Sir Ian Murray McKellen CH CBE is an English actor whose career spans seven decades. He has been regarded as a British cultural icon and has received various accolades, including seven Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award.

Ian McKellen parents: Meet Denis Murray McKellen, Margery Lois Sutcliffe

Ian  McKellen was born on May 25, 1939, in Burnley, Lancashire to Margery Lois and Denis Murray McKellen. He has a sister named Jean who was born five years before him in 1934.

His father, Denis, was a civil engineer and lay preacher and was of Protestant Irish and Scottish descent. Both of his grandfathers were preachers. In addition, his great-great-grandfather, James McKellen, was a “strict, evangelical Protestant minister” in Ballymena, County Antrim.

When he was twelve years old, his mother died of breast cancer. During this time, the family relocated to Bolton after his father had been promoted. His father later passed away when he was 25.

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