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Who is Catherine McCormack?
British actress Catherine Jane McCormack was born under the zodiac sign Aries on 3 April 1972, in Epsom, Surrey, England. She has 45 acting credits and is perhaps still known best for playing Murron in the evergreen 1995 biographical historical movie “Braveheart”, which starred Sophie Marceau and Mel Gibson, and was directed by the latter. It follows Scottish warrior William Wallace who led his countrymen against the tyranny of King Edward I of England, and the movie won 33 of its 67 award nominations, including five Oscar wins.
Catherine’s still today active in the film industry, and is currently working on several upcoming projects.
Education and early life
Catherine was raised in Epsom alongside her brother Stephen, by their father who was a steelworker and mother who died of lupus when Catherine was six; one of Catherine’s grandfathers was Irish.
She was raised in the Roman Catholic faith, and studied at the Convent of Our Lady of Providence; Catherine fell in love with acting during her early teenage years, and appeared in a number of plays performed at her school. A couple of other activities which Catherine enjoyed taking part in were dancing, singing and playing tennis.
She matriculated in 1990, and then enrolled at the Oxford School of Drama, from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1994.
Roles in TV series
Catherine’s debut TV series role was playing Asenath Gardner in the 1994 episode “The Scapegoat” of the crime mystery “Wycliffe”, and her only other role in the ‘90s was portraying Fay in the 1999 episode “Reproduction” of the drama “Love in the 21st Century”.
In 2001, Catherine portrayed one of the lead characters Flavia in all three episodes of the drama “Armadillo”, which also starred James Frain and Stephen Rea, and follows the life of an insurance adjustor whose hobby is collecting ancient battle helmets. Her only two other TV series roles in the 2000s were playing Poppaea Sabina in the 2006 episode “Nero” of the historical documentary mini-series “Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire”, and Alice Ross in three episodes of the 2008 thriller mini-series “Midnight Man”.
The year 2011 saw her play one of the main characters Theresa Leary in all 13 episodes of the sports crime drama “Lights Out”, which also starred Stacy Keach and Holt McCallany, and was created by Justin Zackham; it follows a heavyweight boxing champion who’s just retired and is finding it hard to live without boxing. Catherine could then have been seen appearing in an episode or two of the biographical crime mini-series “Lucan”, the drama mini-series “Life in Squares”, and the crime mystery “Sherlock”.
From 2019 through 2021, she played Beth Milton in 13 episodes of the crime comedy mini-series “Temple”, which starred Carice van Houten and Mark Strong, and was created by Mark O’Rowe. It follows a surgeon as he’s running his highly illegal secret underground clinic, and the mini-series won a 2020 Irish Film and Television Award for Best Script Drama.
Catherine’s since appeared in two TV series, playing Alex Tropper in four episodes of the 2022 thriller “Slow Horses”, and Anika in the 2023 episode “Reunion” of the action adventure “The Witcher”.
Roles in movies
Catherine’s debut film role was playing Rose in the 1994 thriller mystery “Loaded”, which starred Dearbhla Molloy and Oliver Milburn, and was written and directed by Anna Campion. It follows seven teenagers as they’re spending the weekend at a country house, and the movie won one of its two award nominations.
Some of Catherine’s notable performances in the remainder of the ‘90s were in the 1996 action crime adventure “North Star”, the 1997 crime drama “Deacon Brodie”, and the 1999 romantic comedy “This Year’s Love”.
In 2001, she played Francesca in the thriller “The Tailor of Panama”, which starred Geoffrey Rush and Pierce Brosnan, and was written and directed by John Boorman. It follows a tailor from Panama who’s become a spy for a British agent, and the movie won one of its two award nominations. Catherine could then have been seen appearing in the 2004 historical drama “Gunpowder, Treason & Plot”, the 2005 biographical drama “Kenneth Tynan: In Praise of Hardcore”, and the 2008 horror “Stevie”.
The year 2014 saw her play Olivia in the popular romantic comedy “Magic in the Moonlight”, which starred Marcia Gay Harden, Emma Stone and Colin Firth, and was written and directed by Woody Allen. It follows a British man who’s been hired to help unmask a possible swindle, and the film won one of its two award nominations.
Some of Catherine’s most recent film roles have been in the 2017 biographical romantic drama “Promise at Dawn”, and in 2019 the musical mystery “The Song of Names” and the horror thriller “Cordelia”.
François Girard’s THE SONG OF NAMES, starring Tim Roth, Clive Owen, and Catherine McCormack. #TIFF19 https://t.co/vdnHenUMzv pic.twitter.com/R941CxsRXI
— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) July 23, 2019
Other credits
Catherine wrote and directed the 2013 episode “Stage Door Johnnies” of the drama “Playhouse Presents”.
She’s made a guest appearance in talk-shows “Breakfast” and “Up Close with Carrie Keagan”.
Awards and nominations
Catherine won a 1996 Flaiano International Prizes Golden Pegasus Award for Best Foreign Actress, for her performance in “Braveheart”.
Love life and boyfriends
Catherine rarely speaks about her love life in public and her fans thus know about only a single man with whom she’s been in a relationship. In 1998 and 1999, she was in a relationship with Joseph Fiennes, a popular British actor with 43 credits to his name, while he’s perhaps still known best for starring as Will Shakespeare in the romantic movie “Shakespeare in Love”, which won 65 of its 152 award nominations, including seven Oscar wins.
Many people on the internet believe that Catherine was in a relationship with movie editor Christian in 2009, as the two were spotted spending time together in public on multiple occasions, but this hasn’t been addressed by the famous actress.
She seems to be unattached as of September 2023, hasn’t married and doesn’t have children.
Interesting facts and hobbies
For her performance in a 2000 production of “All My Sons” at the Royal National Theatre, Catherine was nominated for a prestigious Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress.
She and American actress Jennie Garth were born on the exact same day.
Catherine’s often asked about her kiss with Mel Gibson in the 1995 movie “Braveheart”, but has revealed that she’s become sick of the question.
She’s stated on multiple occasions that several directors with whom she’s worked don’t really know how to work with women.
Catherine dislikes going shopping for clothes, and sees it only as an obligation.
She doesn’t like social media networks, and isn’t active on Instagram.
One of Catherine’s favorite actresses is Helen Mirren, and some of her favorite movies are “Red 2”, “The Good Liar” and “Excalibur”.
Appearance and net worth
Catherine’s age is 51. She has brown hair and eyes, weighs around 140lbs (63kgs) and is 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall.
Catherine’s net worth’s been estimated at over $3 million, as of September 2023.
