Derry Girls burst onto our screens in 2018 with an utterly hilarious first series. The show - created from the brilliant mind of Lisa McGee - is the dark comedy coming of age show (it's like The Inbetweeners for gals) we need in our lives, starring Saoirse-Monica Jackson as main character Erin.
Over the series, we see Erin and her friends navigate Northern Ireland in the 90's during 'the troubles'.
And as the third and final series is currently all we can think and talk about, we thought we'd delved into the REAL life of main character Erin, played by Saoirse-Monica, and guess what, she's as amazing in real life as she is in the show.
Who is Saoirse-Monica Jackson?
She's an Irish actress who is probably most famous for playing Erin Quinn in Derry Girls.
What has Saoirse-Monica Jackson said about playing Erin in Derry Girls?
The actor has been very open in how close the show is to her own upbringing. In an interview with Belfast Telegraph, she told the story of seeing army barracks at the end of her street growing up. She told the publication, "The soldiers were patrolling with these huge guns when we were out on the street playing games. Soldiers weren’t there to do anything wrong, they were the backdrop, like lampposts.
"I definitely do think that there’s a difference being from the north of Ireland — it’s an identity in itself, whether you identify as British or Irish. We have our own thing going on."
Derry Girls creator Lisa, who also grew up in Derry, has revealed that she was adamant that the actors she cast in the loved show were just like herself when she was younger, telling Irish Times, "I really wanted them to feel like girls from Derry, not people doing accents. There’s a punk attitude to teenage girls in Derry. They’ve got a very bold sense of humour. They’re fearless. You have to have that sort of swagger. It’s hard to pretend to have that."
How old is Saoirse-Monica Jackson?
She was born in November 1993, making her 28 years old. She was born in Derry, so is officially a Derry girl through and through.
Have we seen Saoirse-Monica Jackson in anything else?
As well as Celebrity Gogglebox alongside her co-star Jamie-Lee O'Donnell AND cooking up a story on a festive special of The Great British Bake Off, she has starred in BBC drama series Broken.
Will there be a Derry Girls film?
Show writer Lisa McGee hasn't ruled out the possibility she did say it's not something she has planned at the moment, "A movie isn’t on my radar at the moment, not right now. You never know, but I have other commitments."
We're crossing our fingers for that full-length feature film.
Has Saoirse-Monica-Jackson got a boyfriend?
Despite being pretty useless at boys in Derry Girls, Saoirse is all loved up IRL with her DJ boyfriend, renowned Scottish electronic DJ Denis Sulta (real name Hector Barbour) and they've been spending a lot of their time travelling the world.
The pair went public with their relationship in September 2021 and since then they've been enjoying the high life together, with Hector referring to his girl as his "girl from across the water".
Has Saoirse-Monica-Jackson got Instagram?
She sure has, go and follow her over on @saoirsemonicajackson.