Kelly Macdonald
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Kelly Macdonald (born 23 February 1976) is a Scottish actress. Known for her performances on film and television, she has received various accolades including a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Macdonald made her film debut in Danny Boyle's Trainspotting (1996). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in the Coen brothers film No Country for Old Men (2007). During her career she has taken roles in Elizabeth (1998), Gosford Park (2001), Intermission (2003), Nanny McPhee (2005), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011), Anna Karenina (2012), T2 Trainspotting (2017), and Operation Mincemeat (2021). She voiced Princess Merida in the Disney Pixar animated film Brave (2012).
On television, she won Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her role in the BBC One film The Girl in the Cafe (2005). She was further Emmy-nominated for her portrayal of Margaret Thompson in the HBO period crime drama series Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014). She also acted in Black Mirror's Hated in the Nation (2016), the limited series Giri/Haji (2019), and Line of Duty (2021).
Early life and education
Kelly Macdonald was born on 23 February 1976<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in Glasgow, Scotland, and grew up in Newton Mearns.Template:Citation needed
She attended Eastwood High School from 1989 to 1993.<ref name="ET Drama Studio and Theatre">Template:Cite news</ref>
Career
Macdonald's career began while she was working as a barmaid in Glasgow.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She saw a leaflet advertising an open casting session for Trainspotting and decided to audition, winning the part of Diane,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the underage seductress to Ewan McGregor's Renton. Other roles include Mary O'Neary in Two Family House,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and an actress playing Peter Pan in Finding Neverland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She had major roles in Robert Altman's British period piece Gosford Park,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> where she played an aristocrat's maid, and in Intermission (2003), as Deirdre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On radio she portrayed Mary in the 1999 BBC radio drama Lifehouse, based on Pete Townshend's abandoned rock opera, some of the songs for which were released on The Who's album Who's Next.<ref>Credits from the cassette release from the BBC Radio Collection</ref> On television, her highest profile roles have been in two BBC dramas, the Paul Abbott serial State of Play (2003),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the one-off Richard Curtis piece The Girl in the Café (2005).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both of these were directed by David Yates, and both also starred Bill Nighy. For her performance in The Girl in the Café, she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film in 2006,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Macdonald had a supporting role in the Coen brothers' Academy Award-winning film No Country for Old Men (2007), for which she was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was reported that she had to fight her agent to be considered for the role, but Macdonald later denied the story.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Other films where she had supporting roles include Choke (2008), adapted by Clark Gregg from the 2001 Chuck Palahniuk novel, as Paige Marshall; In the Electric Mist (2009) (based on James Lee Burke's In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead (1993), as Kelly Drummond, alongside Tommy Lee Jones and John Goodman; and Skellig (2009), as Louise.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She played the lead in The Merry Gentleman (2008).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2011 she played the "Grey Lady" (revealed to be Helena Ravenclaw) in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the final instalment of the Harry Potter film franchise. She replaced Nina Young, who originally played the role. In 2012, she provided the voice of Merida, the heroine of the Disney/Pixar film Brave, and played Dolly in Anna Karenina. She starred in the romantic comedy film The Decoy Bride, which was released in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
From 2010 until its ending in 2014, she starred in the HBO crime drama Boardwalk Empire as Margaret Thompson, the wife of Prohibition-era Atlantic City crime boss Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi). She appeared in all five seasons of the series. In 2011, she and the rest of the show's cast were awarded the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
In 2016 she starred in Ricky Gervais' Special Correspondents as Claire Maddox,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Swallows and Amazons as Mrs. Walker.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2016, she played the lead role in "Hated in the Nation", an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror for which she received critical acclaim. On 3 November 2016 Macdonald was featured in the trailer for Danny Boyle's T2 Trainspotting confirming she would reprise her role as Diane from the original film, which she did. In 2017, she co-starred opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in the BBC film The Child in Time. Macdonald played the guest lead in the sixth series of the BBC's police drama Line of Duty.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2025 Macdonald appeared as a therapist in the Netflix thriller Dept. Q and as a sheriff in the HBO series Lanterns.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Personal life
In August 2003 Macdonald married musician Dougie Payne, bassist of the band Travis. They have two sons. The couple moved back to their hometown of Glasgow in 2014 after living in London and New York City.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They separated in 2017.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Flowers of the Forest | Amy Ogilvie | Television film |
| 2003 | Brush with Fate | Aletta Pieters | |
| State of Play | Della Smith | 6 episodes | |
| 2005 | Alias | Kiera MacLaine/Meghan Keene | Episode: "Ice" |
| The Girl in the Café | Gina | Television film | |
| 2009 | Skellig | Louise/Mum | |
| 2010–2014 | Boardwalk Empire | Margaret Thompson | 45 episodes |
| 2016 | Black Mirror | DCI Karin Parke | Episode: "Hated in the Nation" |
| 2017 | The Child in Time | Julie | Television film |
| 2019 | The Victim | Anna Dean | Television miniseries |
| Giri/Haji | DC Sarah Weitzmann | Main role | |
| Urban Myths | Princess Margaret | Episode: "Mick and Margaret" | |
| 2020 | Truth Seekers | Jojo74 | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Line of Duty | DCI Joanne Davidson | Main role, Series 6 |
| 2022 | Ten Percent | Herself | Episode #1.1 |
| 2024 | Star Wars: Skeleton Crew | Pokkit | 2 episodes |
| Somebody Feed Phil | Herself | Episode: "Scotland" | |
| 2025 | Dept. Q | Dr Rachel Irving | Main role<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2026 | Lanterns | Sheriff Kerry | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Brave | Merida | Voice |
Awards and nominations
Honours
Eastwood High School, where she was a pupil, has a drama studio and theatre named in her honour.<ref name="ET Drama Studio and Theatre"/>
References
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Living people
- 20th-century Scottish actresses
- 21st-century Scottish actresses
- Actresses from Glasgow
- Audiobook narrators
- Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners
- People educated at Eastwood High School, Newton Mearns
- Scottish film actresses
- Scottish radio actresses
- Scottish television actresses
- Scottish video game actresses
- Scottish voice actresses
- 1976 births