Fiona Kennedy Clark (born 2 July 1955),

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, DL is a Scottish singer, actress and broadcaster, and the daughter of Scottish and Gaelic singers

Calum Kennedy Calum Kennedy (born as Malcolm Martin Kennedy; June 2, 1928 – April 15, 2006) was a Scotland, Scottish singer who performed in both English language, English and Scottish Gaelic. Biography Kennedy was born in Orinsay, a small crofting village ...

and Anne Gillies. As a child she appeared with her parents as they performed as a family, and this developed into a successful solo career.

Career

Kennedy's TV appearances include the 1971 series '' The Witch's Daughter'', ''

Sutherland's Law ''Sutherland's Law'' is a television series made by BBC Scotland between 1973 and 1976. The series had originated as a stand-alone edition of the portmanteau programme ''Drama Playhouse'' in 1972 in which Derek Francis played Sutherland and wa ...

'' and ''Mauro the Gypsy'', made for the

Children's Film Foundation The Children's Film Foundation (CFF) is a non-profit organisation which makes films and other media for children in the United Kingdom. Originally it made films to be shown as part of children's Saturday morning matinée cinema programming. Th ...

and released in 1972, four series of ''

Record Breakers ''Record Breakers'' was a British children's TV show, themed around world records and produced by the BBC. It was broadcast on BBC1 from 15 December 1972 to 21 December 2001. Format The programme was a spin-off series from '' Blue Peter'' wh ...

'' on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

and the New Year Show with Sir Trevor MacDonald. She also presented ''Behind the Scenes at Monarch of the Glen''. She has also appeared on BBC TV's ''

Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns, worship songs and inspirational performances in churches of varying denominations from around the UK alongside interviews and stories reflecting how Ch ...

'' as a singer.(21 August 2009)
Fiona Kennedy At Westbury Theatre
''

Wave of Long Island ''The Wave'' is the longest-lived and most widely circulated newspaper in the Rockaway Peninsula, New York City Borough of Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive wit ...

''. Retrieved 23 November 2010 She had a role in the 1973 film ''

The Wicker Man ''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy (film director), Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt and Christopher Lee. The screenplay is by Anthony Shaffer (writer ...

'', in which she played Holly Grimmond.(18 March 2003)
The Diary
, ''

The Herald (Glasgow) ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

''. Retrieved 23 November 2010 Her production ''The Kist'' has enjoyed 5 star reviews at The

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

and has also been performed in Aberdeen, Glasgow and New York. She has recorded several albums including ''Maiden Heaven'' and ''Coming Home''. Her 2017 album ''Time to Fly'' includes songs co-written with Beth Nielsen-Chapman and duets with Ross Wilson of Blue Rose Code. Kennedy sang for

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

on a number of occasions and performed at the

G8 Summit The Group of Eight (G8) was an intergovernmental political forum from 1997 to 2014, formed by incorporating Russia into the G7. The G8 became the G7 again after Russia was expelled in 2014 after the Russian annexation of Crimea. The forum ...

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

. She has sung at the first NATO Burns Supper in Brussels, performed at Celtic Connections and Transatlantic Sessions on

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and d ...

, touring with Runrig, hosted television programmes for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

in America, narrated ''

Peter and the Wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и волк, Pétya i volk, p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk) Op. 67, a "symphonic tale for children", is a Program music , programmatic musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a ...

'' and ''

The Snowman ''The Snowman'' is a 1982 British animated television film and symphonic poem based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 picture book '' The Snowman.'' It was directed by Dianne Jackson for Channel 4. It was first shown on 26 December 1982, and was an ...

'' with the RSNO, presented ''Live at The Lemon Tree'' for

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

with Phil Cunningham, and narrated ''The Three Ships'' with Sir

Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television sitcom ''Blackadder'' and has presented many historical documentaries, including the Channel ...

, composed by

Paul Mealor Paul Mealor CLJ FLSW (born 25 November 1975) is a Welsh composer. A large proportion of his output is for chorus, both a cappella and accompanied. He came to wider notice when his motet ''Ubi Caritas et Amor'' was performed at the wedding ...

. She has acted in a number of plays including '' Alfie'' in the West End and ''

Ane Satyre of the Thrie Estaites ''A Satire of the Three Estates'' (Middle Scots: ''Ane Pleasant Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis''), is a satirical morality play in Middle Scots, written by the makar Sir David Lyndsay. The complete play was first performed outside in the playing ...

'' at the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

. A visit to

Ellis Island Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United State ...

inspired her own production ''The Kist'', which appeared at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

, as well as at venues in Scotland, London and New York. She collaborates regularly with writer and director John Bett including ten years of ''Nae Ordinary Burns Supper''. Kennedy is a Deputy Lord Lieutenant of

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

. She is Honorary President of VSA, and is the Patron of charities including FROM Scotland (Famine Relief for Orphans in Malawi), Speakeasy, St Margaret’s Braemar, Jazzartuk and

Pitlochry Festival Theatre The Pitlochry Festival Theatre is a large performing arts theatre located in the town and burgh of Pitlochry in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The idea of a performance space in the area was conceived in the late 1940s by John Stewart, a leading ...

. In addition, she is a Trustee of the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

's Development Trust and an Ambassador for London Scottish Rugby Club.

Theatre

Honours

Kennedy was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2014 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to music and for charitable services in Scotland.

References

External links

*
Fiona Kennedy Scottish Singer
a
aboutaberdeen.comVideo footage of Fiona Kennedy and Karen Matheson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Fiona 1950 births Living people Scottish Gaelic singers Place of birth missing (living people) Officers of the Order of the British Empire Deputy lieutenants of Aberdeenshire 20th-century Scottish women singers Scottish film actresses Scottish television actresses Scottish child actresses Scottish broadcasters Scottish television personalities Scottish television presenters Scottish women television presenters Scottish radio personalities Scottish radio presenters People from Aberdeen Scottish child singers People educated at Westbourne School for Girls Scottish women radio presenters