Sam Heughan is one of the leading lights in the Scottish entertainment scene who has gone on to gain global acclaim. He is an accomplished stage and screen actor, renowned for his outstanding leading role as Jamie Fraser in the Starz series Outlander. Heughan has received four nominations for the Saturn Awards and a nomination for the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actor for his role in the drama series, Outlander. Let’s take a look at his career and love life.
Sam Heughan’s Biography
Sam Heughan was born on April 30, 1980, in Balmaclellan, Galloway, Scotland. He attended Kells Primary School. Upon relocating at age 12 to Edinburgh, he attended James Gillespie’s High School for one year before moving to the Edinburgh Rudolph Steiner School. In 2003, he graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now known as the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) in Glasgow, Scotland.
As a student, Heughan was featured in a play by Scottish playwright David Grieg titled Outlying Islands. The play premiered at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland, and then moved to the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London. Eventually, Heughan got nominated for a Laurence Oliver Award for Most Promising Performer in acknowledgment of his impressive performance.
In 2004, he made his first television appearance in the mini-series Drama Island at War, a World War II drama that narrates the German occupation of the Channel Islands. 2010 saw Heughan playing Hugh Tennent, founder of Tennent’s Lager in a couple of comical commercials which won some awards at the Scottish Advertising Awards.
Heughan appeared as Jamie Fraser on the Starz drama series Outlander in 2013. In 2014, he featured in a number of independent films which included the Mystery-thriller Emulsion and comedy Heart of Lightness; he appeared alongside two of his future Outlander co-stars Laura Donnelly and Rosie Day. In 2016, Sam Heughan was named Barbour’s first Global Brand Ambassador.
Heughan is known to have ascribed his early success to his involvement in youth theatre; in 2014 he became an active patron of Youth Theatre Arts Scotland (YTAS). He has been known to support Bloodwise (formerly Leukemia and Lymphoma Research) since 2011 and in 2016; he participated in the Great North Run to raise funds for Bloodwise and became president of Scotland Bloodwise.
In 2015, he co-founded the charitable foundation My Peak Challenge alongside personal trainer John Valbonesi of Every Day Athlete, which inspires its members to live healthier, happier, and balanced lives. It also affords them a feeling of community and support as they thrive to succeed in personal goals, and at the same time sourcing funds for charitable causes such as Marie Curie and Bloodwise.
During the 2014 Independence referendum, Heughan was known to be a supporter of Scottish Independence.
Is Sam Heughan Dating a Girlfriend or Gay? Is He Married to a Wife?
Heughan is, as of this writing, not married; however, his relationship status has been under much speculation as numerous stories have emerged as regards his love life. He was at one time linked to being in a romantic relationship with his Outlander co-star Caitriona Balfe. The rumor was later proved to be untrue as Balfe in 2019 got engaged to her boyfriend, Tony McGill.
It was also rumored that Heughan was in a relationship with actress Mackenzie Mauzy and they were known to make attempts at keeping the relationship away from the public eye. She was first seen in public with Heughan in February 2017 and subsequently, they were seen together at a number of red carpet events. It is unknown what ensued between the couple that led to their falling apart.
Sam Heughan was then rumored to be dating his fellow actor and long-time friend, Amy Shiels. Shiels and Heughan have known each other for more than ten years. Speculations about the pair started in 2014 when Shiels liked a Twitter post that suggested that both of them would make a dream pair. However, the speculation did not hold sway due to Heughan’s connections with other women.
And then came 2018 when Shiels was seen hanging out with Heughan at the premiere of his film titled The Spy Who Dumped Me. Since then, the duo has been spotted out together but it remains a mystery whether or not their relationship is merely platonic.
As evidenced in the number of women he has been romantically linked with, it is safe to say that Sam Heughan is not gay. However, the actor takes any suggestion referring to him as gay as a compliment.
