Early Life
The daughter of a coal miner, McKee came from an "industrial white working class background", growing up in Peterlee and Easington in County Durham and Sunderland. Her first experience of acting occurred in her final year at primary school as Mrs Hall, her teacher at Dene House Juniors, finished the school week off with improvisations, which she remembers as "the best time for me. Fantastic." Seeing a poster in a shoeshop window for a new youth drama group, McKee and her friends decided to attend for a laugh. The group — set up and run by Ros and Graeme Rigby — managed to engage the sceptical teenagers, who reluctantly became enthusiastic. It led to McKee's first professional appearance, working on Tyne Tees children's series, Quest of Eagles.
From the age of 15, McKee spent three summers in London with the National Youth Theatre. A teacher had suggested it to her and she naively performed a speech from Shakespeare for her audition rather than the required "modern piece". The experience broadened her horizons, it "opened up options, not just in the business, but in a wider context." After completing her A-Levels at East Durham College, she decided, with her parents' blessing, to apply to drama schools rather than art college. Rejected by Bristol, LAMDA and Central, McKee didn't give up on her chosen profession, despite not having the opportunity for any formal training.
Read more about this topic: Gina McKee
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