'Belfast Girls'
JUDITH NOONE
"In the opening scene we meet four of the five characters, one or two spatting already...The air turns blue but Judith, a natural leader and excellently played by Donna Anita Nikolaisen, sorts them out."
THE BELFAST TIMES
"Ray Yeates reprises his role in this production, almost years on from his first with Bolger. He is strongly accompanied by Fionnuala Gygax and Donna Anita Nikolaisen, who play various roles, believably occupying the space of a cocky drug dealer one moment, an immigrant the next."
Conor Capllis
THE IRISH TIMES
“Played with graceful exoticism by Donna Anita Nikolaisen, Bertha is as savage on this 21st-century stage as she is on the 19th-century pages. She brings gothic mysticism to an otherwise realistic work, portraying horror and beauty simultaneously, pointing to the era’s racism.”
Eithne Shortall, THE SUNDAY TIMES
Role of Amara in Irish film ‘One Sweet Hour’ (2026). Directed by Declan Recks.
Role of Osa in short film ‘SUB 5’. Directed by Laura Kavanagh.
Winner of Best Irish Short at DIFF 2026.
Created by Dream Logic Studios Tales of Terror brings back the thrilling art of the Victorian ghost story with a modern twist and comes to life through a unique and striking art style. Donna voices a number of characters in this upcoming animation (2026).
As a voice actor Donna voices roles for animation, audio plays, and video games. She narrates documentaries
and audiobooks and has worked for Dream Logic Studios, Cartoon Saloon, RTE, Virgin Media and BBC.
LORE is a folk album about the ebb and flow of love and loss. Have a listen on Youtube, Spotify and Bandcamp.
The Story Of Water is a documentary that focuses on the critical value of our most precious natural resource and explores the ongoing threats to its future – both globally and in Ireland.
JANE EYRE. bertha mason. THE GATE, dublin
As part of the 2024 Dublin Theatre Festival Donna played the roles of ‘Martin, Wafaa & Nathan’ in Dermot Bolger’s play ‘Home, Boys, Home’. The show opened in The Civic Theatre and toured to The Viking Sheds, Clontarf.
"Donna Anita Nikolaisen shines consistently as Lisa’s caring friend..."
THE ARTS REVIEW
Role of Frances Frond in episode ‘Friends of Nova’ in cBBC’s ‘Nova Jones’.
Donna voices the role of Mum in Cartoon Saloon’s pre-school animation ‘Silly Sundays’. Viewable on Cartoonito.
Role of Ama Chisenga on ‘Fair City’ from 2013 to 2017.
Donna won Best Supporting Actor for her role as Ali in award winning short film ‘QED’ at Underground Cinema Film Festival, 2018.
My bio
Donna Anita Quinn (Nikolaisen) is an Irish actor and voice over artist. Theatre highlights include the lead role of Judith Noone in Jaki McCarrick’s 2024 Irish premiere of ‘Belfast Girls’. She also played the roles of Martin, Wafaa and Nathan in Dermot Bolger’s ‘Home, Boys, Home’ as part of the 2024 Dublin Theatre Festival.
Her breakthrough screen role came as Zambian nurse Ama Chisenga, on RTE’s national TV soap ‘Fair City’. Since leaving the show in 2017 she has played various roles in TV drama including ‘The Dry’, ‘Crá’, ‘Kin’, ‘Conversations with Friends, ‘Nova Jones’ and ‘The South Westerlies’. Donna’s recent film credits include ‘One Sweet Hour’, ‘September Says’, ‘Sweetness in the Belly’ and Hallmark’s ‘Christmas at Castle Hart’. She won Best Supporting Actor for her role as Ali in the award winning short ‘QED’ at the 2018 Dublin Underground Cinema Festival. As a voice over artist she has narrated documentaries for BBC and Virgin Media and has voiced roles for Cartoon Saloon and Dream Logic Studios.
Donna trained at The Focus Theatre and Bel Canto School of Voice. She is represented by Alex Cusack Management and Voice Bank.
Background
From an early age I felt the stage call to me. My debut performance, apart from ‘The Wicked Queen’ on my school stage, was a student showcase at the Cork Cat Club with Monfort School of Performing Arts.
After graduating from UCC with a degree in Business, I moved to Dublin and worked in IT for a few years. After taking time out to travel to The Middle East and Asia, on my return I decided to realise my dream – to become an actor. I began my performance training at Bel Canto School of Voice and Waltons School of Music and I attended The Focus Theatre Stanislavsky Studio.
Early stage roles included Bloody Mary in ‘South Pacific’ with The Pioneer Musical Society, Margaret in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ with The Dublin Shakespeare Company and Tituba in ‘The Crucible’ with Blue Moon Theatre Comapny. From this springboard I began in earnest my acting journey.
Performance Training
Acting for Camera, Film Venture; Stanislavsky Studio, Tim McDonnell (The Focus Theatre); Chekhov, Rayla Tadjimotova; Viewpoints, Joe Devlin; Voice, Andy Hinds; Bel Canto Voice, Bel Canto School of Voice; Music Theatre, Waltons School of Music; Contemporary Dance, CoisCéim Dance Theatre; Jazz Ballet, Elena Degtyareva; Hip Hop, Jane Shorthall; LAMDA Acting and Speech & Drama Grades at Montfort College of Performing Arts;
Skills & Qualifications
Singer-Songwriter
Web & Graphic Designer
BSc Business Information Systems Hon, UCC
Full Drivers License
