Catherine Jane McCormack (born 3 April 1972) is an English actress of stage and screen. Her film appearances include Braveheart (1995), The Land Girls (1998), Dangerous Beauty (1998), Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), Spy Game (2001), and 28 Weeks Later (2007). Her theatre work includes National Theatre productions of All My Sons (2000) and Honour (2003).Anna Friel
McCormack was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. She is of part Irish ancestry as one of her grandfathers was Irish. Her mother died of lupus when McCormack was six years old and her steelworker father subsequently raised her and her brother Stephen. She was brought up as Roman Catholic and attended the Convent of Our Lady of Providence. She then went on to study at the Oxford School of Drama.
McCormack's first important role was as the character Murron MacClannough in the multiple Academy Award-winning film Braveheart (1995). Her screen debut was as the lead in the Anna Campion-directed 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."