Victoria Smurfit

Victoria Smurfit was an Irish actress who achieved wide recognition and success on British television before breaking out in major roles on "Dracula" (NBC 2013-14) and "Once Upon A Time" (ABC 2011-) in the United States. Smurfit was born in Dublin to one of the richest families in Ireland. Attending elite Anglican schools, she developed an interest in theater and pursued it as a degree. The role for which she first received wide recognition was as the bartender in the hit pastoral drama "Ballykissangel" (BBC 1996-2001). This launched her extensive BBC career, with Smurfit appearing in many series in the UK. In 2000 she married advertising executive Douglas Baxter, and in the next few years, the couple proceeded to have three children: Evie, Ridley, and Flynn. Along with her extensive TV work, Smurfit also had quite a few film roles, most notably in the Nick Hornby adaptation "About A Boy" (2002), starring Hugh Grant and Toni Colette. In 2003, Smurfit took over from Kate Buffery for the lead in the police procedural "Trial & Retribution" (ITV 1997-2009). Her US TV debut was as the fashionable Lady Jayne Wetherby in the short-lived "Dracula," though this brief stint led to more US TV gigs, including an appearance on "The Mentalist" (CBS 2008-15). She landed a recurring role on the popular fairy tale drama "Once Upon A Time" as the evil Cruella de Vil.