1. Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
2. Brock Peters to Jonathan Prince

Sian Phillips Biography (1934-)

Born May 14, 1934, in Bettws, Carmarthenshire, Wales; daughter of David and Sally (Thomas) Phillips; married D. Roy, 1956 (divorced, 1960); married PeterO'Toole (an actor), 1960 (some sources say 1959; divorced, 1979); marriedRobin Sachs (an actor), December 24, 1979 (divorced, 1992); children: (firstmarriage) Katherine ("Kate"), Patricia ("Pat"). Education: Graduatedfrom the University of Wales (with honors), 1955; studied acting at the RoyalAcademy of Dramatic Art. Avocational interests: Canvas embroidery, gardening, walking, drawing, painting. Addresses: Agent-- MarionRosenberg, 8428 Melrose Pl., Los Angeles, CA 90069. Contact-- Saraband, Ltd., 265 Liverpool Rd., London N1 1LX, England. Career: Actress. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), worked for BBC-Radio, Wales, as a childactress, and for BBC-Television, Wales, during the 1950s; BBC Repertory Company, news reader, announcer, and member, 1953-55; National Theatre Company, toured Wales in original Welsh plays and in classic English translations for the Welsh Arts Council, 1953-55. Welsh Arts Council, member; Arts Council, member of the drama committee; National Theatre of Wales, member of the board ofgovernors; Welsh College of Music and Drama, member of the board of governors, 1992; St. David's Trust, member of the board of governors; member of National Eisteddfod of Caernarvon and Gorsedd of Bards, in recognition of services to Welsh drama. Member: Honorary Order of the Druids. Awards,Honors: London stage award nominations, best actress, 1964, for The Night of the Iguana, and 1966, for Man and Superman; National Society of Film Critics Award, best supporting actress, New York Critics Circle Award, and Famous Seven Critics Award, all 1969, and Golden Globe Award nomination, best supporting actress, 1970, all for Goodbye, Mr. Chips; BritishAcademy of Film and Television Arts Award, best actress, 1975, for How Green Was My Valley; British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award, best actress, and Royal Television Society Award, both 1978, for I, Claudius; London stage award nomination, best actress in a musical, 1980, for Pal Joey; University of Wales, honorary fellow of University College, Cardiff, 1982, honorary D.Litt., 1984; British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award nomination, best actress, 1988, for Snow Spider; honorary fellow, Polytechnical College of Wales, 1988; British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award nomination, best actress, 1991, for The Chestnut Soldier; fellow, Welsh College of Music and Drama, 1992; Welsh Artist of the Year nomination, 1994, for Ghosts; British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award nomination, best actress, 1996, for House of America; honorary fellow, Trinity College, University of Glamorgan, and University of Wales,University College, Swansea, both 1998; Antoinette Perry Award nomination, best featured actress in a musical, and Drama Desk Award nomination, best actress in a musical drama, both 1999, and Laurence Olivier Award nomination, Society of West End Theatre, best actress, all for Marlene; Laurence Olivier Award nomination, Society of West End Theatre, best actress, for A Little Night Music; British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award nominations, best actress, for Shoulder to Shoulder and Emlyn's Moon. Addresses: Agent: Marion Rosenberg, 8428 Melrose Pl., Los Angeles,CA 90069.; Contact: Saraband, Ltd., 265 Liverpool Rd., London N1 1LX, England.

Nationality

English

Gender

Male

Occupation

Actress

Birth Details

May 14, 1934

Carmarthenshire, Wales, England

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Television Appearances
• Series
• Off to Philadelphia in the Morning,1977
• Queen Boudicca, Warrior Queen(also known as Boudicca), Thames Television, 1978
• Sean O'Casey, RTV, 1980
• The Perfect Scoundrels, Television South, 1990-92
• The Chestnut Soldier,1991
• Emlyn's Moon,1991
• Tonight at 8:30,1991
• Adrian, La Femme Nikita(also known as Nikita), USA Network,1998-20
• Miniseries
• Emmeline Pankhurst, Shoulder to Shoulder, BBC, 1974 then broadcaston Masterpiece Theatre, PBS, 1975
• Beth Morgan, How Green Was My Valley, BBC-2, 1975-76 then broadcast on Masterpiece Theatre, PBS, 1976
• Livia, I, Claudius, BBC-2, 1976 then broadcast on Masterpiece Theatre, PBS, 1977
• Crime and Punishment, BBC, 1979 then broadcast on Masterpiece Theatre, PBS, 1980
• Ann Smiley, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, BBC-2, 1979 then broadcast on PBS, 1980
• Clementine Churchill, Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years(alsoknown as Churchill: The Wilderness Years), Southern Television, 1981then broadcast on Masterpiece Theatre, PBS, 1981
• Ann Smiley, Smiley's People, BBC-2 and syndicated, 1982
• Miss Matilda Crawley, Vanity Fair, BBC, 1987 then Arts and Entertainment, 1988
• Mrs. Driver, The Borrowers, BBC, 1992
• Frau Sesemann, Heidi, The Disney Channel, 1993
• Mrs. Driver, The Return of the Borrowers(also known as The Borrowers), BBC, 1993
• Queen Eleanor, Ivanhoe(also known as Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe), BBC and Arts and Entertainment, 1997
• Mathilda Gillespie, The Scold's Bridle, BBC and PBS, 1998
• Meg Lewis, The Magician's House, BBC, 1999
• Narrator and the older Lady Emily, Aristocrats, BBC and PBS, 1999
• Movies
• Eh Joe!, BBC, 1966
• Charal, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor(also known as Ewok II and Return to Endor), ABC, 1985
• Duchess of Windsor, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles, NBC, 1987
• Shadow of the Noose, BBC, 1988
• Snow Spider, Harlech Television, 1988
• Mrs. Blessington, Incident at Dark River(also known as Dark River and Dark River--A Father's Revenge), 1990
• Daisy Barnett, The Black Candle, Tyne Tees Television, 1991
• Calypso, The Vacillations of Poppy Carew, BBC, 1995
• Specials
• Title role, Siwan, BBC, 1960
• Lady Windermere's Fan(also known as Play of the Month: LadyWindermere's Fan), BBC, 1972
• Heartbreak House,1977
• The Oresteia of Aeschylus,1978
• Mrs. Alicia Moore, How Many Miles to Babylon?,[Great Britain], 1982
• George Barrow(some sources say George Borrow), 1983
• Pyramid, PBS, 1988
• Backstage at Masterpiece Theatre: A 20th Anniversary Special, PBS,1991
• "The Astonished Heart," "Hands across the Sea," and "Ways and Means," Collins Meets Coward, Arts and Entertainment, 1992
• Royal Television Annual Lecture(also known as The Royal Television Society Huw Wheldon Lecture and Huw Wheldon; Welsh and English), 1992
• Nearest and Dearest(musical in English), 1994
• Nearest and Dearest(musical in Welsh), 1994
• Cabaret,[Israel], 1999
• Herself, The Making of Aristocrats(documentary), BBC, 1999
• Red queen, Alice through the Looking Glass,[Great Britain], 1999
• The evil baroness, Cinderella, London Weekend Television, 2000
• Also appeared in The Achurch Papers and Language and Landscape.
• Episodic
• Anna, "A Free Agent," Espionage, Incorporated Television Company and NBC, 1964
• "Carpathian Eagle," Hammer House of Horror, Associated Television,1980
• Freddie and Max, Thames Television, 1990
• Narrator, "Red Empire," Time Machine with Jack Perkins, Arts and Entertainment, 1991
• Other Television Appearances
• Appeared in the musical Summer Silence, Harlech Television; also appeared in Beyond All Reason and Murder on the Exchange.
• Film Appearances
• Wren, The Longest Day, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1962
• Gwendolyn, Becket, Paramount, 1963
• Ella, Young Cassidy, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1965
• Lady Lavery, Other World of Winston Churchill(documentary), [GreatBritain], 1967
• Lady Elizabeth More, Laughter in the Dark(also known as La chambre obscure), Lopert, 1968
• Ursula Mossbank, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1969
• Dr. Hayden, Murphy's War, Paramount, 1970
• Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard, Under Milk Wood, Altura Films International, 1973
• Lady Ripon, Nijinsky, Paramount, 1980
• Mrs. Dalgleish, Barriers,1980
• Cassiopeia, Clash of the Titans, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1981
• Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, Dune, Dino De Laurentiis/Universal, 1984
• Annabella Rock, The Doctor and the Devils, Twentieth Century-Fox,1985
• Madame de Volanges, Valmont, Orion, 1989
• Mrs. Sinico, A Painful Case,[Ireland], 1992
• Mrs. Archer, The Age of Innocence, Columbia, 1993
• Intent to Kill(also known as Mind to Kill; English version), 1994
• Intent to Kill(also known as Mind to Kill; Welsh version),[Wales], 1994
• Mam, House of America, Mayfair Entertainment, 1996
• Stage Appearances
• Masha, The Three Sisters, Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham, England, 1958
• Title role, Saint Joan, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, England, 1958
• Title role, Hedda Gabler, Duke of York's Theatre, London, England, 1959
• Princess Siwan, King's Daughter, Hampstead Theatre Club, London, England, 1959
• Katherine, The Taming of the Shrew, Oxford Playhouse, Oxford, England, 1960
• Bertha, Ondine, Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, London, England, 1960-61
• Julia, The Duchess of Malfi, Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, 1960-61
• Arlow, The Lizard on the Rock, Phoenix Theatre, London, England, 1961
• Penelope, Gentle Jack, Queen's Theatre, London, England, 1964
• Yolande, Maxibules, Queen's Theatre, 1964
• Hannah Jelkes, The Night of the Iguana, Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon,England, 1964
• Myra, Ride a Cock Horse, Piccadilly Theatre, London, England, 1965
• Ann Whitefield, Man and Superman, New Art Theatre, then VaudevilleTheatre, later Garrick Theatre, all London, England, 1966
• Strange lady, The Man of Destiny, Mermaid Theatre, London, England, 1966
• Alma Winemiller, Eccentricities of a Nightingale, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, England, 1967
• Edwina, The Burglar, Vaudeville Theatre, 1967
• Queen Juana, The Cardinal of Spain, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, 1969
• Ruth Grey, Epitaph for George Dillon, Young Vic Theatre, London, England, 1972
• Mrs. Elliot, Alpha Beta, Palace Theatre, Watford, England, 1973
• Virginia Woolf, A Nightingale in Bloomsbury Square, Hampstead Theatre Club, 1973
• Duchess of Strood, The Gay Lord Quex, Albery Theatre, London, England, 1975
• Countess, The Inconstant Couple, Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester, England, 1978
• Mrs. Arbuthnot, A Woman of No Importance, Chichester Festival Theatre, 1978
• Myra Evans, Spinechiller, Duke of York's Theatre, 1978
• Mrs. Clandon, You Never Can Tell, Lyric (Hammersmith) Theatre, London, England, 1979
• Pal Joey, Half Moon Theatre, London, England, 1980 then Albery Theatre, 1981
• Mrs. Patrick Campbell, Dear Liar, Mermaid Theatre, 1982
• Major Barbara, National Theatre, London, England, 1983
• Peg, Phoenix Theatre, 1984
• Gigi, Lyric Theatre, London, England, 1985
• Thursday's Ladies, Apollo Theatre, London, England, 1987
• Brel, Donmar Theatre Warehouse, London, England, 1988
• Claire, Paris Match, Garrick Theatre, 1989
• Lucy Lucre, Vanilla, Lyric (Hammersmith) Theatre, 1990
• Mrs. Iselin, The Manchurian Candidate, Lyric (Hammersmith) Theatre, 1991
• Fanny Church, Painting Churches, Playhouse Theatre, London, England, 1992
• Ghosts, Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, Wales, 1994
• An Inspector Calls, Royale Theatre, New York City, 1995
• A Little Night Music, National Theatre, 1995-96
• Marlene Dietrich, Marlene, Lyric Theatre, 1997
• Also appeared in I Remember Mama.
• Major Tours
• Margaret Muir, The Holiday, British cities, 1957
• Love Affair, British cities, 1984
• Ghosts, Arts Council, Welsh cities, 1994
• The Lion in Winter, British cities, 1994
• Marlene Dietrich, Marlene, British cities, 1996-97 South African cities, Irish cities, Paris, France, and other cities, all 1998
• RECORDINGS
• Cast Albums
• Gigi, Safari, 1985
• Marlene,1997
• Other cast albums include I Remember Mama, A Little Night Music(two versions), Pal Joey, and Peg.
• Singles
• Singles include "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered."
• Taped Readings
• Voice of Katherine, The Taming of the Shrew, Living Shakespeare STS, 1962
• WRITINGS
• Nonfiction
• Sian Phillips' Needlepoint, Elm Tree Books (London, England),1987
• Contributor to periodicals.