Dingle woman’s daughter shines in Bride Wars movie
Shannon Ferber, whose mother, Blaithin (nee Sheehy) emigrated from Dingle to New York 20 years ago, has been modelling since she was nine months old and this is her first film.
Her father, Michael Ferber, is from New York, but he also has Dingle connections as his mother, the former Mary O’Dowd, hails from the peninsula.
In Bride Wars, a romantic comedy, Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Liv (Kate Hudson) are best friends.
Since they were young, they had always wanted to be married in the Plaza Hotel in the month of June.
However, when they received the bad news that their weddings were planned for the same day, the pre-wedding bliss was ruined. The plot unravels when neither is willing to give up her dream wedding.
Shannon plays the part of a young Emma, while a young Liv is played by nine-year-old Zoe O’Grady, whose father, David, is a native of Mount Merrion, in Dublin.
The girls became firm friends while on the set in Boston and regard the film as a major step forward in their careers.
It is Shannon’s first film and, according to Blaithin, she’s extremely excited about it.
“She’s done plenty of TV commercials and lots of work in print, but she really enjoyed the film experience,” Blaithin said.
Shannon has two brothers, Brendan, 6, and Dillon, 3, and the family visits Dingle every summer.
“The kids love going to Ireland and come back to New York with Kerry accents,” joked Blaithin.
Shannon, meanwhile, is not sure if she will make modelling, or acting, her career.
She is also interested in becoming a doctor or a teacher.
Since she was a baby, she has appeared in print in numerous advertisements including some for Fisher Price Toys, Bloomingdales and Macy’s.
Zoe O’Grady, whose mother, Lorraine, is American-born, has been in three other films and has also been modelling and appearing in commercials.
