Kelly Macdonald (born 23 February 1976(1976-02-23)) is a Scottish Emmy Award- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning actress.

Macdonald was born in Glasgow, Scotland. Her mother was a garment industry sales executive. Her parents divorced when she was young. She and her younger brother were raised by her mother on a council estate in the town of Newton Mearns. Macdonald attended Eastwood High School. Her family moved around frequently when she was a child.

Macdonald moved away from home when she was 17 years old. She took a college course in modern studies while living with a friend in Glasgow, but she soon dropped out of the class. Macdonald expressed interest in entering a drama school but never did, fearing she would not fit in because of her shyness.