Frances Mayli McCann (born 14 September 1989) is a Scottish actress. She is best known for her work in theatre. She is the recipient of

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

and

WhatsOnStage Award The WhatsOnStage Awards (WOS Awards), formerly known as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, are organised by the theatre website WhatsOnStage.com. The awards recognise performers and productions of British theatre with an emphasis on London's West ...

nominations.

Early life

McCann was born and raised in

Bishopbriggs Bishopbriggs ( sco, The Briggs; gd, Achadh an Easbaig) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the northern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the Glasgow city centre, city centre. Shires of Scotland, Historically in ...

, a suburb of Glasgow, to a Hong Kong mother and a Scottish-Irish father. McCann attended

Turnbull High School Turnbull High School is a co-educational comprehensive Secondary School located in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The school was named after William Turnbull, Bishop of Glasgow from 1448 to 1454, and founder of the University of G ...

. She was a dancer and gymnast from the age of four. After discovering acting and singing, she auditioned for and joined the Glasgow Academy Musical Theatre Arts (now GPRO), graduating in 2009.

Career

McCann reportedly first appeared on television in the 2000s

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

series ''Against All Odds'' as Melissa and the

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...

soap opera '' River City'' as Mia. She was also a finalist on CITV's ''Britannia High''. In 2009, she was cast in a tour of the music show ''Highland Heartbeat''. She guest starred in a 2010 episode of the BBC Three series ''

Lip Service Lip service may refer to: Idiom * Lip service, an idiom for insincere talk Film * ''Lip Service'' (1988 film), an American comedy TV film Television * ''Lip Service'' (TV series), a 2010 dramatic series broadcast on BBC Three * ''Lip Serv ...

''. In 2011, McCann made her West End debut as a diva in ''

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' is a 1994 Australian road comedy film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot follows two drag queens, played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce, and a transgender woman, played by Tere ...

'' at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

. She returned to ''Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' for its 2013 tour around the UK, this time as Cynthia. McCann originated the role of Kylah in ''

Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour ''Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour'' is a play based on the 1998 novel ''The Sopranos'' by Alan Warner, adapted for the stage by Lee Hall. It received its world premiere at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in August 2015, before embarking on a s ...

'', a stage adaptation of

Alan Warner Alan Warner (born 1964) is a Scottish novelist who grew up in Connel, near Oban. His notable novels include '' Morvern Callar'' and ''The Sopranos'' – the latter being the inspiration for the play '' Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour'' and its ...

's novel ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

'' in the play's 2015

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

premiere. She took the character on tour later that year, to the National Theatre in 2016, and to the West End at the Duke of York's Theatre in 2017. McCann and the rest of the cast were jointly nominated for the

Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The Oliviers were established as the Society of West End Th ...

. In 2019, McCann had a recurring role as Niki in the fifth series of ''

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

. She also had a small role in ''

Evita Evita may refer to: Arts * Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name * Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron * Evita (album), ''E ...

'' at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. She began playing Éponine on a tour of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'', but it was cut short due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In 2021, McCann appeared in the world premiere of ''Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World'' at MAST Mayflower Studios in Southampton, as well as productions at the Royal Court and Almeida Theatre, and played Heather McNamara in the West End revival of '' Heathers: The Musical'' at the

Theatre Royal Haymarket The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foot ...

. In February 2022, it was announced McCann would star as the titular

Bonnie Parker Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...

in the original West End cast of ''

Bonnie & Clyde Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The c ...

'' opposite

Jordan Luke Gage Jordan Luke Gage (born 8 April 1992) is a British actor. Though he has appeared in several television shows, Gage is best known as a musical theatre performer, most notably originating the roles of Romeo in the 2019 jukebox musical ''& Juliet'' ...

Clyde Barrow Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...

. The show's original run took place in spring 2022 at the

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamberl ...

. For her performance, McCann was nominated for a

. In November 2022, it was announced ''Bonnie & Clyde'' would return to the West End in March 2023 at the Garrick Theatre with McCann and Gage reprising their roles. McCann also appeared in the second series of the

tween science fiction series ''

Silverpoint Silverpoint (one of several types of metalpoint) is a traditional drawing technique first used by medieval scribes on manuscripts. History A silverpoint drawing is made by dragging a silver rod or wire across a surface, often prepared with gesso ...

''. She will play Misa in the London Palladium concert staging of '' Death Note: The Musical''.

Personal life

McCann is married to Australian actor

Christopher Chung Christopher Chung Shu-kun, SBS, JP (; born 31 March 1957, commonly known as "Tree Gun") was elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in 2012, representing the Hong Kong Island constituency. He is also former chairman of Eastern Distri ...

. They had a traditional Chinese ceremony in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 2020 followed by a western wedding at Bothy Glasgow in 2021.

Filmography

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Frances Mayli McCann
at Conway van Gelder Grant {{DEFAULTSORT:Mccann, frances mayli Living people 21st-century Scottish actresses British actresses of Asian descent People from Bishopbriggs Scottish musical theatre actresses Scottish people of Hong Kong descent Scottish people of Irish descent 1989 births