Outlander fans are eagerly awaiting the final series of the time-travelling fantasy series, as they finally find out how the story ends for lovers Jamie and Claire Fraser.
The show has made international stars out of its two lead actors, Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe.
While Heughan, 45, has an army of online fans at his back, as well as a successful drinks business, it is perhaps Balfe who looks set to forge the most successful career in front of the camera.
Born in Dublin in October 1979, the 46-year-old was already a household name in the fashion world when she made the step into acting.
Since landing the part of time-travelling Claire, she has gone on to star in a host of big-budget movies, and even took on one of the main roles in an Oscar-nominated flick.
Her transformation from catwalk icon to screen legend has taken years of hard work and dedication, and she has more than earned the plaudits that will come her way.
Here’s a journey through her career…
Starting outBalfe was scouted while collecting money at a shopping centre in her native Ireland and was spotted aged 18 by Ford Models and moved to Paris. She is pictured here during the Anna Molinari Ready to Wear Spring/Summer 2002 fashion show as part of the Milan Fashion Week in 2002, weeks before her 22nd birthday.
Model career
Balfe walks the runway during the Alexander McQueen Ready to Wear Spring/Summer 2002 fashion show as part of the Paris Fashion Week in 2001. At one point she was one of the top 20 most in-demand models in the world and has been called Ireland’s first supermodel.
Making friends
Balfe, pictured with fellow model Erin Wasson, previously addressed what it was like to walk the catwalk with some of the legends of the profession, such as Naomi Campbell. She told the Irish Independent: “Those girls are of a different generation and I don’t think I was ever on the, ‘Hey Naomi, what’s up?’ level. But you’d see them at shows and they weren’t horrible people, they just weren’t the ones that I knew. My friends and I, we were more the blue-collar girls.”(Image: Kyle Ericksen/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images))
Making the move
By 2006, the year Balfe is pictured on the runway at Ann Demeulemeester’s spring 2006 show, she was already plotting her move into acting. That same year, she had a small uncredited role in The Devil Wears Prada.
Starting over again
By 2013, Balfe has appeared in more movies, including JJ Abrams’ Super 8. But her speaking roles were limited. She is pictured here in critically acclaimed web series H+: The Digital Series, about a dystopian future.(Image: Screengrab)
The big break
In 2013, Balfe was cast as English nurse Claire Beauchamp in steamy time-travelling drama Outlander. Based on the books by Diana Gabaldon, the role would change her career. She is pictured in 2014 with co-stars Tobias Menzies and Lotte Verbeek at Comic-Con International 2014 in San Diego.(Image: MJ Kim/Getty Images for Samsung)
Speaking out
Around the same time she was cast in Outlander, Balfe appeared in action thriller Escape Plan, a defining moment in her career, not least because it was her first major speaking role in a movie. Starring alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, she said: “At one point, I’m on a beach in Louisiana with Arnold and Sylvester and they’re hilarious and being so friendly and I’m pretty much dumbfounded. I was standing in the middle of Arnie and Sly, how’d you get your head around that?”
Teaming up
Balfe was now in demand and in 2016, was part of a strong ensemble cast in Money Monster, which was directed by Jodie Foster and also featured Julia Roberts, Dominic West, Jack O’Connell, and George Clooney(Image: Laurent Viteur/FilmMagic)
Racing ahead
By 2019, Balfe was now an internationally recognised actor. That year, she appeared in Ford V Ferrari alongside Matt Damon and Christian Bale. Here, a fan grabs a selfie at the film’s London premiere.(Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for BFI)
Greatest role
Balfe married businessman Tony McGill in 2019 and in 2021 she took on her greatest role, a mother to their young son.
Award-winning work
Other than Claire in Outlander, Balfe is perhaps best known as ‘Ma’ in Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical ‘Belfast’, during which she starred alongside Jamie Dornan and young Jude Hill. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards.(Image: Rich Fury/Getty Images)
Iconic role
But for all the mega-stars she has appeared alongside, none compares to her chemistry with Sam Heughan in Outlander.
A heroine across two centuries
Balfe has played Claire for over 10 years, making the character her own. During that time, she has witnessed world wars in the 20th century, and uprisings and revolutions across two continents in the 18th.
Look to the future
Balfe may be leaving Outlander behind, but fans won’t have long to wait to see her on screen. She is currently filming two more movies – Sense and Sensibility and A Long Winter – while a third, Tenzing, is currently in post-production.(Image: Darren Gerrish/WireImage for Amazon Studios)
Balfe was scouted while collecting money at a shopping centre in her native Ireland and was spotted aged 18 by Ford Models and moved to Paris. She is pictured here during the Anna Molinari Ready to Wear Spring/Summer 2002 fashion show as part of the Milan Fashion Week in 2002, weeks before her 22nd birthday.
