Who is James McAvoy?
James McAvoy is a Scottish actor. He has starred in blockbuster films like “Becoming Jane” (2007), “Glass” (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), and Filth (2013).
James McAvoy was born on April 21, 1979, in Glasgow, Scotland. He was born as one of two children to James McAvoy Sr. (father) and Elizabeth McAvoy (mother). He has one full sibling and a half-sibling from his father’s other relationship. James McAvoy is 44 years old as of 2023.
He attended St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Scotland. He also studied acting at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
About James McAvoy’s parents
James McAvoy was born as the first of two children to his parents – James McAvoy Sr. (father) and Elizabeth McAvoy (mother). His father was a bus driver turned builder, while his mother worked as a psychiatric nurse. His parents reportedly separated when he was 7 and divorced after 4 years when he was 11.
It was reported that James McAvoy’s mother, Elizabeth McAvoy suffered from poor health at the time she divorced her husband and she had to send their son to live with his maternal grandparents.
The actor shared in an interview with The Guardian that both his parents are late, but he had not been in contact with his father since he divorced his mother. His mother was said to have died in 2018.
About James McAvoy’s siblings
James McAvoy has one full sibling and a half-sibling from his father’s side. His siblings are named Joy and Donald McAvoy respectively. Joy is McAvoy’s younger sister, while Donald is his half-sibling from his father’s other relationship. According to reports, James McAvoy has an estranged relationship with his half-brother and he has never met him.
About Joy McAvoy- James McAvoy’s sister
Joy McAvoy is James McAvoy’s younger sister. She is an actress who starred alongside her brother in the 2013 movie “Filth”. According to her IMDb page, she was born on August 2, 1982, in Glasgow, Scotland. She is 41 years old as of 2023. She is currently married to Geoff Clement. She has also starred in other movies like “The Angel’s Share” (2012), and “Avengers: Endgame” (2019).
About Donald McAvoy- James McAvoy’s half-brother
Donald McAvoy is James McAvoy’s half-brother from his father’s side. His mother is Mary McKinnon. He is reportedly 33 years old as of 2023. Donald was reportedly thrown in jail for 4 years and 10 months by the High Court in Glasgow for attacking a man identified as Mieczyslaw Bawor in March 2020. He was traced with a picture of him that the victim was able to get.
Reports have it that Donald McAvoy has been involved in crime since 2007 and he has about 43 convictions for multiple offences including crimes of violence. James McAvoy is also reportedly not in contact with his half-brother and they do not have a relationship.
James McAvoy’s marriage and wedding
As of the time of publishing this article, James McAvoy has been married twice. He was formerly married to English actress and narrator, Anne-Marie Duff. He and Duff were married for 10 years before calling it quits in 2016.
After their marriage ended, McAvoy secretly tied the knot with Lisa Liberati. He confirmed his marriage with Lisa in February 2022 after years of media speculations.
About James McAvoy’s marriage with Anne-Marie Duff
Anne-Marie Duff is an award-winning English actress and narrator. She is known for starring in movies like “Nowhere Boy” (2009) and “The Salisbury Poisoning” (2020). She was born on October 8, 1970, in Southall, London. She was born as the youngest of two children to immigrant Irish parents – Brendan Duff (father) and Mary Duff (mother). As of August 2023, Anne-Marie Duff is 52 years old. She attended the Drama Centre School in London.
James McAvoy became an item with Anne-Marie after they met on the set of the Channel 4 series “Shameless” in 2003. Anne-Marie played McAvoy’s love interest in the series. They dated for a couple of years tying the knot in November 2006. Unfortunately, they announced their decision to mutually divorce 10 years after their marriage in May 2016. The ex-couple have a son together and they co-own a property in North London in order to spend time together with their son.
McAvoy and his ex-wife Anne-Marie Duff announced their divorce on social media with a joint statement that reads:
“It is with tremendous sadness that we have come to the decision to divorce. We enter this next phase with continued friendship, love and respect for one another and the shared focus of caring for our son”.
Anne-Marie Duff spoke about how difficult a divorce is during an interview with Times in 2018.
She said:
“Divorce is a profound, difficult experience. It just is. It’s a bit like you go to bed and you wake up holding hands in a hurricane. And nobody gave you any storm warnings. And if you are recognisable, you can’t leave the hurricane at home, because you walk down the street and everyone knows you are holding hands with the hurricane. They mean well and they are well-wishers, but they are strangers so you have to deal with that for a while and be as big a version of yourself as you can be”.
About James McAvoy’s marriage with Lisa Liberati
As of the time of publishing this article, Lisa Liberati is popular for being the second wife of James McAvoy. She reportedly worked as a social media manager for the real estate app, Jove, in 2017. She has also worked in acting, appearing in movies like “Species” (1995), “Devil” (2010), and “The Visit” (2015).
James McAvoy and Lisa Liberati started seeing after they met on the set of M.Night Shyamalan’s 2016 horror thriller “Split”. They initially kept their relationship very quiet but sparked marriage rumours in 2019, after a picture of them dressing fancy for Halloween surfaced online.
James McAvoy later confirmed to The Guardian in February 2022 that he and Lisa Liberati had secretly gotten married without revealing where and when the ceremony took place. According to the actor, he still doesn’t like to discuss his personal life.
He said:
“One of the things that’s stayed the same is that I still don’t talk about my personal life, really”.
List of James McAvoy’s past relationships and girlfriends
Aside from Anne-Marie Duff and Lisa Liberati, James McAvoy was speculated to have dated two other women.
a. James McAvoy and Emma Neilson (1995-2002)
James McAvoy reportedly dated Emma Neilson between 1995 to 2002.
b. James McAvoy and Alexandra Shipp (2016)
James McAvoy and American actress, Alexandra Shipp speculatively dated in 2016. The affair was never confirmed.
James McAvoy’s children
Brendan McAvoy
As of the time of publishing this post (August 2023), James McAvoy has only one child – a son named Brendan McAvoy. Brendan McAvoy was born on June 16, 2010. He is 13 years old as of 2023.
He had the child with his ex-wife, Anne-Marie Duff, four years after they got married in 2010. According to reports, James McAvoy’s son Brendan was named after the actor’s maternal grandfather.
