People may be familiar with Aberdonians such as Annie Lennox and Emeli Sandé, but here are some famous faces who went to school in Aberdeen.
Aberdeen has produced some titans of music, sport and entertainment who were both born and attended school here.
Arguably the most famous Aberdonian is Annie Lennox, an award-winning musician whose career spans more than four decades.
Other notable names include Emeli Sandé, Denis Law, Paul Lawrie and Rose Leslie.
However, here are some that you might not have known studied in Aberdeen at places such as RGU, Robert Gordon’s College and Cults Academy.
Vogue Williams
The Irish-born television personality studied at Robert Gordon University, earning a construction design and management degree.
She is most famous for her podcast, which she hosts with her husband, Spencer Matthews from Made in Chelsea, called Spencer & Vogue.
The two can often be heard bickering over the airways as they speak openly about their marriage.
Laura Main
Having starred in all 12 series of BBC’s Call the Midwife first as a Nun Bernadette and then as Nurse Shelagh Turner, Laura Main was born in Aberdeen and studied at Hazlehead Academy.
In addition to Call the Midwife, she has an extensive career in the theatre having started performing as the lead in Annie in 1990 at the Aberdeen Arts Centre.
Calvin Goldspink
During the 2000s, one of the most popular music ensembles was created in the form of S Club 8. Among those chosen was Aberdeen-born Calvin Goldspink.
He was part of the group which also included Rochelle Humes and Frankie Bridge who would go on to become part of the successful girl group, The Saturdays.
S Club 8 had success with six Top 10 singles including the incredibly catchy Sundown.
He previously attended Cults Academy during his teenage years and now lives in Los Angeles and is father to two daughters.
Annie Wallace
Most known for portraying the role of Sally St. Claire in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, she is the first transgender person to portray a regular transgender character in British soap opera history.
The 58-year-old Aberdeen native studied at Aberdeen Grammar School and had several jobs before landing her breakout role in the long-running soap in 2015.
Her character is a strict, “no-nonsense” headteacher who moves to Hollyoaks village to work at the local school.
In 2021, she was awarded for Outstanding Trans Activism by the Proud Scotland Awards.
David Rintoul
Having attended Robert Gordon’s College in the 1950s, actor David Rintoul has come a long way with acting roles in Game of Thrones as Aerys II Targaryen and Michael Adeane, private secretary to the Queen, in season 3 of The Crown.
The 74-year-old has also had a long career in the theatre with companies including the Royal National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company.
Most recently, he appeared in a small role in the 2021 film, The Protege, starring Maggie Q and Michael Keaton.
Sandi Thom
Scottish singer Sandi Thom had a chokehold on the UK when she released her addictively catchy song – I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair).
The debut song shot her to stardom topping the charts in June 2006 in several countries, including the UK, Australia and Ireland.
Originally born in Banff, she attended Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen and spent three years performing in a band from Gourdon, called The Residents.
Her debut song remains popular to this day having amassed more than 64m streams on Spotify.
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