Inside Anne-Marie Duff's life from heartbreaking diagnosis to famous ex-husband

Anne-Marie Duff is set to feature in BBC's new thriller Reunion this month, but away from the cameras the actress has had a high-profile marriage and relationships.

Tianna Corbin TV Reporter

18:54, 07 Apr 2025Updated 18:55, 07 Apr 2025

This month, Anne-Marie Duff will grace BBC screens in the highly anticipated thriller Reunion, starring as Christine, a character confronting the release of her husband's killer after 10 years. Discussing her draw to the show, she shared: "These particular scripts are so beautifully written. They are so unlike anything else I'd ever read. I was immediately excited, and it was a bit of a no-brainer; I had to be involved."

Already familiar to audiences through her roles in acclaimed projects such as Bad Sisters, Suspect, Shameless, and Sex Education, Anne-Marie Duff, 54, has cemented her status in both film and television.

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Delving into her life beyond the camera, we explore the actress's personal life

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Famous ex-husband

Anne-Marie Duff and James McAvoy(Image: (Image: GETTY))

Anne-Marie's personal life includes a notable relationship with actor James McAvoy, whom she met on the set of the British sitcom Shameless, where he played her on-screen love interest, Steve McBride.

James and Anne-Marie married quietly in 2006 and welcomed their son Brendan four years later, reports Express.

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In 2016, following ten years of marriage, the couple decided to part ways and filed for divorce.

Among her past romantic connections, the actress also once dated David Tennant, famed for his role in Doctor Who.

Anne-Marie and David met in the late 1990s while working on a production of Maxim Gorky's Vassa at the Albery Theatre in London. By 2000, Anne-Marie was a regular presence at David's performances.

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David once mentioned: " I do get nervous when she's in because she has so much integrity and I always feel I don't have as much as she does."

Heartbreaking diagnosis

Anne-Marie Duff spoke about her brother's early on-set dementia this year(Image: (Image: BBC))

Earlier this year, Anne-Marie bravely opened up about her younger brother facing a devastating diagnosis - young onset dementia when he was in his 40s, nine years ago, though she noticed symptoms beginning about 14 years prior.

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Anne-Marie shared the symptoms and impact on her brother's life with The Sunday Times, revealing he would take the wrong public transport and was late to work, eventually resulting in him losing his job.

Anne-Marie initially suspected he may have been involved with drugs or alcohol, but after a referral to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, doctors eventually diagnosed him with dementia following a three-week stay.

She recalled: "It was sad, because he couldn't accept it and he couldn't fully comprehend it. It's quite aggressive when it's very early onset. He just said, 'OK, when I get to the other side of this' It was very sad."

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Netflix film role

The actress starred in the film Before I Go to Sleep(Image: (Image: YOUTUBE))

In 2014, Anne-Marie appeared in the film adaptation of SJ Watson's novel, Before I Go to Sleep, alongside a star-studded cast. The movie tells the story of Christine (Nicole Kidman), a woman living with amnesia after a brutal attack.

Despite her inability to form new memories, she keeps experiencing flashbacks of a woman, later identified as her old friend Claire (Anne-Marie).

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Her doctor (Mark Strong) advises her to maintain a video diary to aid her memory, a decision she chooses to keep from her husband Ben (Colin Firth). However, as the story unfolds, things take a sinister turn.