Rose Byrne

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Rose Byrne (born July 24, 1979) is an Australian actress.

Byrne was born in Sydney and is of Irish and Scottish descent. She made her debut in comedy at the age of 12, in the film Dallas Doll, starring Sandra Bernhard, and subsequently appeared in minor roles in several Australian soap operas, including Heartbreak High, Echo Point and Fallen Angels. In 1999, Byrne appeared in two low-budget theatrical films: The Date and Two Hands, which co-starred Heath Ledger. In 2000, Byrne was awarded Best Female Performance at the Venice Festival for her role in director Clara Law's The Goddess of 1967. She later appeared in three stage plays with the Sydney Theatre Company, including La Dispute.

In 2002, Byrne pursued an acting career in the United States, and appeared in a minor role in the film Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. She went on to play Rose Mortmain in the English adaptation of Dodie Smith's novel, I Capture the Castle (2003), and later starred opposite Josh Hartnett and Diane Kruger in the American thriller Wicker Park (2004), a remake of Gilles Mimouni's L'Appartement. Also in 2004, Byrne played Briseis in director Wolfgang Petersen's Troy. In 2005, she appeared in a BBC television adaptation of Casanova, and in The Tenants, a film of Bernard Malamud's novel. Byrne recently appeared in director Sofia Coppola's Marie-Antoinette, released in October 2006. She's scheduled to appear in three movies, Sunshine, The Dead Girl, and 28 Weeks Later, in 2007.