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One of the best British professional tennis players of all time, Andy Murray is popularly known as the Great Scot since he was born in Scotland. He is the only tennis player to have won two Olympic gold medals in singles competition. Also known for his charitable work, Andy Murray has played key roles in raising money for many charity organizations.
Billy Connolly is a retired stand-up comedian, actor, and musician. Known for his observational and idiosyncratic comedy, Connolly is widely considered one of the most influential and greatest stand-up comedians of all time. He has also worked with the British charity, Comic Relief and has appeared in a documentary and a live stage show for the charity.
A frequent performer in West End productions, James McAvoy has also showcased his acting skills in popular Hollywood movies, such as the X-Men series and Split. Although not an adventurer, he did a BASE jump to help raise money for a charity named Retrak, which helps Ugandan children.
Best known as the lead guitarist and singer of the popular rock band Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler is one of Britain’s most celebrated guitar icons. Known for hits such as Sultans of Swing, he and his band also released Brothers in Arms, one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Lewis Capaldi's success story is one of the greatest testimonies to the fact that magical things can happen when talent meets opportunity. From being just another aspiring singer, he quickly became a popular singer-songwriter in the UK and the US after Ryan Walter stumbled upon his iPhone recording on his SoundCloud account. Subsequently, he was signed to Universal Music Group.
Robbie Coltrane is a Scottish actor, writer, and comedian best known for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the popular Harry Potter movie series. Coltrane has also played important roles in other popular movies like GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough. Over the years, Robbie Coltrane has won several prestigious awards, such as the British Academy Television Awards.
Donovan is a Scottish guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for developing and popularizing a distinctive and eclectic style that blended many genres, such as folk, jazz, pop, calypso, and psychedelic rock. Donovan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, in 2012 and 2014, respectively.
David McCallum is a Scottish musician and actor who gained recognition for portraying Illya Kuryakin in the popular spy fiction TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. He gained international recognition for playing Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard in the action police procedural TV series NCIS. David McCallum has also contributed as a writer, publishing a novel titled Once a Crooked Man.
Kelly Macdonald is a Scottish actress known for playing Diane Coulston in the 1996 black comedy-drama film, Trainspotting. Kelly Macdonald received critical appreciation for portraying Gina in the made-for-television drama film, The Girl in the Café, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award. Eastwood High School, where she studied, has a theatre and drama studio named in her honor.
Peter Capaldi is a Scottish filmmaker and actor. He is best known for playing Malcolm Tucker in the British comedy TV series The Thick of It. Also known for his charity work, Capaldi joined hands with other celebrities to help raise awareness about the ill-effects of the global refugee crisis. He is also a patron of the Aberlour Child Care Trust.
John A. Macdonald was the first prime minister of Canada. A dominant figure in Canadian politics for half a century, he was a lawyer by profession before venturing into politics. As a politician, he was influential in building Canada’s new government. To date, he remains one of the highest-rated prime ministers in Canadian history.
Best known for his role of The Hound in Game of Thrones and his Scottish BAFTA-winning performance as Kenny McLeod in The Book Group, Rory McCann often puts his towering 6’6” frame to good use in his acting projects. He is also a talented musician and once worked as a carpenter and gardener.
Liverpool left-back and the captain of the Scottish national football team, Andrew Robertson has also been associated with clubs such as Hull City and Dundee United in the past. He led his team to a UEFA Champions League victory in 2019. He now also runs a charitable foundation for underprivileged kids.
Known as Nikki Cross and Nikki A.S.H., Scottish wrestler Nicola Glencross had been a 3-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion. She is best known for her victory at the 2021 Money in the Bank Ladder Match. She has a master’s degree in history and is also a certified fitness trainer.
Tony Curran is a Scottish actor best known for his work in several Marvel Cinematic Universe films, such as Thor: The Dark World. He has also played important roles in popular TV series like Daredevil and Doctor Who. In 2006, Tony Curran won the Best Actor Award at the British Independent Film Awards for playing Clyde Henderson in Red Road.
Al Stewart is a Scottish folk-rock musician and singer-songwriter. He achieved popularity during the 1960s and 1970s and helped revive British folk music. He is best known for his single Year of the Cat, which became a hit worldwide. Over the course of his career, Al Stewart has worked with well-known musicians like Peter White, Jimmy Page, and Richard Thompson.
Lonnie Donegan was a British musician and singer-songwriter. He is remembered for his contribution to a genre of folk music called Skiffle which earned him the nickname King of Skiffle. Donegan is credited with influencing British rock and pop musicians of the 1960s. Thanks to his influence on American music, Donegan is considered an important figure in the British invasion.
Lynne Ramsay is a Scottish film director, producer, writer, and cinematographer. She is best known for directing films like Ratcatcher, We Need to Talk About Kevin, and You Were Never Really Here. A critically-acclaimed filmmaker, Lynne Ramsay has won several important awards, including British Academy Film Awards and Critics Awards.
A walk through the woods in Dundee, changed Allan Pinkerton’s life, as he bumped into a group of counterfeiters and reported them to the police. This incident inspired him to later become Chicago's first full-time detective. His agency’s logo, an unblinking eye, inspired the phrase “Private Eye.”
Jamie Murray is a British tennis player who specializes in doubles. A former doubles world No. 1, Jamie Robert Murray has won seven Grand Slam doubles titles so far in his career. The elder brother of Andy Murray, Jamie Murray helped his team win the Davis Cup in 2015; it was Great Britain's first Davis Cup championship in 79 years.
The son of a civil engineer, Nobel Prize-winning Scottish chemist William Ramsay revolutionized science with his pathbreaking discovery of the noble gases, thus forming an entirely new segment of the periodic table. He is also remembered for his long association with UCL. He was knighted for his achievements.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, and artist. He was married to fellow artist Margaret Macdonald, and they both were influential on the European design movements Art Nouveau and Secessionism. Mackintosh is considered one of the most important figures of Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style). In his later years, he worked largely as a watercolorist.
Scottish-born footballer James McCarthy is now best known as a dependable Celtic midfielder. He also represents the Irish national team, because his grandparents were Irish. He has previously won an FA Cup with Wigan Athletic, beating Manchester City, and has also played for the English club Everton.
Alistair Maclean was a Scottish novelist best remembered for writing popular adventure stories. Having sold more than 150 million copies, Alistair Maclean is widely regarded as one of the best-selling fiction authors. Many of his works, including Where Eagles Dare, Ice Station Zebra, and The Guns of Navarone, have been made into popular films.
Lauren Mayberry is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and musician. Mayberry, who possesses a soprano singing voice, is the lead vocalist of the popular Scottish synth-pop band Chvrches, where she also plays keyboards and drums. One-third of the band, Mayberry co-produces and co-writes the songs along with Martin Doherty and Iain Cook. A vocal feminist, Mayberry runs the feminist collective, TYCI.
