Sheilagh Weymouth was born in Philadelphia PA on March 17, 1953 (St Patrick’s Day) - the reason behind the Celtic spelling of her first name. She is the eldest of her Irish Catholic identifying parents. Her father was a salesman and passed at age fifty-six from his third heart attack. Sheilagh inherited his ease with people; thankfully not his health genes. Her mother, a high school trombone player, ran the house until the marriage lost its way, then worked as a legal secretary as a single Mom of four kids, returning in her retirement to her long-deferred oil painting. Sheilagh inherited her mother’s work ethic as well as her creative spirit. Sheilagh’s family moved frequently and she attended 5 schools in the first grade alone, honing her accent/dialect skills by learning how to quickly speak like the other kids in each new environment. Her parents resettled back to their hometown of Philadelphia when Sheilagh was 10, continuing to move a lot, but at least among the same Philadelphia-accented neighborhoods. Sheilagh’s most enduring primary school memory was a fascinating four years at the endowed public school Philadelphia High School for Girls where she left her Irish Catholic Ghetto daily to spend time with rich kids and poor kids of all religions, of no religions, of all ethnicities - an eclectic world she’d prepared for by devouring books throughout grade school thanks to the Philadelphia public library. Sheilagh spent a day in NYC when she was 8, felt it was the only place on earth that made sense, and has been a New Yorker for well over half her life.
Sheilagh is a multiple award-winning leading lady and character actress working in all media and is repeatedly rehired by her directors. Some favorite memories are working with Jonathan Demme (MASTER BUILDER, the film, with André Gregory and Wallace Shawn); André Gregory (MASTER BUILDER, the play adapted by Wallace Shawn); Myam Bialik (screenplay and directorial debut AS THEY MADE US with Dustin Hoffman and Candice Bergen) and Michelle Danner (the soon to be released MIRANDA’S VICTIM, with Natalie Portman and Donald Sutherland). Sheilagh thanks the Columbia University graduate directing students for giving her clips for her first demo reel before all the “real” work started coming in. She’s enjoyed a recurring role on the hit network show NEW AMSTERDAM as Dr. Florence Brighton (Ryan Eggold dubbed her Dr Flo), and co-star roles on the audience favorites HIGH MAINTENANCE, BROAD CITY and BULL. And her multiple stage appearances include her favorite theatre project to date, playing Sonia in Christopher Durang’s VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE.
Sheilagh also works with voiceover projects, including looping and foreign-language dubbing; video commercials; and lifestyle print projects.
Sheilagh’s ridden camels, danced with Maasai, swum with sea turtles and manta rays, and MC'd her summer camp talent show before she knew what an MC was. She’s sat with mountain gorillas and men with guns, spends time with shamans and laughs with the devil. She makes good medicine and is personally committed to optimal health and fitness. She’s driven cross-country in a 20' truck and has peeked at the aurora borealis. She’s fallen from a 30' waterfall, and she’ll tell the tale of that metaphysical experience when asked. She drove a convertible up the PCH from LA to SF and believes Big Sur may very well be a spot of heaven on earth. She’s been in love with videographer filmmaker Cayce Crown since 1987, marrying at City Hall on New Year's Eve 2015 because she finally could. Kindness and humor chronically vie for first place on Sheilagh’s must-haves list for the people in her life.
It’s not about what you want to say to the world. It’s about what you want to whisper to your best friend.
- María Irena Fornés