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Who are the top ten celebrities that grew up in Glasgow?

As Scotland's biggest city, Glasgow has a rich history steeped in tradition and, over the years, it has nurtured some of the world's finest minds and talented souls.

Given that almost half of the Scottish population lives in the city and its surrounding areas, it is hardly surprising that many celebrities have emerged from Glasgow, but the question remains - who are the most famous Glaswegians?

Keep your eyes peeled when you're staying in Glasgow hostels and you just might spot one of our top ten...


Billy Connolly, comedian

At the ripe age of 69, Billy Connolly, CBE will be, for many, the epitome of Scottish-ness. It's no surprise to learn that in Scotland itself, he is often affectionately known as 'the Big Yin' – the Big One.

Having grown up in Anderston on the northern banks of the River Clyde, Connolly initially worked as a welder in Glasgow's iconic shipyards before hanging up his tools in the late 60s and early 70s to pursue a career as a folk musician. Together with the acclaimed Gerry Rafferty of Baker Street fame, who recently died, he recorded two critically acclaimed albums.

His hilarious on-stage persona quickly saw his focus turn to comedy and, as a stand-up, he is one of the most influential of his generation.

James McAvoy, actor

Having made his acting debut at the age of 16, James McAvoy had a relatively slow start to his career and even considered becoming a priest, before hitting superstardom with a string of successful Hollywood roles.

Growing up in Port Glasgow, McAvoy was the son of a builder and psychiatric nurse but, after his parents divorced, he went to live with his grandparents in the Drumchapel area of the city.

Starring in Disney's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe made him an international star. This was soon followed by a Bafta-winning turn in the Last King of Scotland, a role alongside Morgan Freeman in Wanted and the lead voice part in animation Gnomeo and Juliet.

Franz Ferdinand, band

Glasgow band Franz Ferdinand burst onto the scene in 2002 and went on to win the Mercury Music Prize in 2004 and two Brit Awards in 2005.

One of the most popular bands to emerge from the city's music scene, they have gone on to sell three million albums worldwide and pick up a string of other awards from NME, including best album for their self-titled debut.

With just three albums under their belt, they have been far from prolific, but a fourth album is due for release this year on the Domino record label.

Gerard Butler, actor

Gerard Butler was raised in a strict Roman Catholic household, in Renfrewshire, on the south-west border of Glasgow. This versatile actor has risen to global prominence, starring in film and on stage, but was once destined to become a lawyer before embarking on a drastic career switch.

Butler burst onto the Hollywood A-list with a leading role in comic book adaptation 300, playing Leonidas, king of the ancient Spartans, in this highly stylised epic tale of war with the Persians. He went on to star in a broad range of films, including PS I Love You, RocknRolla, Law Abiding Citizen and, most recently, Machine Gun Preacher.

Despite relocating to Los Angeles, he remains an avid follower of Scottish football, and Glasgow's Celtic FC in particular.

Sir Alex Ferguson, football manager

Many famous football players and managers have emerged from Glasgow, but as the most successful manager in the modern game, Manchester United's manager Sir Alex Ferguson is the one to make our list.

A relatively successful playing career as a striker saw Ferguson score 170 goals in 317 appearances in the Scottish leagues, before he moved into management in 1974.

In his managerial career, Ferguson has picked up a total of 48 trophies, with the majority of those coming at United, and has won Manager of the Year more times than anyone else in the history of British football.

Lulu, singer

The hugely successful music and television career of Lulu Kennedy-Cairns began in 1964 and by 1969 she had won the Eurovision Song Contest with her track Boom Bang-a-Bang, albeit in a tie with three other countries.

Having worked her entire career under the stage name Lulu, she was born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie and grew up in Lennoxtown to the north-west of Glsagow.

In an epic career in which she conquered the US and worked with the likes of Elton John and Take That, she has recorded more than 20 albums and dozens of singles, starred in a handful of films, appeared on television countless times and even recorded the title track for the Jame Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun. Lulu was awarded an OBE in 2000.

Most recently, Lulu starred in Strictly Come Dancing in 2011 but was voted off in only its sixth week. She also starred as herself in the Absolutely Fabulous 2012 New Year's Day special alongside Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley.

Gordon Ramsay, chef

These days, it is impossible to turn on a television without seeing Gordon Ramsay's potty mouth berating some poor soul, but his time as a celebrated chef could have stopped before it even started had his football career not come to an abrupt end.

Trials as a goalkeeper with Glasgow Rangers may have come to fruition had he not suffered a serious knee injury, but his success as a chef has certainly made up for this.

At the age of 45, Ramsay holds 13 coveted Michelin stars across a range of restaurants and regularly stars in his own television shows.

Lorraine Kelly, television presenter

An ever-present fixture on UK television screens for nearly 30 years, Lorraine Kelly, OBE began her career in 1983 as a reporter on TV-am's Good Morning Britain.

Scotland's answer to Oprah Winfrey, the popular 52-year-old had her own talk show LK Today, which was followed by the updated Lorraine, while she also helped establish GMTV in 1993 alongside Eamonn Holmes.

This year, Lorraine was awarded an OBE in the Queen's New Year Honours List, in recognition of her charity work. She lives in Dundee with her husband Steve and daughter Rosie.

Duncan Bannatyne, entrepreneur

Brought up just outside of Glasgow in Clydebank, Duncan Bannatyne, OBE is a hugely successful entrepreneur worth an estimated £430 million.

Growing up in a poor family, Bannatyne has enjoyed a real rags-to-riches story, earning his first pennies as a paper boy so that he could buy his own bike.

Now, the Dragons' Den star owns a chain of health clubs, bars and hotels and donates significant amounts of money to charity.

Sharleen Spiteri, singer

Best known as the frontwoman and lead singer of the Scottish band Texas, Sharleen Spiteri moved from north Lanarkshire to the Glaswegian suburbs near Balloch as a child.

With her seaman father a guitar player and her mother a singer, a career as a musician was always on the cards for Spiteri and she got her big break in 1989, when Texas scored their first top-ten single with I Don't Want a Lover.

Leaving her job as a hairdresser, she went on to record seven studio albums with the band before later releasing two solo records.

Carol Ann Duffy, poet and playwright

Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy will be forever remembered by a generation of British school children as the name at the top of many of the poems they studied for English literature GCSE, but beyond that, she is one of the most celebrated poets of her generation.

Awarded an OBE in 1995 and a CBE in 2002, she was the first Scot to be appointed poet laureate – an impressive achievement for someone who grew up in the Gorbals, a notoriously poor area of Glasgow.

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