West Lothian schoolgirl Frankie Corio, 12, hailed as ‘rising star’ by Cate Blanchett for Aftersun role

Frankie’s proud mum took to Twitter to congratulate her daughter after awards win

A young actress from West Lothian has been hailed as “a rising star” by none other than Cate Blanchett.

Frankie Corio, a 13-year-old schoolgirl from Livingston, has been widely praised for her role in the Oscar-nominated film Aftersun.

And after the teenager picked up Best Young British/Irish actor at the Critics Circle Awards in London on Sunday night, Hollywood star Blanchett was among the first to congratulate her, alongside Florence Pugh and Michelle Yeoh.

Left, Frankie Corio as Sophie Paterson and Paul Mescal as Calum Paterson in Aftersun. And right, Frankie promotes the film.

Frankie's proud mum, Leona Corio, also took to social media to congratulate her daughter.

She wrote on Twitter: "Yessss!!! My baby won! Wish I was there with her! She was up against some great young performers!"

Her co-star, Paul Mescal, was also on hand to accept the Philip French award for breakthrough British/Irish filmmaker on behalf of Edinburgh-born Charlotte Wells.

Aftersun follows 11-year-old Sophie (Corio) who joins her troubled father (Mescal) on a budget vacation at a Turkish resort.

The film garnered critical acclaim upon release with The Guardian ranking the debut as the best film of 2022.

Though snubbed for top prize at the BAFTA Awards, Aftersun received a nomination for ‘outstanding British film’ and another for ‘casting’.

Wells also got a nomination for ‘outstanding debut by a British writer’ and Mescal for the ‘leading actor’ category.

The 35-year-old director was raised in Edinburgh but attended King’s College London before graduating with a Master of Arts at Oxford University.

Prior to her debut feature, Wells has directed three short films - Tuesday (2015), Laps (2016) and Blue Christmas (2017).