# Kelly Macdonald

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

Macdonald was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and grew up in Neilston. Her parents divorced when she was young. She was brought up, with her brother David, by her mother, who was a garment industry sales executive. She attended Eastwood High School from 1989 to 1993.

## Career

Macdonald's career began while she was working as a barmaid in Glasgow. She saw a leaflet advertising an open casting session for Trainspotting and decided to audition, winning the part of Diane, the underage seductress to Ewan McGregor's Renton. Other roles include Mary O'Neary in Two Family House, and an actress playing Peter Pan in Finding Neverland. She had major roles in Robert Altman's British period piece Gosford Park, where she played an aristocrat's maid, and in Intermission (2003), as Deirdre.
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. On television, her highest profile roles have been in two BBC dramas, the Paul Abbott serial State of Play (2003), and the one-off Richard Curtis piece The Girl in the Café (2005). 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, and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.
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. It was reported that she had to fight her agent to be considered for the role, but Macdonald later denied the story.
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. She played the lead in The Merry Gentleman (2008).
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.
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, and Swallows and Amazons as Mrs. Walker. 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.

## Personal life

In August 2003, Macdonald married musician Dougie Payne, bassist of the band Travis. They have two sons. They moved back to their hometown of Glasgow in 2014, after living in London and New York City. They separated in 2017.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | Trainspotting | Diane Coulston | Film debut |
| 1996 | Dancing, Some Days | Sharon | Short film |
| 1996 | Stella Does Tricks | Stella McGuire | |
| 1997 | Dead Eye Dick | Wendy | Short film |
| 1998 | Cousin Bette | Hortense Hulot | |
| 1998 | Elizabeth | Isabel Knollys | |
| 1999 | Splendor | Mike | |
| 1999 | Entropy | Pia | |
| 1999 | The Loss of Sexual Innocence | Susan | |
| 1999 | My Life So Far | Elspeth Pettigrew | |
| 1999 | Tube Tales | Emma | Segment: "Mr. Cool" |
| 2000 | Two Family House | Mary O'Neary | |
| 2000 | House! | Linda | |
| 2000 | Some Voices | Laura | |
| 2001 | Strictly Sinatra | Irene | |
| 2001 | Gosford Park | Mary Maceachran | |
| 2003 | Intermission | Deirdre | |
| 2004 | Finding Neverland | Peter Pan | |
| 2005 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Reporter Jin Jenz | |
| 2005 | All the Invisible Children | Jonathan's wife | Segment: "Jonathan" |
| 2005 | Nanny McPhee | Evangeline | |
| 2005 | Lassie | Jeanie | |
| 2005 | A Cock and Bull Story | Jenny | |
| 2007 | No Country for Old Men | Carla Jean Moss | |
| 2008 | The Merry Gentleman | Kate Frazier | |
| 2008 | Choke | Paige Marshall | |
| 2009 | In the Electric Mist | Kelly Drummond | |
| 2011 | The Decoy Bride | Katie Nic Aodh | |
| 2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | Helena Ravenclaw | |
| 2012 | Brave | Princess Merida | Voice |
| 2012 | Anna Karenina | Dolly Oblonskaya | |
| 2016 | Special Correspondents | Claire Maddox | |
| 2016 | Swallows and Amazons | Mrs. Walker | |
| 2016 | The Journey Is the Destination | Duff | |
| 2017 | T2 Trainspotting | Diane Coulston | |
| 2017 | Goodbye Christopher Robin | Olive | |
| 2018 | Puzzle | Agnes | |
| 2018 | Ralph Breaks the Internet | Princess Merida | Voice |
| 2018 | Holmes & Watson | Mrs. Hudson | |
| 2019 | Dirt Music | Georgie Jutland | |
| 2021 | Operation Mincemeat | Jean Leslie | |
| 2022 | I Came By | Lizzie Nealey | |
| 2022 | Typist Artist Pirate King | Sandra | |
| 2024 | The Radleys | Helen Radley | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | Flowers of the Forest | Amy Ogilvie | Television film |
| 2003 | Brush with Fate | Aletta Pieters | Television film |
| 2003 | State of Play | Della Smith | 6 episodes |
| 2005 | Alias | Kiera MacLaine/Meghan Keene | Episode: "Ice" |
| 2005 | The Girl in the Café | Gina | Television film |
| 2009 | Skellig | Louise/Mum | Television film |
| 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 |
| 2019 | Giri/Haji | DC Sarah Weitzmann | Main role |
| 2019 | 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 |
| 2026 | Lanterns | Sheriff Kerry | Filming |
| TBA | Department Q | Dr Rachel Irving | Post-production |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2012 | Brave | Merida | Voice |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result |
| 1997 | Trainspotting | BAFTA Scotland Awards | Best Film Actress | Nominated |
| 2000 | Two Family House | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Female Lead | Nominated |
| 2002 | Gosford Park | Online Film Critics Society | Best Cast | Won |
| 2002 | Gosford Park | Phoenix Film Critics Society | Best Acting Ensemble | Nominated |
| 2002 | Gosford Park | Satellite Awards | Best Cast – Motion Picture | Won |
| 2002 | Gosford Park | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Won |
| 2002 | Gosford Park | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Acting Ensemble | Nominated |
| 2002 | Gosford Park | Florida Film Critics Circle | Best Ensemble Cast | Won |
| 2003 | Gosford Park | Empire Awards | Best British Actress | Nominated |
| 2006 | The Girl in the Café | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | Won |
| 2006 | The Girl in the Café | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated |
| 2008 | Choke | Sundance Film Festival | Special Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Ensemble Cast | Won |
| 2008 | No Country for Old Men | Online Film Critics Society | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated |
| 2008 | No Country for Old Men | British Academy Film Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Nominated |
| 2008 | No Country for Old Men | London Film Critics' Circle | Supporting Actress of the Year | Won |
| 2008 | No Country for Old Men | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Won |
| 2011 | Boardwalk Empire | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated |
| 2011 | Boardwalk Empire | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Won |
| 2011 | Boardwalk Empire | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Nominated |
| 2011 | Boardwalk Empire | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Nominated |
| 2012 | Boardwalk Empire | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated |
| 2012 | Boardwalk Empire | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Won |
| 2012 | Boardwalk Empire | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Nominated |
| 2012 | Brave | Annie Awards | Outstanding Voice Acting in a Feature Production | Nominated |
| 2017 | Goodbye Christopher Robin | British Independent Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated |
| 2019 | The Victim | British Academy Scotland Awards | Best Actress Television | Won |
| 2021 | Line of Duty | British Academy Scotland Awards | Best Actress Television | Nominated |
| 2021 | Line of Duty | British Academy Scotland Awards | Audience Award | Nominated |

## Honours

Eastwood High School, where she was a pupil, has a drama studio and theatre named in her honour.