Time*, a six-part BBC/A24 adaptation of Kaliane Bradley's novel, opposite Billy Howle[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9501566/news/) |
| Recognition | Selected for the Observer's "Future Greats" portfolio of up-and-coming actors (2026)[3](https://observer.co.uk/style/features/article/future-greats-young-actors-on-the-brink-of-stardom) |
## Background and training
Hinds was born in London in 1991 to Ciarán Hinds and Hélène Patarot, both actors, and was raised between London and Paris.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9501566) • [2](https://1883magazine.com/aoife-hinds/) • [3](https://observer.co.uk/style/features/article/future-greats-young-actors-on-the-brink-of-stardom) Her parents' touring work shaped her childhood: she has described traveling with her father to Japan when he played Richard III when she was two, and accompanying her mother to Buenos Aires on a [Simon McBurney](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-mcburney) play tour when she was four.[2](https://1883magazine.com/aoife-hinds/)
**A delayed start.** She did not go straight into acting. After finishing school she spent a year working as an usher at [Peter Brook](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-brook)'s Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris, where the ushers were allowed to stage a play for one night; performing a scene as a prison guard in front of a couple of hundred people was the moment she began considering acting as a career.[3](https://observer.co.uk/style/features/article/future-greats-young-actors-on-the-brink-of-stardom) She then took a degree at the [London School of Economics](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-school-of-economics) before training at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique in Paris.[3](https://observer.co.uk/style/features/article/future-greats-young-actors-on-the-brink-of-stardom)
## Screen career
Her first screen role was in [Jaume Collet-Serra](https://www.edgepedia.org/jaume-collet-serra)'s thriller *The Commuter* (2018), starring [Liam Neeson](https://www.edgepedia.org/liam-neeson).[7](https://my.romacinemafest.org/media/12184/cottontail-press-kit.pdf) Early television work followed in *Nightflyers* (Sylvie), *Cheat* (Ellie, a main role for ITV), *The Feed*, and a single episode of *Derry Girls* as Mae Chung.[8](https://www.42mp.com/talent/aoife-hinds)**Normal People.** In 2020 she played Helen, the college girlfriend of Connell ([Paul Mescal](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-mescal)), in four episodes of the BBC and Hulu adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9501566) • [9](https://www.theirishworld.com/playing-the-other-woman/) The role brought her wide attention; she has said that although she and Daisy Edgar-Jones shared little screen time, the two became close friends during filming.[9](https://www.theirishworld.com/playing-the-other-woman/) In 2021 she played Gaby Chadwell, a main role, in the ITV miniseries *The Long Call*, and Princess Mary (Mary Tudor) in the Channel 5 miniseries *Anne Boleyn*.[8](https://www.42mp.com/talent/aoife-hinds)**Film work.** Her film credits include Nora in the 2022 Hulu horror film *Hellraiser*, the eleventh installment of that franchise; Mary in *Cottontail* (2023), a UK-Japan drama by Patrick Dickinson; Rebecca in the Netflix drama *Scoop* (2024); and Skye in *We Live in Time* (2024), the John Crowley romance starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh.[10](https://fivia.si/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/We-Live-in-Time-Production-Notes-PressNotes-WE-LIVE-IN-TIME-04-9-2024-pdf.pdf)
**Dune: Prophecy.** In 2024 she played Sister Emeline, a main role in the first season of HBO's *Dune: Prophecy*, the prequel series to [Denis Villeneuve](https://www.edgepedia.org/denis-villeneuve)'s Dune films based on the novel *Sisterhood of Dune*.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/221461/aoife-hinds) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9501566/news/) Emeline is a young woman training to become a [Bene Gesserit](https://www.edgepedia.org/bene-gesserit) sister whose family history of martyrdom makes her fiercely devout; over the season she turns increasingly to the sisterhood's anti-thinking-machine religion.[2](https://1883magazine.com/aoife-hinds/) • [5](https://winteriscoming.net/dune-prophecy-star-aoife-hinds-talks-to-us-about-playing-a-bene-gesserit-trainee) Hinds has said she deliberately did not read the source books, preferring to work out the world as her character does, and prepared instead through religious imagery, including an [El Greco](https://www.edgepedia.org/el-greco) exhibition in Budapest, plus stunt and choreography training for the prana-bindu discipline.[11](https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/dune-prophecy-aoife-hinds/) A second season has been filmed, with new cast members including Tom Hollander, Indira Varma, and Ashley Walters.[12](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/aoife-hinds/)
## The Ministry of Time and current work
In August 2026 the BBC and A24 announced that Hinds and [Billy Howle](https://www.edgepedia.org/billy-howle) would lead *The Ministry of Time*, a six-part adaptation of Kaliane Bradley's bestselling debut novel, adapted by Alice Birch with Aneil Karia as lead director, filming in and around London for BBC One and iPlayer.[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9501566/news/) • [13](https://tali.news/2026/08/ministry-of-time-casts-hinds-howle/) Hinds plays Sophy, a civil servant whose professional friendship with Commander Graham Gore (Howle) develops into a forbidden romance; her father Ciarán Hinds later joined the cast alongside [Adeel Akhtar](https://www.edgepedia.org/adeel-akhtar), Hong Chau, and others.[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9501566/news/)
She also stars as Julie Price in *Secret Service*, a five-part ITV espionage thriller adapted from [Tom Bradby](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-bradby)'s novel and starring [Gemma Arterton](https://www.edgepedia.org/gemma-arterton), picked up by MGM+ for the US, Canada, Latin America, and Italy, and appears in *These Sacred Vows* as Margot, both scheduled for 2026.[12](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/aoife-hinds/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9501566/news/)
## Stage and narration
Her stage work includes *Pacamambo* at the Festival d'Avignon (2014), *En Folkefiende* at the Edinburgh Fringe (2016), *i will still be whole (when you rip me in half)* at the Bunker in London (2019), and multiple roles in [Peter Morgan](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-morgan)'s *Patriots* at the Almeida Theatre and Noël Coward Theatre (2022–2023).[8](https://www.42mp.com/talent/aoife-hinds)She has also worked as an audiobook narrator, credited on the French edition of Michelle Zauner's *Crying in H Mart* (*Pleurer au supermarché*) and on the audiobook of Kaliane Bradley's *The Ministry of Time*.[14](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22748774.Aoife_Hinds) • [12](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/aoife-hinds/)
## Recognition
In 2026 the Observer included her in its inaugural "Future Greats" portfolio, a selection by the paper's staff and critics of six up-and-coming actors expected to make an impact on stage and screen.[3](https://observer.co.uk/style/features/article/future-greats-young-actors-on-the-brink-of-stardom)
## References
1. [Aoife Hinds, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9501566)
2. [Aoife Hinds, 1883 Magazine](https://1883magazine.com/aoife-hinds/)
3. [Future greats: young actors on the brink of stardom, The Observer](https://observer.co.uk/style/features/article/future-greats-young-actors-on-the-brink-of-stardom)
4. [Aoife Hinds, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/221461/aoife-hinds)
5. [Dune: Prophecy star Aoife Hinds talks to us about playing a Bene Gesserit trainee, Winter is Coming](https://winteriscoming.net/dune-prophecy-star-aoife-hinds-talks-to-us-about-playing-a-bene-gesserit-trainee)
6. [Aoife Hinds – News, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9501566/news/)
7. [Cottontail press kit, Roma Cinema Fest](https://my.romacinemafest.org/media/12184/cottontail-press-kit.pdf)
8. [Aoife Hinds, 42 Management & Production](https://www.42mp.com/talent/aoife-hinds)
9. [Playing the other woman, The Irish World](https://www.theirishworld.com/playing-the-other-woman/)
10. [We Live in Time production notes](https://fivia.si/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/We-Live-in-Time-Production-Notes-PressNotes-WE-LIVE-IN-TIME-04-9-2024-pdf.pdf)
11. [Interview: Aoife Hinds On Dune: Prophecy, Country & Town House](https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/dune-prophecy-aoife-hinds/)
12. [Aoife Hinds, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/aoife-hinds/)
13. [Aoife Hinds and Billy Howle will lead the BBC and A24 series The Ministry of Time, TALi News](https://tali.news/2026/08/ministry-of-time-casts-hinds-howle/)
14. [Aoife Hinds, Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22748774.Aoife_Hinds)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Irish actors › Surnames G to M*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license