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Shauna Macdonald is a Scottish actress. She began her career starring inThe Debt Collector (1999). She then had her breakthrough starring as Sam Buxton in the television seriesSpooks (2003–2004). After departing the series, she starred as Sarah Carter in the horror filmThe Descent (2005), the role for which she is best known. She gained widespread recognition and praise for her performance, and was nominated for theSaturn Award for Best Actress. The film established Macdonald as ascream queen. She reprised her role in its sequelThe Descent Part 2 (2009).

Macdonald has continued having starring roles in horror films, portraying Adelaide inMutant Chronicles (2008), Kate inHowl (2015), Dana inNails (2017), and Dr. Elle Chrysler inWhite Chamber (2018), for which she won the ScottishBAFTA Award for Best Actress. She is also known for her roles as Carole Robertson in the filmFilth (2013), Agnes Muncie in the television seriesIn Plain Sight (2016), a pilot inStar Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and as psychiatrist Dr. Wallace in the critically acclaimed miniseriesThe Cry (2018). She is the voice of Professor Squawkencluck in the2015 revival of the 80s animated television seriesDanger Mouse (2015–2019).

Macdonald has been the co-artistic director of Edinburgh Youth Theatre inBellfield since 2014. She also teachespublic speaking classes, through her own company, If In Doubt Shout.

Shauna Macdonald was born inMalaysia while her father was working in the country. At the age of three, she moved back to her family's nativeEdinburgh inScotland. As a child, Macdonald was very shy. She had alisp and went to speech therapy.^[1] Her mother made her join a choir group that did musical theatre. Her first role was when she was four years old, portraying a fairy in achurch hall inPortobello.^[2] She attended Towerbank Primary School inPortobello.^[3]

At the age of 12, Macdonald joined the Brunton Youth Theatre inMusselburgh and then thePaisley Youth Theatre inPaisley. It was here that she met and became friends with fellow Scottish actorJames McAvoy. At 14, Macdonald landed the lead role in the theatre's production calledEarth Crack, where she starred alongside singer and actorDavid Sneddon and McAvoy.^[4] After working as acleaner for the brother of Ann Coulter, a Scottish talent agent, Coulter signed with Macdonald as her agent. Macdonald attendedPortobello High School, where she participated in the school plays.^[5]

After graduating from school, she studied acting at theRoyal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama inGlasgow,^[6] where she was two years below James McAvoy. He later became is apatron of the Edinburgh Youth Theatre, which Macdonald runs.^[7][8]

At the age of 17, Macdonald was cast in and then made her screen debut in the filmThe Debt Collector (1999), oppositeBilly Connolly. While in her second year of university she landed a starring role inThe Rocket Post (2004), alongsideKevin McKidd, but the film would take five years after filming to release.^[3] In 2000 she made her professional theatre debut in a small role as a waitress inPal Joey at theCitizens Theatre.^[9][10] She next made appearances in the filmsDaybreak (2000)^[11] andLate Night Shopping (2001)^[12] and guest starred in the seriesMurder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes (2000)^[13] andTaggart (2002). In 2002 she also appeared in the playVictory at theRoyal Lyceum Theatre.^[3][9]

She first gained some recognition for her main role as Sam Buxton in the television seriesSpooks (2003–2004). During this time she starred as Catherine inA View From A Bridge (2003) in a co-production of both theBirmingham Repertory Theatre andWest Yorkshire Playhouse.^[14] She leftSpooks after feeling dissatisfied with how her character was developing.^[4]

She gained further recognition and critical praise after starring as the lead role Sarah Carter in the horror filmThe Descent (2005).^[15][3] The film's reception was largely positive from critics and the public alike,^[16][17][18] appeared on several top ten film lists in 2006,^[19] and was a box office success, grossing $57.1 million^[20] against a £3.5 million budget. Macdonald's performance in particular was widely praised and she was nominated for theSaturn Award for Best Actress^[21] and theFangoria Chainsaw Award for Chick You Don't Wanna Mess With.^[22] The film also established Macdonald as a modernscream queen.^{[23][24][25][26][27]}The Descent opened in cinemas in the United Kingdom on 8 July 2005. It premiered in the2006 Sundance Film Festival and released on 4 August 2006 in the United States.^[28]

In August 2006 Macdonald appeared in the playRealism at theNational Theatre of Scotland.^[29] The next year she starred as Rachael in the filmJetsam (2007)^[30] and appeared in the television filmWedding Belles (2007).^[31] Thereafter she starred as Adelaide in the sci-fi horror filmMutant Chronicles (2008).^[32] Macdonald reprised her role as Sarah Carter in the sequelThe Descent Part 2 (2009). Unlike the first film, the sequel received generally mixed to negative reviews.^[33] In 2011 Macdonald starred as Helen in the filmThe Hike^[34] and returned to the Royal Lyceum Theatre to star as thetitle character inMary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off (2011).^[35] From then she continued making various appearances on radio, television, in film, and theatre. Most notably she returned to the Citizens Theatre to star asRegan inKing Lear (2012);^[36] in May she starred alongsideDavid Thewlis in the short filmSeparate We Come, Separate We Go (2012), directed byBonnie Wright;^[37] and in August that year starred as the lead role inBorn to Run (2012) at theTraverse Theatre. Her performance in the latter was widely acclaimed.^[38][39][40]

The next year Macdonald received recognition for starring opposite her friend and former classmate,James McAvoy, as his character's wife, Carole Robertson, in the filmFilth (2013).^[41] In 2015 Macdonald began voicing the role of Professor Squawkencluck in the animated television seriesDanger Mouse (2015–present), and returned to the horror genre with the filmHowl (2015).^[42][43] In 2016 Macdonald had starring roles as Agnes Muncie in the seriesIn Plain Sight,^[44] and as Jodie, aveteran struggling withposttraumatic stress disorder, in the short filmSoldier Bee.^[45] For her performance in the latter she won the award for Best Actress in an International Short at theMumbai International Film Festival and was nominated for Best Actress at the Winter Film Awards.^[46][47] She also starred alongsideJeremy Irons andOlga Kurylenko inThe Correspondence (2016).^[48]

In 2017, Macdonald returned to the horror genre, starring in the filmNails^[49] and had a small role as a pilot inStar Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). In 2018 she had a main role as psychiatrist Dr. Wallace in the critically acclaimed miniseriesThe Cry^[50] and starred as Dr. Elle Chrysler in the sci-fi filmWhite Chamber (2018), which premiered at theEdinburgh International Film Festival.^[51][42] For her performance, she won the ScottishBAFTA Award for Best Actress.^[52] In 2019 she appeared alongsideLaura Harrier in the filmBalance, Not Symmetry as Catherine,^[53] and had a recurring role as Georgie, the estranged daughter ofJames Cosmo's character, in the seriesHold the Sunset (2019).^[54]

From 2019 to early 2020, Macdonald starred as Libby inMouthpiece at the Traverse Theatre.^[55][56] Macdonald's performance was acclaimed and she won the Stage Edinburgh Award.^[57] Macdonald later guest starred in the seriesLiar (2020)^[58] andThe Nest (2020),^[59][9] and starred in the short filmConsumed (2020).^[60]

Macdonald is married to Scottish actorCal MacAninch,^[61] whom she met after relocating toLondon after graduating from college.^[62] They have three children together^[63][64] and live inPortobello.^[53]

She has been the co-artistic director of Edinburgh Youth Theatre inBellfield since 2014.^[65][66] Macdonald also teachespublic speaking classes with her own company called If In Doubt Shout.^[67][68]

• Shauna Macdonald atIMDb

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