Alan Cumming was born in Aberfeldy, Scotland. His family lived nearby in Dunkeld, where his father, Alex, was a forester for Atholl Estate. Cumming along with his older brother Tom, his mother, Mary and Alex moved to the east coast of Scotland in 1969, where Alex took up the position of Head Forester of Panmure Estate and it was here Cumming grew up.
Cumming began appearing in plays when he attended the Monikie Primary School and Carnoustie High Schools where he began working with the Carnoustie Theatre Club and Carnoustie Musical Society. In 1981 he left high school with exceptional grades, but because he was too young to enter any university or drama school he worked for just over a year as a sub-editor at D.C. Thomson Publishers in Dundee.
In September 1982, he began a three-year course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. He graduated in 1985 with a B.A. in Dramatic Studies and won awards for verse speaking and direction. He also formed a double Cabaret act with a fellow student, which went on to become hugely successful with a month-long engagement at the Sydney Opera House as part of an Australian tour.
Cumming’s Hollywood film debut came in 1991 when he starred opposite Minnie Driver and Chris O’Donnell in the romantic dramedyCircle of Friends. He followed that up with 1995’s GoldenEye, the 17th James Bond movie starring opposite the newest Bond, Pierce Brosnan and the 1996 romantic comedy Emma alongside Gwyneth Paltrow.
With these roles, Cumming gained the attention of Hollywood producers and they quickly cast him in a number of Hollywood films like 1997’s Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion and 1997’s Buddy. In 1998, he reprised his role in Cabaret on Broadway and won a Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics' Circle, Theatre World, FANY, New York Press and New York Public Advocate's awards for his performance. Cumming’s other films include the Spy Kids trilogy, and 2003’s X-Men 2 just to name a few.