Jocasta on Outlander: Who is Jamie’s American aunt played by Maria Doyle Kennedy?

Jocasta on Outlander played by Maria Doyle Kennedy
In America, Claire and Jamie get close to his Aunt Jocasta. Pic credit: Starz

In Season 4 of Outlander, viewers get to meet Jocasta Cameron, Jamie Fraser’s aunt who resides at River Run. As one of his only living relatives, Jamie is pleased to be spending time with his aunt and ultimately decides to stick around on the North Carolina plantation so that she and Claire can help run it.

Jocasta is the sister of Jamie’s now-deceased mother. She had long fled Scotland to make a life in America and was very successful in the new world with the help of more than 150 slaves, something that Claire was not happy about.

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Who is Jocasta on Outlander?

Jocasta has been through quite a lot in her life. She is the last living child of Jamie Fraser’s grandfather Jacob Mackenzie.  Her sister, Jamie’s mother Ellen, died during childbirth when he was just a boy. Likewise, brothers Colum and Dougal Mackenzie have also passed away.

It was revealed that Jocasta had three daughters of her own. She survived them all, however, as all three of them died over 20 years prior, around the time of the Battle of Culloden.

Jocasta is a widow three times over, having moved to America with her last husband, Hector Cameron. Upon his death, Jocasta has been tasked with maintaining River Run on her own, which she has done well for a woman with waning eyesight.

When Jamie and Claire show up to stay with Aunt Jocasta, she is more than happy to have them. Even more so when they decide not to return to Scotland and instead, to take up residence at River Run and help manage it all.

Jocasta will go on to marry again, this time to someone who does not hold the Cameron surname. After all, she’s already been married to three Camerons and even had a child with each. We would tell you who she marries but we don’t want to spoil it for you.

Where have we seen Maria Doyle Kennedy before?

If you’re wondering where you’ve seen Maria Doyle Kennedy before, the answer is likely in a lot of places. She’s had many acting roles in her career in both television and film.

Prior to acting, Kennedy enjoyed a career as a musician, switching to movie making in 1991 when she was cast in the cult-classic The Commitments. From there, she landed several small film roles and appeared in television series’ Queer As Folk and the TV mini-series Oliver Twist.

Maria Doyle Kennedy played Queen Catherine of Aragon on The Tudors from 2007-2010 then moved on to a role in Showtime’s Dexter. She was seen again in the second season of Downton Abbey before playing Muriel Batley on the Titanic mini-series.

You may have also seen the newest Outlander cast member more recently in the horror flick The Conjuring 2 or perhaps it was her role of Siobhan Sadler on 50 episodes of Orphan Black.

With so much experience playing in period pieces, Maria Doyle Kennedy fits in perfectly with the Outlander cast. And with Claire and Jamie making their home at River Run, we’ll certainly get to enjoy much more of her latest character, Jacosta Cameron.

Outlander airs on Sundays at 8/7c on Starz. 

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