Clan MacKenzie: What famous MacKenzies do you know?

There are lots of celebrities who bear the Mackenzie name, many of whom can trace their lineage back to Scotland and Clan Mackenzie.

Julia McKenzie is best known for her role as Miss Marple in Agatha Christie's Marple, however she featured in over 40 films and TV shows throughout her career, including Fresh Fields and the spin off show French Fields. She was born in 1941 in Enfield and lives in Devon where she continues to act and direct. She has been awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award twice, first in 1983 and again in 1994 and she was even nominated for a Tony Award in 1977 for best actress for her performance in Side by Side by Sondheim. More recently she was awarded a CBE by the Queen in 2018 for her services to drama.

George MacKenzie was born in 1888 and was a police officer before he began wrestling. He first competed in the Olympics when he was only 19 in 1908 and went on to compete in the next five Olympics finishing with the 1928 games in Amsterdam. He was unsuccessful in winning a medal however he did place 4th in the Men's Lightweight Freestyle at his first Olympics. However, he was extremely successful in the British Championships, winning the lightweight competition in 1909, 1912, 1922, 1924, 1932 and again in 1941 and was also the featherweight champion in 1921, 1922 and 1924. His involvement with wrestling did not end once he finished competing, as he attended another four Olympics, as coach of the British team in 1936, an organiser in 1948, head of the team in 1952 and as a part of the British Wrestling Association in 1956. He also carried the British flag at the Melbourne Olympics Opening Ceremony in 1956.

Will MacKenzie is a golfer from North Carolina, born in 1974 he turned professional in 2000 and joined the PGA Tour in 2005. He started of his career in the PGA Tour amazingly by winning the Reno-Tahoe Open in 2006 and the Viking Classic in 2008. He has not won a PGA Tour Open since, but he did finish second at the Vahero Texas Open in 2014, placing him at 84 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Before he started his golfing career, he travelled all around America taking part in outdoor adventure sports including surfing, snowboarding, kayaking and rock climbing.

Alexander MacKenzie was the second prime minister of Canada and the first member of the Liberal party to be elected. While in Government he established the Supreme Court of Canada and the Royal Military College of Canada, while also creating the District of Keewatin. He was born in Perthshire in 1822 and immigrated to Canada when he was only 20, starting up a masonry business which was extremely successful meaning he could focus on his interest in Politics. It was in 1867 when he joined the Canadian House of commons as part of the Liberal Party, he was elected party leader in 1873 and later the same year he took over as Prime Minister.

James MacKenzie was born in Dundee in 1979, he studied acting at College to follow in the footsteps of his dad who was also an actor. He is best known for his TV Series on CBBC, Raven which first started in 2002, the show took a break for a few years and returned again last year with a new younger Raven, with James co-starring as the older Raven. The children's game show was about a shape-shifting immortal warrior guiding six young warriors through a series of challenges testing their strength and intelligence. He has also featured in Taggart, River City and Rebus, while also performing in the stage versions ofMacBeth and Sunshine on Leith.

English born Scotsman, Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie was born in 1883 in County Durham into a theatrical family of Mackenzies and was an author of popular novels, of which Whiskey Galore (set in the Hebrides) is the most famous. It was made into a film of the same name in 1949. He also penned Monarch of the Glenn, which became a successful television series starring Alexander Mackenzie in the 2000’s. He was one of the co-founders of the Scottish National Party in 1928 and was knighted in 1952. He served with British Intelligence in the Eastern Mediterranean during the First World War and penned many novels about his experiences in Counter Intelligence. He passed away in 1972 in his final resting place of Barra.

Alastair Mackenzie was born in Trinafour near Perth in 1970 and is most famous for playing Archie Macdonald in Monarch of the Glen (2000-2003). He is credited as a screenwriter for his brother David's directorial debut feature film titled The Last Great Wilderness (2002) in which he also starred. He has more recently been in Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall (2015) in which he played Willian Brereton.

David Mackenzie is the older brother of Alastair Mackenzie, with whom he co-founded Glasgow based production company Sigma Films, he was born in 1966 and after studying at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, went on to work in film. He has directed 10 feature films including Young Adam (2003), Hallam Foe (2007) and Outlaw King (2018) working with big names such as Chris Pine, Tilda Swinton and Ewan Macgregor.

Mackenzie is often also used as a first name and has even been used for some famous fictional faces. Some honourable mentions include:

Mackenzie Crook was born 'Paul James Crook' in 1972 in Maidstone, Kent. He is an English actor, director, comedian & BAFTA-winning writer, best known as Gareth Keenan in The Office and playing the recurring character Ragetti in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Born in 2000 in Los Angeles, Mackenzie Foy began modelling aged 3 and acting at 9. She is famous for playing many film roles, including Renesmee Cullen in The Twilight Saga (2011), young Murphy in Interstellar (2014) and Clara in Disney's The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018).

Dougal MacKenzie is the War Chieftain of Clan MacKenzie and uncle of Jamie Fraser in the Outlander Series. Played by Graham MacTavish, he is described as a skilled and experienced warrior. A strong leader, he commands respect in any setting and is feared by many.