Siân Phillips
Encyclopedia
Jane Elizabeth Ailwên "Siân" Phillips, CBE
, (icon; born 14 May 1933) is a Welsh
actress.
, Neath Port Talbot
, Wales, the daughter of Sally (née
Thomas), a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman. 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.
and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
. Her long career has included many films and television programmes, but she is probably best known for starring as Livia
in the popular BBC
adaptation of Robert Graves
's novel, I, Claudius
(BBC2
, 1976), for which she won the 1977 BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress, and for many appearances on the original run of Call My Bluff. She also appeared opposite then-husband Peter O'Toole
and Richard Burton
in Becket (1964); as Ursula Mossbank in the musical film Goodbye, Mr. Chips
(1969), again starring Peter O'Toole; once more opposite O'Toole in Murphy's War
(1971); as Emmeline Pankhurst
in the TV mini-series Shoulder to Shoulder
(1974); as Ann, the unfaithful wife of Alec Guinness
's character George Smiley
, in the BBC1
espionage
dramas Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
(1979) and Smiley's People
(1982), adapted from John 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 the Reverend Mother
Gaius Helen Mohiam
in David Lynch
's Dune
(1984) and Charal from Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
(1985). In 2001, she appeared in Ballykissangel
as faith healer Consuela Dunphy in Episode 7 ('One Born Every Minute' or 'Getting Better All the Time'). Her most recent film is The Gigolos
(2006) by Richard Bracewell, in which she plays Lady James.
Phillips's West End
credits include Pal Joey, Gigi
, A Little Night Music
, and Marlene, in which she portrayed Marlene 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 the Old Vic Theatre in London on 31 May/1 June 2007. Phillips starred in London's West End production of Calendar Girls
. Phillips played Juliet opposite Michael Byrne
's Romeo in Juliet and her Romeo at the Bristol Old Vic
from 10 March until 24 April 2010.
and they have two daughters. Pat is a theatre practitioner, and Kate
(b. 1960) is an actress. The couple divorced, and Phillips wrote about this tempestuous period of her life in the second volume of her autobiography, Public Places.
Her second husband was actor Robin Sachs
, from whom she is now divorced. She continues to be a patron of the Bird College of Dance, Music & Theatre Performance, which is based in Sidcup
, Kent
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, (icon; born 14 May 1933) is a Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
actress.
Early life
Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-GurwenGwaun-Cae-Gurwen
Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen is a village in Neath Port Talbot, south Wales. Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen is also a parish made up of the electoral wards of Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen and Lower Brynamman.-Location:...
, Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot is a county borough and one of the unitary authority areas of Wales. Neath Port Talbot is the 8th most populous county in Wales and the third most populous county borough....
, Wales, the daughter of Sally (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Thomas), a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman. She is a Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
-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.
Career
Phillips attended the University of WalesUniversity of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
. Her long career has included many films and television programmes, but she is probably best known for starring as Livia
Livia
Livia Drusilla, , after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Augustus and his adviser...
in the popular BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
adaptation of Robert Graves
Robert Graves
Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
's novel, I, Claudius
I, Claudius (TV series)
I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time...
(BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, 1976), for which she won the 1977 BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress, and for many appearances on the original run of Call My Bluff. She also appeared opposite then-husband Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
and Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
in Becket (1964); as Ursula Mossbank in the musical film Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1969 American musical film directed by Herbert Ross. The screenplay by Terence Rattigan is based on James Hilton's 1934 novella of the same name, which originally was adapted for the screen in 1939.-Plot:...
(1969), again starring Peter O'Toole; once more opposite O'Toole in Murphy's War
Murphy's War
Murphy's War is a 1971 war film starring Peter O'Toole. It was directed by Peter Yates.-Plot:In the closing days of World War II, an Irishman Murphy is the sole survivor of the crew of a merchant ship, Mount Kyle, which has been sunk by a German U-Boat, which then machine-gunned the survivors in...
(1971); as Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst was a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement which helped women win the right to vote...
in the TV mini-series Shoulder to Shoulder
Shoulder to Shoulder
"Shoulder to Shoulder" was a book and 1974 BBC TV miniseries of the women's suffrage movement both by Midge Mackenzie.The book documents the lives and works of some of Britain's leading "suffragettes." It includes many excerpts from their speeches, diaries, letters, memoirs, other writings and...
(1974); as Ann, the unfaithful wife of Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
's character George Smiley
George Smiley
George Smiley is a fictional character created by John le Carré. Smiley is an intelligence officer working for MI6 , the British overseas intelligence agency...
, in the BBC1
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
dramas Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a 1974 British spy novel by John le Carré, featuring George Smiley. Smiley is a middle-aged, taciturn, perspicacious intelligence expert in forced retirement. He is recalled to hunt down a Soviet mole in the "Circus", the highest echelon of the Secret Intelligence...
(1979) and Smiley's People
Smiley's People
Smiley's People is a spy novel by John le Carré, published in 1979. Featuring British master-spy George Smiley, it is the third and final novel of the "Karla Trilogy", following Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy...
(1982), adapted from John le Carré
John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell , who writes under the name John le Carré, is an author of espionage novels. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and began writing novels under the pseudonym "John le Carré"...
's novels of the same names; in Nijinsky
Nijinsky (film)
Nijinsky is a 1980 American biographical film directed by Herbert Ross. Hugh Wheeler, whose screenplay centers on the later life and career of Vaslav Nijinsky, used the legendary dancer's personal diaries and his wife's 1933 book Life of Nijinsky as his primary source materials.-Synopsis:The film...
(1980); and as the queen Cassiopeia in Clash of the Titans
Clash of the Titans (1981 film)
Clash of the Titans is an American 1981 fantasy–adventure film involving the Greek hero Perseus. It was released on June 12, 1981 and earned a gross profit of $41 million domestically, on a $15 million budget , by which it was the 11th highest grossing film of the year. A novelization of the film...
(1981). Another popular role was that of the Reverend Mother
Reverend Mother
Reverend Mother may refer to:* Reverend Mother, in Roman Catholic, Anglican and Episcopal usage, the customary title or salutation for the Abbess or female leader of a religious institution such as a convent or abbey, and for certain other officials of religious orders of women * Reverend Mother ,...
Gaius Helen Mohiam
Gaius Helen Mohiam
Gaius Helen Mohiam is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. She is a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother, and initially appears in the 1965 novel Dune and its 1969 sequel, Dune Messiah. Mohiam also has a major role in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert...
in David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's Dune
Dune (film)
Dune is a 1984 science fiction film written and directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known American and European actors in supporting roles. It was filmed at the Churubusco...
(1984) and Charal from Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor is a 1985 made-for-TV movie set in the Star Wars galaxy. A sequel to Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, it focuses on Cindel Towani, the little girl from the first film, who, after being orphaned, joins the Ewoks in protecting their village and defeating the evil...
(1985). In 2001, she appeared in Ballykissangel
Ballykissangel
Ballykissangel is a BBC television drama set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern Ireland. The original story revolved around a young English Roman Catholic priest as he became part of a rural community. It ran for six series, which were first broadcast on BBC One in the UK from 1996 to 2001...
as faith healer Consuela Dunphy in Episode 7 ('One Born Every Minute' or 'Getting Better All the Time'). Her most recent film is The Gigolos
The Gigolos
The Gigolos is a 2006 British comedy film directed by Richard Bracewell, starring Sacha Tarter and Trevor Sather alongside Susannah York, Anna Massey and Siân Phillips...
(2006) by Richard Bracewell, in which she plays Lady James.
Phillips's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
credits include Pal Joey, Gigi
Gigi (musical)
Gigi is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. It is based on the novella Gigi by Colette and 1958 hit musical film of the same name. The story concerns Gigi, a free-spirited teenaged girl living in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. She is being...
, A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
, and Marlene, in which she portrayed Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
. She has also appeared on the American stage in Marlene.
In June 2000, she was awarded a CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
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
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
's 2007 album Release the Stars
Release the Stars
Release the Stars is the fifth studio album by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, released through Geffen Records on May 15, 2007. Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant was the executive in charge of production, and the album was mixed by producers Marius de Vries and Andy Bradfield...
, and appeared live with him at the Old Vic Theatre in London on 31 May/1 June 2007. Phillips starred in London's West End production of Calendar Girls
Calendar Girls
Calendar Girls is a 2003 comedy film directed by Nigel Cole. Produced by Buena Vista International and Touchstone Pictures, it features a screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi based on a true story of a group of Yorkshire women who produced a nude calendar to raise money for Leukaemia...
. Phillips played Juliet opposite Michael Byrne
Michael Byrne (actor)
Michael Byrne is an English actor noted for his roles on film and television. He has often been cast in Nazi military roles such as Colonel Vogel in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Obergruppenführer Odilo Globocnik in the BBC radio dramatisation of the novel Fatherland by Robert Harris...
's Romeo in Juliet and her Romeo at the Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic
The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
from 10 March until 24 April 2010.
Personal life
She married Peter O'ToolePeter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
and they have two daughters. Pat is a theatre practitioner, and Kate
Kate O'Toole (actress)
Kate E. O'Toole is an Irish actress. She is the daughter of actors Peter O'Toole and Siân Phillips and was named after Katharine Hepburn....
(b. 1960) is an actress. The couple divorced, and Phillips wrote about this tempestuous period of her life in the second volume of her autobiography, Public Places.
Her second husband was actor Robin Sachs
Robin Sachs
Robin David Sachs is an English actor.Sachs was born in London, the son of actors Leonard Sachs and Eleanor Summerfield...
, from whom she is now divorced. She continues to be a patron of the Bird College of Dance, Music & Theatre Performance, which is based in Sidcup
Sidcup
Sidcup is a district in South East London in the London Borough of Bexley and small parts of the district in the London Borough of Greenwich.Located south east of Charing Cross, Sidcup is bordered by the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bromley and Kent County Council, and whilst now part of...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
.
Selected filmography
- Young CassidyYoung CassidyYoung Cassidy is a 1965 film directed by Jack Cardiff and John Ford, and starring Rod Taylor. The film is a biographical drama based upon the life of the playwright Sean O'Casey.-Plot:...
(1965) - Laughter in the DarkLaughter in the Dark (film)Laughter in the Dark is a 1969 French-British drama film directed by Tony Richardson and starring Nicol Williamson and Anna Karina. It is based on the novel of the same name. Nicol Williamson was brought in as a very late replacement for Richard Burton, who had already shot several scenes...
(1969) - Goodbye, Mr. ChipsGoodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film)Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1969 American musical film directed by Herbert Ross. The screenplay by Terence Rattigan is based on James Hilton's 1934 novella of the same name, which originally was adapted for the screen in 1939.-Plot:...
(1969) - Murphy's WarMurphy's WarMurphy's War is a 1971 war film starring Peter O'Toole. It was directed by Peter Yates.-Plot:In the closing days of World War II, an Irishman Murphy is the sole survivor of the crew of a merchant ship, Mount Kyle, which has been sunk by a German U-Boat, which then machine-gunned the survivors in...
(1971) - Under Milk WoodUnder Milk WoodUnder Milk Wood is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, adapted later as a stage play. A movie version, Under Milk Wood directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released during 1972....
(1972) - NijinskyNijinsky (film)Nijinsky is a 1980 American biographical film directed by Herbert Ross. Hugh Wheeler, whose screenplay centers on the later life and career of Vaslav Nijinsky, used the legendary dancer's personal diaries and his wife's 1933 book Life of Nijinsky as his primary source materials.-Synopsis:The film...
(1980) - Clash of the TitansClash of the Titans (1981 film)Clash of the Titans is an American 1981 fantasy–adventure film involving the Greek hero Perseus. It was released on June 12, 1981 and earned a gross profit of $41 million domestically, on a $15 million budget , by which it was the 11th highest grossing film of the year. A novelization of the film...
(1981) - DuneDune (film)Dune is a 1984 science fiction film written and directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known American and European actors in supporting roles. It was filmed at the Churubusco...
(1984) - The Doctor and the DevilsThe Doctor and the DevilsThe Doctor and the Devils is a 1985 horror film directed by Freddie Francis. It stars Timothy Dalton and Jonathan Pryce.-Cast:*Timothy Dalton as Doctor Thomas Rock*Jonathan Pryce as Robert Fallon*Twiggy as Jennie Bailey*Julian Sands as Dr. Murray...
(1985) - ValmontValmont (film)Valmont is a 1989 drama film directed by Miloš Forman, based on the French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos. It was adapted for the screen with a screenplay by Jean-Claude Carrière...
(1989) - The Age of InnocenceThe Age of Innocence (film)The Age of Innocence is a 1993 American film adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1920 novel of the same name. The film was released by Columbia Pictures, directed by Martin Scorsese, and stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder....
(1993) - House of America (1997)
- The GigolosThe GigolosThe Gigolos is a 2006 British comedy film directed by Richard Bracewell, starring Sacha Tarter and Trevor Sather alongside Susannah York, Anna Massey and Siân Phillips...
(2006)
External links
- Siân Phillips at Mario Huet's web site
- Siân Phillips bio, Ammanford Web Site
- Siân Phillips at the Wales Video Gallery