Saoirse Ronan has quickly evolved from a young, interesting actor with breakout roles in Atonement and Hanna, into a full-fledged star, recently picking up a Best Actress nomination from the Academy for her role in last year’s subdued drama Brooklyn. Ronan will continue to keep things interesting with her next role, teaming up with Greta Gerwig for her directorial debut project, Lady Bird.

As reported a few months ago, Gerwig is set to make her feature directing debut on Lady Bird, with Deadline reporting that Ronan has signed on to lead the upcoming film, which centers on a high school senior and her experiences during her final year at home in Sacramento. That may not sound like much of a plot, but Frances Ha and Mistress America also had similarly simplistic plots, with Gerwig ultimately delivering rich, complex characters and delightful, often poignant stories about women, friendship and coming-of-age.

Ronan appears next in Loving Vincent, a film about the life and death of classic artist Vincent Van Gogh, and in The Seagull, based on Anton Chekov’s play and co-starring Elisabeth Moss and Corey Stoll.

Gerwig’s most recent acting effort, Wiener-Dog, premiered at Sundance this week to mixed reviews. A sequel of sorts to cult indie classic Welcome to the Dollhouse, Todd Solondz’s latest film features Gerwig in the role memorably originated by Heather Matarazzo. Gerwig also stars opposite Natalie Portman in the upcoming drama Jackie, featuring Portman in the role of Jacqueline Kennedy.

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