# Kíla Lord Cassidy
**Kíla Lord Cassidy** is a British actress best known for playing Anna O'Donnell, the child at the center of Sebastián Lelio's 2022 film *[The Wonder](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-wonder-film)*. Born in 2009 in London, England, she comes from a family of actors: her mother is the Irish actor [Elaine Cassidy](https://www.edgepedia.org/elaine-cassidy) and her father is Stephen Lord, known for *Shameless*, *EastEnders*, and *Coronation Street*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10765335/) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/nov/07/kila-lord-cassidy-elaine-wonder-film-rural-ireland)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 2009, London, England, UK[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10765335/) |
| Breakthrough role | Anna O'Donnell, a supposed "fasting girl" in *The Wonder* (2022)[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/nov/07/kila-lord-cassidy-elaine-wonder-film-rural-ireland) |
| Casting | Cast at age 11 through a self-taped home audition; director Sebastián Lelio called her understanding of Anna extraordinary and hired her without a second round[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/nov/07/kila-lord-cassidy-elaine-wonder-film-rural-ireland) |
| Awards | Nominated for the BIFA Breakthrough Performance and Best Ensemble Performance (shared with the *The Wonder* cast) in 2022, IFTA Best Supporting Actress in 2023, and the London Critics' Circle Young British/Irish Performer of the Year[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10765335/awards/) |
| Early work | Street Girl in *Mrs Lowry & Son* (2019); Lily Stanton in *The Doorman* (2020)[4](https://www.rarefilmfinder.com/actor.php?id=39012) |
| Later roles | Heather Smurl in *The Conjuring: Last Rites* (2025), Molly in *Salvable* (2025), Holly (voice) in *Spiked* (2025)[5](https://watch.plex.tv/person/kila-lord-cassidy) |
| Upcoming | Fanny Savage in *Savage House* (2026)[6](https://www.cinnamondb.com/person/kila-lord-cassidy) |
## Early work
Cassidy grew up around film sets. One of her earliest memories is standing behind a camera at about age three watching her mother on the set of *The Paradise*, the BBC's Victorian costume drama, and her parents made a point of taking their children on set visits.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/nov/07/kila-lord-cassidy-elaine-wonder-film-rural-ireland) Her first credited screen appearance was as the Street Girl in *Mrs Lowry & Son* (2019), followed by Lily Stanton in the action thriller *The Doorman* (2020), which starred [Jean Reno](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-reno) and [Ruby Rose](https://www.edgepedia.org/ruby-rose); by her mother's account, nine-year-old Kíla spoke in an American accent and dragged Ruby Rose around the set.[4](https://www.rarefilmfinder.com/actor.php?id=39012) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/nov/07/kila-lord-cassidy-elaine-wonder-film-rural-ireland) In 2021 she played Caitlin Sterling in the television thriller series *Viewpoint*.[7](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-931841/filmographie/)
## The Wonder
*The Wonder* is an adaptation of [Emma Donoghue](https://www.edgepedia.org/emma-donoghue)'s 2016 novel, directed by the Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Lelio (an Academy Award winner for *A Fantastic Woman*). Set in 1862 in a village in the Irish Midlands still haunted by the Great Famine, it follows Anna O'Donnell, an 11-year-old girl who has not eaten in four months but appears healthy, and the English nurse Lib Wright ([Florence Pugh](https://www.edgepedia.org/florence-pugh)) hired by a committee of local men to watch over her and determine whether the apparent miracle is real.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/nov/07/kila-lord-cassidy-elaine-wonder-film-rural-ireland) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/oct/30/the-wonder-review-a-haunting-period-drama-of-faith-and-reason)
**Casting and performance.** Cassidy was 11 when she was cast. To audition she filmed herself at home in London and sent off the tape; there was no second round, and five weeks later Lelio telephoned with the offer. He later said he had been getting through dozens of audition tapes a week, that the nurse-and-girl relationship was the beating heart of the film, and that her understanding of Anna was extraordinary: "I knew we had a film then."[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/nov/07/kila-lord-cassidy-elaine-wonder-film-rural-ireland)
The film's casting included a notable piece of realism: Lelio asked Kíla's permission before approaching Elaine Cassidy, a producer's suggestion, to play Anna's mother Rosaleen, so that a real mother and daughter play the parts on screen. The film shot for six weeks in Ireland, with Kíla remote learning over Zoom between filming and working with a dialect coach on a specific Midlands accent.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/nov/07/kila-lord-cassidy-elaine-wonder-film-rural-ireland) • [9](https://www.irishjournalismawards.ie/_files/ugd/7a4c53_f2d1d797fc7846acaff216d6f7b5fbd1.pdf)
The film premiered on Netflix in November 2022. Reviewers singled out her performance; *The Guardian* described her as disappearing "utterly into character" with "translucent skin and huge expressive eyes," and *The Irish Times* and other reviews noted her presence and conviction opposite Florence Pugh.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/nov/07/kila-lord-cassidy-elaine-wonder-film-rural-ireland) • [10](https://entertainment.ie/movies/movie-reviews/the-wonder-546457/)
## Awards
*The Wonder* brought Cassidy her first nominations. At the British Independent Film Awards 2022 she was nominated for Breakthrough Performance (the award went to Safia Oakley-Green for *The Origin*) and, together with the ensemble including Florence Pugh, Tom Burke, Toby Jones, Niamh Algar, Elaine Cassidy, Ciarán Hinds, Brían F. O'Byrne, and Josie Walker, for Best Ensemble Performance.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10765335/awards/) • [11](https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/winners-announced-british-independent-film-awards-2022) In 2023 she received nominations for the Irish Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in Film and the London Critics' Circle Film Awards' Young British/Irish Performer of the Year.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10765335/awards/)
## Later and upcoming roles
In 2025 Cassidy appeared in three releases: as Heather Smurl in *The Conjuring: Last Rites*, the ninth entry in the theatrical Conjuring universe directed by Michael Chaves, which centers on the Smurl family haunting alongside [Ed and Lorraine Warren](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-and-lorraine-warren) ([Patrick Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/patrick-wilson) and [Vera Farmiga](https://www.edgepedia.org/vera-farmiga)); as Molly in *Salvable*; and as the voice of Holly in the animated *Spiked*.[5](https://watch.plex.tv/person/kila-lord-cassidy) • [12](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10765335/news/) She is cast as Fanny Savage in *Savage House* (2026), directed by Peter Glanz.[6](https://www.cinnamondb.com/person/kila-lord-cassidy)
## References
1. [Kíla Lord Cassidy, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10765335/)
2. ["'Like winning the lottery!' – Kíla Lord Cassidy on starring in The Wonder", Cath Clarke, The Guardian, 7 November 2022](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/nov/07/kila-lord-cassidy-elaine-wonder-film-rural-ireland)
3. [Kíla Lord Cassidy – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10765335/awards/)
4. [Kíla Lord Cassidy :: Filmography, RareFilmFinder](https://www.rarefilmfinder.com/actor.php?id=39012)
5. [Kíla Lord Cassidy, Plex](https://watch.plex.tv/person/kila-lord-cassidy)
6. [Kíla Lord Cassidy — Acting, Cinnamon DB](https://www.cinnamondb.com/person/kila-lord-cassidy)
7. [Kíla Lord Cassidy : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-931841/filmographie/)
8. ["The Wonder review – a haunting period drama of faith and reason", The Guardian, 30 October 2022](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/oct/30/the-wonder-review-a-haunting-period-drama-of-faith-and-reason)
9. ["Some kind of wonderful", Niamh Donnelly, Business Post Magazine, 30 October 2022](https://www.irishjournalismawards.ie/_files/ugd/7a4c53_f2d1d797fc7846acaff216d6f7b5fbd1.pdf)
10. ["The Wonder" review, Entertainment.ie](https://entertainment.ie/movies/movie-reviews/the-wonder-546457/)
11. ["Winners announced at the British Independent Film Awards 2022", BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/winners-announced-british-independent-film-awards-2022)
12. [Kíla Lord Cassidy – News, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10765335/news/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Child and youth screen performers › Child performers born 2001 to 2010 › Performers born 2006 to 2010*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 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