Ewan McGregor Biography

Ewan McGregor is a famous Scottish actor. Explore this biography to learn more about his profile, childhood, life and timeline.

Quick Facts

Birthday: March 31, 1971

Nationality: Scottish

Famous: Humanitarian School Dropouts

Age: 48 Years, 48 Year Old Males

Sun Sign: Aries

Also Known As: Ewan Gordon McGregor OBE

Born in: Perth, Scotland, United Kingdom

Height: 5'10" (178 cm), 5'10" Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Eve Mavrakis (m. 1995)

father: James Charles Stewart

mother: Carole Diane (née Lawson)

siblings: Colin

children: Anouk McGregor, Clara Mathilde McGregor, Esther Rose McGregor, Jamiyan McGregor

Diseases & Disabilities: Depression

More Facts

education: Morrison's Academy, Guildhall School of Music and Drama

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Ewan McGregor is an eminent Scottish actor who is best-known for his roles in ‘Trainspotting’ and the ‘Star Wars’ prequel trilogy, which gave him his two biggest career breakthroughs. He is the entrepreneur of ‘Natural Nylon’ and has appeared in a number of low-budget, artsy Hollywood films before he was offered the indelible roles of ‘Mark Renton’ and ‘Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi’. His on-screen charisma and his dapper-good-looks gathered a cult following around the world and also got him noticed for challenging roles in non-commercial, inventive films like ‘Down With Love’ and ‘Moulin Rouge!’. Apart from acting for films, he is also a theatre artist and has appeared in a number of theatrical productions including, ‘Little Malcolm and His Struggles against the Eunuchs’, ‘Guys and Dolls’ and ‘Othello’. His acting capabilities earned him the respect of his contemporaries and even though his choices of roles were a little different from his counterparts, he was lauded for his confidence in being able to pull them off. He is a keen motorcyclist and has partaken in a number of motorcycle marathons. Additionally, he indulges in numerous interesting adventures and has traveled long distances around the globe. He is currently married and is also involved in various humanitarian charities. Scroll further for more.

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Ewan McGregor

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Childhood & Early Life

Ewan Gordon McGregor was born to James Charles Stewart and Carole Diane in the Royal Infirmary in Perth, Scotland. His father was a teacher with the ‘physical education’ department and his mother was a school administrator and a teacher.
He was brought up in Crieff, a small town nearby and he studied at ‘Morrison’s Academy’ and joined the ‘Perth Repertory Theater’.
He then went on to study drama at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Here, he studied alongside Alistair McGowan and Daniel Craig.
Quotes: Life, Think, Past
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Career

He landed a major role as ‘Private Mick Hopper’ in ‘Lipstick on Your Collar’, a musical-comedy, in 1993. The same year, he also starred in the British television mini-series, ‘The Scarlet & the Black’ and ‘Being Human’.
In 1994, he was lauded for his performance in ‘Shallow Grave’, a thriller, for which he won an important award.
Two years later, in 1996, he got his first major breakthrough as the heroin addict in ‘Trainspotting’, which was a film adaptation of a novel of the same name.
In 1997, he was cast as ‘Duncan Stewart’ in an episode in the famous television series, ‘ER’. His role earned him an illustrious nomination with the Primetime Emmy Awards.
In 1998, he was cast as the protagonist for ‘Little Voice’ and the following year, he starred in the hit, ‘Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace’ as Jedi Obi-Wan-Kenobi.
From 1998 to 1999, he starred in the theatre production, ‘Little Malcolm and His Struggles against the Eunuchs’, which opened at Hampstead Theatre and Comedy Theatre.
He appeared in ‘Moulin Rouge!’ alongside Nicole Kidman, as ‘Christian’, in 2001. He reprised his role as Jedi Obi-Wan-Kenobi in ‘Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones’, the following year.
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In 2003, he was cast opposite Renee Zellweger in, ‘Down with Love’, which was a light-hearted, romantic film. The same year, he also appeared in the fantasy film, ‘Big Fish’ as ‘Edward Bloom’. His role in the drama, ‘Young Adam’ earned him a lot of accolades.
He was cast as ‘Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi’ for the last time in ‘Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith’, in 2005, following which he lent his voice for two animated films ‘Robots’ and ‘Valiant’. Furthermore, he was cast opposite Scarlett Johansson in ‘The Island’.
From 2005 to 2007, he starred in ‘Guys and Dolls’, a Donmar Warehouse production at the Piccadilly Theatre.
In 2007, he starred in ‘Cassandra’s Dream’ and two years later, he appeared in ‘I Love You Philip Morris’, ‘Amelia’ and ‘Angels & Demons’. The same year, he worked on the production of ‘Othello’ and also reprised his role as ‘lago’ for BBC Radio 3.
In 2012, he appeared in ‘Salmon Fishing in the Yemen’ and ‘The Impossible’, both of which earned him nomination at the prestigious award functions. He is currently working with Daniel Craig for the film adaptation of ‘I, Lucifer’.

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Major Works

Ewan McGregor’s first major breakthrough was in the 1996 blockbuster hit, ‘Trainspotting’. Directed by Danny Boyle, this movie centers around the life of heroin addicts, particularly one individual, ‘Mark Renton’, played by McGregor. The movie is rated as one of the ‘Top 100 British films of all time’ and according to a public poll, is rated as the ‘Best Scottish film of all time’. The film collected a whopping $72,000,000 at the box-office and gave McGregor his first major hit.
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Awards & Achievements

He won the BAFTA Scotland Award for ‘Best Actor’ for ‘Trainspotting’, in 1996.
He was conferred the title of ‘Officer of the Order of the British Empire’ for his contributions to charity and drama, in the 2013 New Year Honors.

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Personal Life & Legacy

Ewan McGregor married Eve Mavrakis and the couple have four daughters together; Clara Mathilde, Esther Rose, Jamyan and Annouk. They currently reside in Los Angeles, California.
He is a UNICEF ambassador and is an avid motorcyclist. He has also been part of a vaccination program wherein he travelled by foot to administer vaccines to children in India, Nepal and the Republic of Congo.
Recently, he stated that he was a functioning alcoholic, but gave it up.

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Trivia