Catherine McCormack was born in Alton, Hampshire, England. Her first acting experience was playing the title role in an amateur stage production of a play called Mother. Although only 16 at the time, she played a 60-year-old Russian woman.

From there, Catherine went on to study at the prestigious Oxford School of Drama, graduating in 1993. Her first professional job was in the low-budget Australian film, Loaded (1994). The same year, she made a guest appearance on the TV series Wycliffe. But it was the following year that she gained international attention when cast as Mel Gibson's love in the blockbuster film, Braveheart (1995).

Offers rolled in after that, and actress worked steadily in British TV and film. Catherine has appeared in "Dancing at Lughnasa" (1998) with Meryl Streep, "The Debtors" (1999) with Michael Caine, "Shadow Of The Vampire" (2000) with John Malkovich, "The Tailor Of Panama" (2001) with Pierce Brosnan, "Spy Game" (2002) with Brad Pitt, "A Sound of Thunder" (2004) with Ben Kingsley and on TV, she played Queen Elizabeth I in the BBC mini-series "Plot", "Treason" and "Gunpowder" (2004).

Her theater experience is also extensive, having made her London West End debut as the lead in Anna Weiss. Catherine then appeared at the Royal National Theatre with Julie Walters in "All My Sons" and received a 2001 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In 2003, she played Claudia in the UK premiere of Honour, followed by The 39 Steps in 2006 at London's Tricycle Theatre.