- Siân Phillips
Infobox Actor
name = Siân Phillips
caption =
birthname = Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips
birthdate = birth date and age|1933|5|14
birthplace =Betws ,Ammanford ,Wales ,UK
yearsactive = 1962 - present
spouse =Peter O'Toole (1959-1979)
Robin Sachs (1979-1991)
baftaawards = Best TV Actress
1977 "I, Claudius "Siân Phillips, CBE (pronounced IPA2|ʃɑːn 'fɪlɪps, born Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips;
May 14 ,1933 ) [GRO Register of Births: JUN 1933 11a 1644 LLANDILOFAWR - Jane E. A. Phillips, mmn = Thomas] is a Welsh actress.Biography
Personal life
Phillips was born in
Betws ,Ammanford ,Wales , the daughter of Sally (née Thomas), a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/halloffame/showbiz/sianphillips.shtml BBC - South West Wales - Hall of Fame ] ] [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/60/Sian-Phillips.html Sian Phillips Biography (1934-) ] ] She is a Welsh-speaker: in the first volume of her autobiography ("Private Faces") she notes that she spoke only Welsh for much of her childhood, learning English by listening to the radio. [Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2008]She married
Peter O'Toole and they had two daughters, Pat and Kate, but she subsequently divorced him. She wrote about this tempestuous period of her life in the second volume of her autobiography, "Public Places". She later married British actorRobin Sachs , from whom she is also now divorced.Career
Phillips has made many films and television programmes, but is probably best-known for her role as
Livia in theBBC adaptation ofRobert Graves ' novel, "I, Claudius" (BBC2, 1976) and for many appearances on the original run ofCall My Bluff . She also appeared as Ursula Mossbank in "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1969); asEmmeline Pankhurst in the TV mini-series "Shoulder to Shoulder " (1974); as Ann, the unfaithful wife ofAlec Guinness 's characterGeorge Smiley , in the BBC1espionage dramas "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy " (1979) and "Smiley's People " (1982), adapted fromJohn le Carré 's novels of the same names; in "Nijinsky" (1980); and as the queen Cassiopeia in "Clash of the Titans " (1981). Another popular role was that of Reverend Mother Mohiam inDavid Lynch 's "Dune" (1984). Her most recent film is "The Gigolos " (2006) by Richard Bracewell, in which she plays Lady James.Phillips' West End credits include "Pal Joey", "Gigi", "
A Little Night Music ", and "Marlene", in which she portrayedMarlene Dietrich . She has also appeared on the American stage in "Marlene".In June 2000, she was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. She is also a leading light in "Social, Welsh and Sexy" (SWS), the London-based organisation for Welsh socialites.
Siân provided spoken word backing to a track on
Rufus Wainwright 's 2007 album "Release the Stars ", and appeared live with him at theOld Vic Theatre in London on 31 May/1 June 2007 .References
External links
*
* [http://www.jadis.demon.co.uk/pictures/goddess.htm Siân Phillips' Biography]
* [http://www.terrynorm.ic24.net/sian%20phillips.htm]
* [http://walesvideogallery.org/archive.php?category=25&video=91 Siân Phillips at the Wales Video Gallery]
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