Hollywood has found its Linda McCartney: Saoirse Ronan has signed on to play the first wife of Paul McCartney in director Sam Mendes' four-film project about the Beatles, reports Deadline. Ronan, a four-time Oscar nominee, is set to join a cast that already features Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Harris Dickinson as John Lennon. Each of the four Mendes films will focus on a different Beatle, with Ronan's role as Linda McCartney expected to be central in the Paul McCartney chapter. Details about her presence in the other films are still under wraps.
Linda McCartney—a photographer, musician, and animal-rights advocate—first made her mark in the 1960s photographing icons like the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix before marrying Paul McCartney in 1969. She stayed musically active post-Beatles as a member of Wings and later founded her own vegetarian food brand, Linda McCartney Foods. She died from cancer in 1998 at age 56, per Variety.
The 31-year-old Ronan—celebrated for roles in films including Brooklyn, Lady Bird, Little Women, and Atonement—was recently seen in The Outrun and Blitz. The Beatles films are scheduled for theatrical release in 2028. And, for the record, Ronan pronounces her Irish first name "SUR-sha."