The Definitive Guide to the Best Saoirse Ronan Movies: From ‘Atonement’ to ‘Little Women’

Irish actress Saoirse Ronan is certainly no stranger to the silver screen. Born in 1994, Ronan began acting at age nine, got nominated for her first Oscar at age 13 and produced her first film at age 30 with husband Jack Lowden through their company Arcade Pictures. To learn more about the starring roles that helped the actress get there and what she’s doing now, keep reading. 

Saoirse Ronan in ‘Atonement’ (2007) 

SYNOPSIS: Set during WWII, this adaptation of Ian McEwan’s book follows two lovers who must deal with the lies told by one of their younger sisters. Kate Winslet also appears. 

RONAN PLAYED: Briony Tallis 

SAOIRSE RONAN THOUGHTS: “Briony wasn’t nasty. She was fiercely intelligent and driven. She knows she wants to be a writer and knows that she’s good, but she has developed this overactive imagination, and unfortunately, that gets them all into trouble.” 

WHERE TO STREAM: Amazon Prime Video.

Saoirse Ronan in ‘The Lovely Bones’ (2009)

SYNOPSIS: After being murdered at 14, a young girl must watch as her family tries to figure out what happened to her. This film was directed by Peter Jackson. 

RONAN PLAYED: Susie Salmon

YEAR OF RELEASE: 2009

SAOIRSE RONAN THOUGHTS: “I read the book in three days because I just felt like the whole story flowed. I was able to imagine Stanley [Tucci] playing Mr. Harvey and me being Susie.” 

WHERE TO STREAM: Max

Saoirse Ronan in ‘Hanna’ (2011) 

SYNOPSIS: A trained assassin goes on the hardest mission of her life. Hanna was directed by Joe Wright and also starred Cate Blanchett. 

RONAN PLAYED: Hanna 

SAOIRSE RONAN THOUGHTS: Hanna was filmed in Finland and she once recalled, “It was cold. One day, it was minus 30 degrees, and everyone had their puffer jackets on, snow boots, hats and gloves. And we had to fight in this. It was cold, and my muscles wouldn’t work properly. I mean, we fought on a frozen lake on the third day. But it’s beautiful there and one of the most beautiful places that I’ve ever been to. And I don’t know if [you’ve] ever been there, but it’s like a winter wonderland. It’s so enchanting.” 

WHERE TO STREAM: Amazon Prime Video. 

Saoirse Ronan in ‘Byzantium’ (2012)

SYNOPSIS: Two vampire sisters stay in a seaside town in Britain. 

RONAN PLAYED: Eleanor Webb 

SAOIRSE RONAN THOUGHTS: “She’s very much an old soul in some ways and kind of physically she’s in the present, but her mind is elsewhere,” Ronan offered in the film’s press notes. “It’s still very much in the past where she came from originally and I think she’s lived through a lot. She’s very wise, but then she meets this boy, Frank, who likes her and she’s attracted to him, but he’s dying and has been dealing with death for most of his life. That’s something she can connect and relate to and that wakes her up a bit. Suddenly she wants to be a teenager a little bit. These senses start to come back to her.”

WHERE TO STREAM: PlutoTV. 

Saoirse Ronan in ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ (2014) 

SYNOPSIS: A high-class hotel owner tells his life story to a young butler. 

RONAN PLAYED: Agatha

SAOIRSE RONAN THOUGHTS: “It doesn’t compare to any other experience I’ve had on set. You get a very heightened experience film-wise but also just a very unique life experience. All of the sets were built from scratch, and everything was there — very tactile. You just kind of breathe in the place. That kind of thing is so important and so much a part of the Wes Anderson experience.” 

WHERE TO STREAM: Amazon Prime Video. 

Saoirse Ronan in ‘Brooklyn’ (2015)

SYNOPSIS: A young girl immigrates from Ireland to America. 

RONAN PLAYED: Eilis Lace

SAOIRSE RONAN THOUGHTS: “When I had read the script, I thought, ‘Great, this is a well-written script. It’s a strong female role. It’s Irish.’ It’ll be great. But then, when we made [the film], so much had happened to me in that year personally that it took on this whole new meaning. I loved playing people that were just so completely different to who I was.” 

WHERE TO STREAM: Max. 

Saoirse Ronan in ‘Lady Bird’ (2017)

SYNOPSIS: This film, directed by Greta Gerwig, follows a high school girl as she tries to figure out who she is. 

RONAN PLAYED: Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson 

SAOIRSE RONAN THOUGHTS: “What I loved about Lady Bird was this complex character that she already [was] at the age of 17, 18. She was fiercely independent and had a lot of self-belief and confidence and even a bit of cockiness. But [she] also had self-doubt and was insecure and didn’t quite know where she was going, but knew she was headed good.” 

WHERE TO STREAM: Max. 

Saoirse Ronan in ‘Mary Queen of Scots’ (2018) 

SYNOPSIS: Two queens compete for the English throne. This film is based on a true story. 

RONAN PLAYED: Mary Stuart

SAOIRSE RONAN THOUGHTS: “It was always: we’ll do Mary this year. And then we never did. I’d been thinking about it for so long it almost felt like a fantasy. Playing her was a huge responsibility. She is so loved. But I was nervous mainly because of the wait. Selfishly, I just really wanted to do a good job.”

WHERE TO STREAM: Amazon Prime Video. 

Saoirse Ronan in ‘Little Women’ (2019) 

SYNOPSIS: Four sisters deal with growing up during the Civil War. This film was also directed by Gerwig. 

RONAN PLAYED: Josephine “Jo” March 

SAOIRSE RONAN THOUGHTS: “I think Jo is obviously a very relatable woman to people now: There’s a lot of girls out there that are very similar to Jo March. But I think it’s also just as empowering and just as interesting to see a character like Amy that’s like, ‘No, I’m going to marry, and I’m going to make it work for me.’” 

WHERE TO STREAM: Hulu. 

Saoirse Ronan in ‘The Outrun’ (2024)

SYNOPSIS: A London girl tries to deal with her troubled past. 

RONAN PLAYED  Rona

SAOIRSE RONAN THOUGHTS: “I think as much as I was interested in the topic and the world that we were in, I could also relate to it for many different reasons.”

WHERE TO STREAM: The Outrun hits theaters on October 4, 2024.