Career

Macdonald's career began while she was working as a barmaid in Glasgow. She saw a leaflet advertising an open casting session for Trainspotting and decided to audition, winning the part of Diane, the underage seductress to Ewan McGregor's Renton. Other roles include Mary O'Neary in Two Family House, and an actress playing Peter Pan in Finding Neverland. She had major roles in Robert Altman's British period piece Gosford Park, where she played an aristocrat's maid, and in Intermission (2003), as Deirdre.

On radio, she portrayed Mary in the 1999 BBC radio drama Lifehouse, based on Pete Townshend's abandoned rock opera, some of the songs for which were released on The Who's album Who's Next. On television, her highest profile roles have been in two BBC dramas, the Paul Abbott serial State of Play (2003), and the one-off Richard Curtis piece The Girl in the Café (2005). Both of these were directed by David Yates, and both also starred Bill Nighy. For her performance in The Girl in the Café, she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film in 2006, and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.

Macdonald starred in the 2005 film Nanny McPhee, as the scullery maid Evangeline, and has since had supporting roles in A Cock and Bull Story (2006), and the Coen brothers' Academy Award-winning No Country for Old Men (2007). Her agent was originally unsure she was right for the latter part, and Macdonald is reported as having to "fight for the role". Her persistence paid off, however, as she was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Other films where she had supporting roles include Choke (2008), as Paige Marshall, the film adapted by Clark Gregg from the 2001 Chuck Palahniuk novel; In the Electric Mist (2009) (based on James Lee Burke's In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead (1993), as Kelly Drummond, alongside Tommy Lee Jones and John Goodman; and Skellig (2009), as Louise. She played the lead in The Merry Gentleman (2008), as Kate Frazier.

In 2010, she played her first comedy role, in the British independent romantic comedy film The Decoy Bride. The Decoy Bride was released in 2012. In 2011, she played the "Grey Lady" (revealed to be Helena Ravenclaw) in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, the final instalment of the Harry Potter film franchise. She replaced Nina Young, the original actress in the role. In 2012, she provided the voice of Merida, the heroine of the Disney/Pixar film Brave, and starred as Dolly in Anna Karenina.

From 2010 until its ending in 2014, she starred in the HBO crime drama Boardwalk Empire as Margaret Thompson, the wife of Prohibition-era Atlantic City crime boss Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi). She appeared in all five seasons of the series. In 2011, she and the rest of the show's cast were awarded the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. In 2016, she will star in Ricky Gervais' Special Correspondents as Claire Maddox, and Swallows and Amazons as Mrs. Walker.

Personal life

Macdonald was born in Glasgow. Her mother was a garment industry sales executive. In August 2003, Macdonald married musician Dougie Payne, bassist of rock band Travis. The couple have two children.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Trainspotting	Diane Coulston
1996	Stella Does Tricks	Stella McGuire
1997	Dead Eye Dick	Wendy	Short film
1998	Cousin Bette	Hortense Hulot
1998	Elizabeth	Isabel Knollys
1999	Splendor	Mike
1999	Entropy	Pia
1999	The Loss of Sexual Innocence	Susan
1999	My Life So Far	Elspeth Pettigrew
1999	Tube Tales	Emma	Segment: "Mr. Cool"
2000	Two Family House	Mary O'Neary
2000	House!	Linda
2000	Some Voices	Laura
2001	Strictly Sinatra	Irene
2001	Gosford Park	Mary Maceachran
2003	Intermission	Deirdre
2004	Finding Neverland	Peter Pan
2005	The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy	Jin Jenz Reporter
2005	All the Invisible Children	Jonathan's wife	Segment: "Jonathan"
2005	Nanny McPhee	Evangeline
2005	Lassie	Jeanie
2006	A Cock and Bull Story	Jenny
2007	No Country for Old Men	Carla Jean Moss
2008	The Merry Gentleman	Kate Frazier
2008	Choke	Paige Marshall
2009	In the Electric Mist	Kelly Drummond
2011	The Decoy Bride	Katie Nic Aodh
2011	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2	Helena Ravenclaw
2012	Brave	Princess Merida	Voice
2012	Anna Karenina	Dolly Oblonskaya
2016	Special Correspondents	Claire Maddox
2016	Swallows and Amazons	Mrs. Walker	In post-production
2017	The Journey Is the Destination	Duff	In post-production
2017	Okja		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Flowers of the Forest	Amy Ogilvie	Television film
2003	Brush with Fate	Aletta Pieters	Television film
2003	State of Play	Della Smith	6 episodes
2005	Alias	Kiera MacLaine / Meghan Keene	Episode: "Ice"
2005	The Girl in the Café	Gina	Television film
2009	Skellig	Louise / Mum	Television film
2010-14	Boardwalk Empire	Margaret Thompson	56 episodes
2016	Black Mirror		TV episode

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated work	Award	Category	Result
1997	Trainspotting	BAFTA Scotland Awards	Best Film Actress	Nominated
2000	Two Family House	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Female Lead	Nominated
2002	Gosford Park	Online Film Critics Society	Best Cast	Won
		Phoenix Film Critics Society	Best Acting Ensemble	Nominated
		Satellite Awards	Best Cast - Motion Picture	Won
		Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Won
		Critics' Choice Movie Awards	Best Acting Ensemble	Nominated
		Florida Film Critics Circle	Best Ensemble Cast	Won
2003		Empire Awards	Best British Actress	Nominated
2006	The Girl in the Café	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	Won
		Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film	Nominated
2008	Choke	Sundance Film Festival	Special Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Ensemble Cast	Won
	No Country for Old Men	Online Film Critics Society	Best Supporting Actress	Nominated
		British Academy Film Awards	Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Nominated
		London Film Critics' Circle	Supporting Actress of the Year	Won
		Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Won
2011	Boardwalk Empire	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Nominated
		Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Won
		Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Nominated
		Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Nominated
2012		Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Nominated
		Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Won
		Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Nominated
	Brave	Annie Awards	Outstanding Voice Acting in a Feature Production	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]