Catherine Jane McCormack (born 3 April 1972) 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 went on to study at the Oxford School of Drama.

Career

Film

McCormack's screen debut was as the lead in the film Loaded (1994), directed by Anna Campion. McCormack subsequently stated that she had a "miserable time with the director.... 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."

Theatre

McCormack has shown a preference in her career for the theatre, McCormack was one of the original 2006 London cast of Patrick Barlow's play of The 39 Steps. In 2008, she performed the role of Nora in A Doll's House, directed by Peter Hall at the Theatre Royal, Bath, and also the role of Isabel Archer in a stage adaptation of The Portrait of a Lady, both of which commenced their runs in July 2008, ending in August, before transferring to the Rose Theatre in Kingston later that year.

In 2009, she appeared in the British tour of 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's production of Helen Edmundson's play The Heresy of Love.

Personal life

As of 2009, McCormack was living with her boyfriend in Richmond.

Acting credits

Film

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

|-

| 1994

| Loaded

| Rose

|

|-

| 1995

| Braveheart

| Murron MacClannough

|

|-

| 1996

| North Star

| Sarah

|

|-

| rowspan="3"|1998

| '

| Stella

|

|-

| Dangerous Beauty

| Veronica Franco

|

|-

| Dancing at Lughnasa

| Christina 'Chrissy' Mundy

|

|-

| rowspan="2"|1999

| This Year's Love

| Hannah

|

|-

| The Debtors

|

|

|-

| rowspan="4"|2000

| Shadow of the Vampire

| Greta Schröder

|

|-

| '

| Mary Neubauer

|

|-

| '

| Jean Janes

|

|-

| Born Romantic

| Jocelyn

|

|-

| rowspan="2"|2001

| '

| Francesca Deane

|

|-

| Spy Game

| Elizabeth Hadley

|

|-

| 2004

| Strings

| Zita (voice)

|

|-

| 2005

| '

| Sonia Rand

|

|-

| 2006

| Renaissance

| Bislane Tasuiev (voice)

|

|-

| rowspan="2"|2007

| '

| Kristina Baumgarten / Tosca

|

|-

| 28 Weeks Later

| Alice

|

|-

| 2013

| '

| Rebecca Ashton

|

|-

| 2014

| Magic in the Moonlight

| Olivia

|

|-

| 2016

| The Journey

| Kate Elgar

|

|-

| 2017

| Promise at Dawn

| Lesley Blanch

|

|-

| rowspan="2"|2019

| The Song of Names

| Helen

|

|-

| Cordelia

| Kate

|

|-

| rowspan="1"| 2025

| My Oxford Year

| Antonia Davenport

| Netflix film

|}

Television

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

|-

| 1994

| Wycliffe

| Asenath Gardner

| Episode: "The Scapegoat"

|-

| 1997

| Deacon Brodie

| Annie Grant

| TV film

|-

| 1999

| Love in the 21st Century

| Fay

| Episode: "Reproduction"

|-

| 2001

| 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

| Alice Ross

| Main cast, miniseries

|-

| 2011

| Lights Out

| Theresa Leary

| Main cast

|-

| 2013

| Lucan

| Veronica

| Main cast, miniseries

|-

| 2015

| Life in Squares

| Virginia Woolf

| Main cast, miniseries

|-

| 2016

| Sherlock

| Lady Carmichael

| Episode "The Abominable Bride"

|-

| 2017

| Genius

| Marija Ružić–Marić

| Recurring role (season 1)

|-

| 2018

| Women on the Verge

| Claire

| 4 episodes

|-

| 2019–2021

| Temple

| Beth Milton

| Main cast

|-

| 2022

| Slow Horses

| Alex Tropper

| Recurring role (series 2)

|-

| 2023

| The Witcher

| Anika

| Episode: "Reunion"

|-

| 2025

| Lockerbie: A Search for Truth

| Jane Swire

|

|-

| 2026

| A Thousand Blows

| Sophie Lyons

| Series 2

|}

Theatre

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! Venue or Company

|-

| 1999

| Anna Weiss

| Anna Weiss

| Whitehall Theatre

|-

| 2000

| All My Sons

| Ann

| National Theatre

|-

| rowspan="3"|2001

| '

| 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

| Claudia

| National Theatre

|-

| Under the Curse

| Iphigenia

| Gate Theatre, London

|-

| 2004

| Vermillion Dream

| Miriam

| Salisbury Playhouse

|-

| 2006

| '

| Various

| Tricycle Theatre

|-

| 2007

| '

| Jo

| Theatre Royal Haymarket

|-

| rowspan="2"|2008

| '

| Nora

| Theatre Royal Haymarket

|-

| '

| Isabel Archer

| Theatre Royal Haymarket

|-

| 2009

| Six Characters in Search of an Author

|

|

|-

| 2012

| '

| Juana Inés de la Cruz

| Royal Shakespeare Company

|}

References

  • 2006 Interview with Catherine McCormack on Theatre.com
  • Catherine McCormack – Life after Braveheart
  • Interview with Broadway.com
  • What's On Stage article about Peter Hall's 2008 plays with Catherine McCormack