"Irish–American Actor"

I am loth to criticise the use of the gender–neutral term "actor" to refer to a female artist, but I don't think I would be alone in doing so. In fact I know I wouldn't, as it was mentioned on the night in the quiz I took part in, in respect of this question.

However politically incorrect (I use the term in an irony-free way) it may be, I think most of us naturally think of a male artist when we hear the term "actor". Question setters would be well advised, IMHO, to avoid confusing the contestant whenever possible.