Editing Catherine McCormack

{{Short description|British actress (born 1972)}}
{{Use British|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Catherine McCormack
| image              = Catherine McCormack in Midnight Man 2008.jpg
| image_size         =
| caption            = McCormack in ''[[Midnight Man (miniseries)|Midnight Man]]'' (2008)
| birth_name         = Catherine Jane McCormack<ref name="Company">[http://company-director-check.co.uk/director/906145622 Ms Catherine Jane McCormack] company-director-check.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2012.</ref>
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1972|04|03}}
| birth_place        = [[Epsom]], [[Surrey]], England<ref name="WhatsOnStage">[https://archive.today/20130209075547/http://www.whatsonstage.com/interviews/theatre/london/E8831328706056/20+Questions+With+...+Catherine+McCormack.html "20 Questions With ... Catherine McCormack"] ''whatsonstage.com'' (8 February 2012). Retrieved 1 April 2012.</ref>
| education          = [[Oxford School of Drama]]
| occupation         = Actress
| years_active       = 1994–present
}}

'''Catherine Jane McCormack''' (born April 3, 1972)<ref name="Company"/><ref name="WhatsOnStage"/> is an English actress. Her film appearances include ''[[Braveheart]]'' (1995), ''[[The Land Girls (film)|The Land Girls]]'' (1998), ''[[Dangerous Beauty]]'' (1998), ''[[Dancing at Lughnasa (film)|Dancing at Lughnasa]]'' (1998), ''[[Spy Game]]'' (2001), and ''[[28 Weeks Later]]'' (2007). Her theatre work includes [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] productions of ''[[All My Sons]]'' (2000) and ''[[Honour (Murray-Smith play)|Honour]]'' (2003).

== Early life ==
McCormack was born in [[Epsom]], [[Surrey]], England. She is of part Irish ancestry as one of her grandfathers was Irish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.macbraveheart.co.uk/news/2001/life_after.htm |title=Catherine McCormack&nbsp;— Life after Braveheart |publisher=Macbraveheart.co.uk |date=29 May 2001 |access-date=5 May 2010}}</ref> Her mother died of [[lupus erythematosus|lupus]] when McCormack was six years old and her [[steelworker]] father subsequently raised her and her brother Stephen.<ref name=duerden>Duerden, Nick. [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre/features/catherine-mccormack-the-plays-the-thing-411296.html Catherine McCormack: The play's the thing], ''The Independent'', 10 August 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2009.</ref> She was brought up as Roman Catholic<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.esquire.com/women/women-we-love/ESQ1202-DEC_OPENER_rev |title=Catherine McCormack - Actress in Braveheart - Esquire |access-date=29 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901065900/http://www.esquire.com/women/women-we-love/ESQ1202-DEC_OPENER_rev |archive-date=1 September 2009 |url-status=dead}}, ''Esquire'', 30 November 2002. Retrieved 29 September 2009.</ref> and attended the Convent of Our Lady of Providence. She went on to study at the [[Oxford School of Drama]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800018833/bio |title=Catherine McCormack Biography&nbsp;— Yahoo! Movies |publisher=Movies.yahoo.com |date=1 January 1972 |access-date=5 May 2010}}</ref>

== Career ==
=== Film ===
McCormack's screen debut was as the lead in the Anna Campion-directed film ''[[Loaded (1994 film)|Loaded]]'' (1994). She has subsequently stated that she had a "miserable time with the director (Anna Campion)... it was my first film job, I needed to be mollycoddled, I needed to be helped through it, and I wasn't. Mostly, it was a horrible experience."<ref name=duerden/> Her first important role was as [[Action at Lanark|Murron MacClannough]] in the multiple [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning film ''[[Braveheart]]'' (1995).

After ''Braveheart'', McCormack starred alongside [[Anna Friel]] and [[Rachel Weisz]] in [[David Leland]]'s ''[[The Land Girls]]'' and had lead roles in [[Nils Gaup]]'s ''[[North Star (1996 film)|Northstar]]'' and [[Marshall Herskovitz]]'s ''[[Dangerous Beauty]]''. Other films include ''[[Spy Game]]'' (2001) and ''[[28 Weeks Later]]''. In 1998, she stated that "I read very few scripts I'm passionate about... Maybe one in every twenty or thirty."<ref>Blackwelder, Rob. [http://www.splicedonline.com/features/mccormack1.html Unrecognized 'Beauty': The surprising off-screen Catherine McCormack] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183615/http://www.splicedonline.com/features/mccormack1.html |date=3 March 2016}}, ''SPLICEDwire'', 6 February 1998. Retrieved 29 September 2009.</ref>

=== Theatre ===
McCormack has shown a preference in her career for the theatre,<ref name=duerden/> saying that "theatre really is an actor's medium: you're on stage with no director anymore, whereas in film very rarely do you get much rehearsal other than running through the scene very quickly. Then everyone comes in and shoots it."<ref>Wolf, Matt. [http://london.broadway.com/buzz/buzz_story.aspx?id=3003317&p=2 Catherine McCormack], ''Broadway.com'', 16 August 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2009.</ref> McCormack was one of the original 2006 London cast of [[Patrick Barlow]]'s play of ''[[The 39 Steps (play)|The 39 Steps]]''.<ref>Cavendish, Dominic. [https://web.archive.org/web/20081205120804/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/08/18/btsteps18.xml Irreverent romp down the nostalgia track], ''The Telegraph'', 18 August 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2009.</ref> In 2008, she performed the role of Nora in ''[[A Doll's House]]'',<ref>[http://www.theatreroyal.org.uk/main-house/shows/a-dolls-house/ Theatre Royal – A Doll's House] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080519173837/http://www.theatreroyal.org.uk/main-house/shows/a-dolls-house/ |date=19 May 2008}}</ref> directed by [[Peter Hall (theatre director)|Peter Hall]] at the [[Theatre Royal, Bath|Theatre Royal]], [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], and also the role of Isabel Archer in a stage adaptation of ''[[The Portrait of a Lady]]'',<ref>[http://www.theatreroyal.org.uk/main-house/shows/the-portrait-of-a-lady/ Theatre Royal – The Portrait of a Lady] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080519175713/http://www.theatreroyal.org.uk/main-house/shows/the-portrait-of-a-lady/ |date=19 May 2008}}</ref> both of which commenced their runs in July 2008, ending in August, before transferring to the [[Rose Theatre, Kingston|Rose Theatre]] in [[Kingston upon Thames|Kingston]] later that year.

In 2009, she appeared in the British tour of [[Headlong (group)|Headlong]]'s adaptation of ''[[Six Characters in Search of an Author]]''. In 2012, she starred as [[Juana Inés de la Cruz]] in the [[Royal Shakespeare Company|Royal Shakespeare Company's]] production of [[Helen Edmundson|Helen Edmundson's]] play ''[[The Heresy of Love]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rsc.org.uk/the-heresy-of-love|title=The Heresy of Love - By Helen Edmundson - Royal Shakespeare Company|website=rsc.org.uk}}</ref>

==Personal life==
As of 2009, McCormack was living with her boyfriend in Richmond.<ref>{{cite web |title=My Perfect Weekend: Catherine McCormack |website=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=28 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329082253/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/my-perfect-weekend/6224034/My-Perfect-Weekend-Catherine-McCormack.html |archive-date=29 March 2023 |url-status=live |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/my-perfect-weekend/6224034/My-Perfect-Weekend-Catherine-McCormack.html}}</ref>

== Filmography ==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1994
| ''[[Loaded (1994 film)|Loaded]]''
| Rose
|
|-
| 1995
| ''[[Braveheart]]''
| Murron MacClannough
|
|-
| 1996
| ''[[North Star (1996 film)|North Star]]''
| Sarah
|
|-
| rowspan="3"|1998
| ''{{sortname|The|Land Girls|The Land Girls (film)}}''
| Stella
|
|-
| ''[[Dangerous Beauty]]''
| [[Veronica Franco]]
|
|-
| ''[[Dancing at Lughnasa (film)|Dancing at Lughnasa]]''
| Christina 'Chrissy' Mundy
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1999
| ''[[This Year's Love (film)|This Year's Love]]''
| Hannah
|
|-
|  ''[[The Debtors]]''
|
|
|-
| rowspan="4"|2000
| ''[[Shadow of the Vampire]]''
| [[Greta Schröder]]
|
|-
| ''{{sortname|A|Rumor of Angels}}''
| Mary Neubauer
|
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Weight of Water|The Weight of Water (film)}}''
| Jean Janes
|
|-
| ''[[Born Romantic]]''
| Jocelyn
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2001
| ''{{sortname|The|Tailor of Panama|The Tailor of Panama (film)}}''
| Francesca Deane
|
|-
| ''[[Spy Game]]''
| Elizabeth Hadley
|
|-
| 2004
| ''[[Strings (2004 film)|Strings]]''
| Zita (voice)
|
|-
| 2005
| ''{{sortname|A|Sound of Thunder|A Sound of Thunder (film)}}''
| Sonia Rand
|
|-
| 2006
| ''[[Renaissance (2006 film)|Renaissance]]''
| Bislane Tasuiev (voice)
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2007
| ''{{sortname|The|Moon and the Stars}}''
| Kristina Baumgarten / Tosca
|
|-
| ''[[28 Weeks Later]]''
| Alice
|
|-
| 2013
| ''{{sortname|The|Fold|nolink=1}}''
| Rebecca Ashton
| 
|-
| 2014
| ''[[Magic in the Moonlight]]''
| Olivia
|
|-
| 2016
| ''[[The Journey (2016 film)|The Journey]]''
| Kate Elgar
|
|-
| 2017
| ''[[Promise at Dawn (2017 film)|Promise at Dawn]]''
| Lesley Blanch
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2019
| ''[[The Song of Names]]''
| Helen
|
|-
| ''[[Cordelia (2019 film)|Cordelia]]''
| Kate
|
|-
| rowspan="1"| 2025
| ''[[My Oxford Year]]''
| Antonia Davenport
| Netflix film
|}

===Television===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1994
| ''[[Wycliffe (TV series)|Wycliffe]]''
| Asenath Gardner
| Episode: "The Scapegoat"
|-
| 1997
| ''Deacon Brodie''
| Annie Grant
| [[TV film]]
|-
| 1999
| ''Love in the 21st Century''
| Fay
| Episode: "Reproduction"
|-
| 2001
| ''[[Armadillo (miniseries)|Armadillo]]''
| Flavia
| Main cast, [[miniseries]]
|-
| 2003
| ''Broken Morning''
| Kathy
| TV film
|-
| 2004
| ''[[Gunpowder, Treason & Plot]]''
| [[Elizabeth I]]
| TV film
|-
| 2005
| ''Kenneth Tynan: In Praise of Hardcore''
| Kathleen Tynan
| TV film
|-
| rowspan="2"|2006
| ''[[Elizabeth David: A Life in Recipes]]''
| [[Elizabeth David]]
| TV film
|-
| ''[[Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire]]''
| Poppaea Sabina
| Episode: "Nero"
|-
| 2008
| ''[[Midnight Man (miniseries)|Midnight Man]]''
| Alice Ross
| Main cast, miniseries
|-
| 2011
| ''[[Lights Out (2011 TV series)|Lights Out]]''
| Theresa Leary
| Main cast
|-
| 2013
| ''[[Lucan (British TV series)|Lucan]]''
| Veronica
| Main cast, miniseries
|-
| 2015
| ''[[Life in Squares]]''
| [[Virginia Woolf]]
| Main cast, miniseries
|-
| 2016
| ''[[Sherlock (TV series)|Sherlock]]''
| Lady Carmichael
| Episode "[[The Abominable Bride]]"
|-
| 2017
| ''[[Genius (American TV series)|Genius]]''
| Marija Ružić–Marić
| Recurring role (season 1)
|-
| 2018
| ''Women on the Verge''
| Claire
| 4 episodes
|-
| 2019–2021
| ''[[Temple (TV series)|Temple]]''
| Beth Milton
| Main cast
|-
| 2022
| ''[[Slow Horses]]''
| Alex Tropper
| Recurring role (series 2)
|-
| 2023
| ''[[The Witcher (TV series)|The Witcher]]''
| Anika
| Episode: "Reunion"
|-
| 2025
| ''[[Lockerbie: A Search for Truth]]''
| Jane Swire
| 
|}

===Theatre===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Venue or Company
|-
| 1999
| ''Anna Weiss''
| Anna Weiss
| [[Whitehall Theatre]]
|-
| 2000
| ''[[All My Sons]]''
| Ann
| [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]]
|-
| rowspan="3"|2001
| ''{{sortname|A|Lie of the Mind}}''
| Beth
| [[Donmar Warehouse]]
|-
| ''Kiss Me Like You Mean It''
| Ruth
| [[Soho Theatre]]
|-
| ''White Horses''
| Paula
| [[Gate Theatre]], Dublin
|-
| rowspan="2"|2002
| ''Free''
| Sophie
| National Theatre
|-
| ''Dinner''
| Sian
| National Theatre
|-
| rowspan="2"|2003
| ''[[Honour (Murray-Smith play)|Honour]]''
| Claudia
| National Theatre
|-
| ''Under the Curse''
| Iphigenia
| [[Gate Theatre (London)|Gate Theatre]], London
|-
| 2004
| ''Vermillion Dream''
| Miriam
| [[Salisbury Playhouse]]
|-
| 2006
| ''{{sortname|The|39 Steps|The 39 Steps (play)}}''
| Various
| [[Tricycle Theatre]]
|-
| 2007
| ''{{sortname|The|Lady from Dubuque}}''
| Jo
| [[Theatre Royal Haymarket]]
|-
| rowspan="2"|2008
| ''{{sortname|A|Doll's House}}''
| Nora
| Theatre Royal Haymarket
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Portrait of a Lady}}''
| Isabel Archer
| Theatre Royal Haymarket
|-
| 2009
| ''[[Six Characters in Search of an Author]]''
|
|
|-
| 2012
| ''{{sortname|The|Heresy of Love}}''
| [[Juana Inés de la Cruz]]
| [[Royal Shakespeare Company]]
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|0001517}}
* [http://theatre.com/story/id/3003317 2006 Interview with Catherine McCormack on Theatre.com]{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}
* [http://www.macbraveheart.co.uk/news/2001/life_after.htm Catherine McCormack&nbsp;– Life after Braveheart]
* [http://london.broadway.com/buzz/buzz_story.aspx?id=3003317&p=1 Interview with Broadway.com]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081204045503/http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821207935106 What's On Stage article about Peter Hall's 2008 plays with Catherine McCormack]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCormack, Catherine}}
[[Category:1972 births]]
[[Category:English film actresses]]
[[Category:English television actresses]]
[[Category:English stage actresses]]
[[Category:English voice actresses]]
[[Category:English radio actresses]]
[[Category:English people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Oxford School of Drama]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Actresses from Epsom]]
[[Category:20th-century English actresses]]
[[Category:21st-century English actresses]]