Nika McGuigan

Nika McGuigan
Nika McGuigan at the 2016 Dublin International Film Festival
Born	(1986-01-04)4 January 1986 Newry, Northern Ireland
Died	23 July 2019 (aged 33) Dublin, Ireland^[citation needed]
Other names	Danika McGuigan
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2000–2019
Father	Barry McGuigan
Family	Pat McGuigan (grandfather) Shane McGuigan (brother)

Danika McGuigan (4 January 1986 – 23 July 2019) was a Northern Irish actress, born in Northern Ireland and raised in England.[1] She was known for her role as Danielle Mullane in Can't Cope, Won't Cope (2016–2018). She was posthumously awarded Best Actress at the 2021 IFTA Awards for her final role in Wildfire (2020).[2][3] Her previous films included Philomena (2013), Mammal (2016), and The Secret Scripture (2016).[4]

Early life and education

McGuigan was born in Newry, Northern Ireland on 4 January 1986,[5] the second of four children and only daughter of Barry McGuigan, a former world champion boxer, and his wife Sandra. She had three brothers, including Shane.[2]

McGuigan spent her early childhood in Clones, County Monaghan before the family settled in rural Kent, England near Whitstable.[6] She attended St Edmund's School Canterbury and then boarded at Benenden School. She trained in Dublin, graduating from the Gaiety School of Acting in 2006, and The Factory (now Bow Street) in 2013 before moving to London.[7]

Death

McGuigan was first diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at age 11 in 1997, but recovered from the illness after two years. She was pulled out of school at the time for her treatment at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London.[8] She died from bowel cancer on 23 July 2019, aged 33.[9]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Malicious Intent	Barmaid	(Debut role)
2010	Glory	Laura	Short film
2012	Remains	Eva	Short film
2013	The Food Guide to Love	Maureen
	Philomena	Bridie	Film nominated for 4 Oscars, including Best Picture
	Stay	Deirdre McGilloway
2015	Lost in the Living	Grace	(Uncredited)
	Traders	Orla
2016	Mammal	Ann Marie
	The Secret Scripture	Chrissie
2020	Wildfire	Kelly	Posthumous release Final role *WON* IFTA for Best Lead Actress in Film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	The Tudors	Chambermaid	S01E03 – Episode: 'Wolsey, Wolsey, Wolsey!'
2009	Hollyoaks: The Morning After the Night Before	Ruby	TV series
	Mid Life Christmas	Cranchesterford teenager	Television film
2010	Dani's House	Belle Charlotte	S03E12 – Episode: 'Buddy Movie'
2014	Undeniable	Miss Maclean	Miniseries - Ep. #2
	Play Next Door	Dyla	S01E02 – Episode: 'If Those Lips'
2016–2018	Can't Cope, Won't Cope	Danielle Mullane	Main cast 12 episodes[2]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref
2021	IFTA Awards	Lead Actress in a Film	Wildfire	Won	[3]

References

1. "Actress Danika McGuigan dies aged 33". BBC News. 24 July 2019.
2. "Can't Cope, Won't Cope actor Danika McGuigan dies aged 33". The Irish Times.
3. "Nika McGuigan posthumously honoured at IFTAs for Wildfire role". RTÉ. 4 July 2021.
4. "Actress Nika McGuigan dies aged 33". 24 July 2019 – via rte.ie.
5. "How old was Danika McGuigan, what was her cause of death and what was she in?". 24 July 2019.
6. Notaro, Vicki (24 September 2016). "'I always play little scallywags so this is a big change'". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
7. "Danika McGuigan obituary: accomplished stage and screen actor". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
8. Needham, Lucy (24 July 2019). "Barry McGuigan's daughter Danika's cause of death confirmed by her family". mirror.co.uk.
9. "Danika McGuigan obituary". The Irish Times. 3 August 2019.

External links

• Nika McGuigan at IMDb