Biography
Chips" (1969) to the bloodthirsty Livia in "I, Claudius" (BBC, 1976) to impersonating screen legend Marlene Dietrich on stage in the 1990s. Sian Phillips began her career as a child performer on the radio in her native Wales. She also did a stint as an announcer and newsreader in her early 20s before concentrating on an acting career. Almost from the outset of her stage work, she was landing major roles, whether it be playing Shaw's "Saint …
Latest Tv Credits
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Career Milestones
2002 | Starred in L.A. stage production "My Old Lady" | |
1999 | Had supporting role in the BBC-1 series "Aristocrats" | |
1999 | Starred in the short-lived Broadway production of "Marlene"; received a Tony Award nomination | |
1998 | Played the Red Queen in the Channel Four adaptation of "Alice Through the Looking Glass", starring Kate Beckinsale | |
1997 | Delivered a mememorable performance as Queen Eleanor in the A&E miniseries "Ivanhoe" | |
| Revived "Marlene" for a tour and eventual run in London's West End | ||
1996 | Portrayed Madame Armfeldt in a stage revival of "A Little Night Music", starring Judi Dench and staged by Mathias | |
1995 | Returned to Broadway as star of the award-winning revival of "An Inspector Calls" | |
1994 | First portrayed screen legend Marlene Dietrich for two nights in the musical play "Marlene"; written by Gems and directed by Mathias | |
1993 | Initial collaborations with playwright Pam Gems (as translator/adaptor) and director Sean Mathias, "Ghosts" | |
1993 | Appeared as the title character's grandmother in "Heidi" (The Disney Channel) | |
1993 | Played Daniel Day-Lewis' mother in "The Age of Innocence" | |
1989 | Essayed the mother or Fairuza Balk's Cecile in "Valmont", Milos Forman's adaptation of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" | |
1987 | Portrayed the Duchess of Windsor in the NBC miniseries "The Two Mrs Grenvilles" | |
1985 | Appeared in the London production of the stage adaptation of the musical "Gigi" | |
1984 | Played Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam in "Dune" | |
1982 | Reprised Ann Smiley in the syndicated "Smiley's People" | |
1981 | Cast as Clementine Churchill opposite Robert Hardy in "Winston Churchill--The Wilderness Years" | |
1980 | Made stage singing debut starring as Vera in the London revival of the musical "Pal Joey" | |
1980 | Returned to film acting in Herbert Ross' feature biopic "Nijinsky" | |
1979 | First played Ann Smiley opposite Alec Guiness in "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (aired on PBS in the USA in 1980) | |
1978 | Starred in the British TV series "Warrior Queen" (Thames Television) | |
1976 | Offered a delectable turn as the evil Livia in the BBC production of "I, Claudius" | |
| Portrayed Beth Morgan in the BBC TV adaptation of "How Green Was My Valley" | ||
1974 | Starred as suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst in the BBC series "Shoulder to Shoulder" (aired in the USA on PBS in 1975) | |
1973 | Portrayed Virgina Woolf in the stage production, "A Nightingale in Bloomsbury Square" | |
1971 | Final film with O'Toole, "Under Milk Wood"; last film for nine years | |
1969 | Received widespread attention for her theatrical performance in the musical remake of "Goodbye, Mr. Chips", starring O'Toole and directed by Herbert Ross | |
1967 | Played another Williams' heroine, Alma, in "Eccentricities of a Nightingale" | |
1964 | Had co-starring role in "Becket", starring then-husband Peter O'Toole; first of four films together | |
1964 | Appeared as Hannah Jelkes in the London production of Tennessee Williams' "The Night of the Iguana" | |
1962 | Film debut in small role in "The Longest Day" | |
1960 | Starred opposite Peter O'Toole in "Siwan", a BBC production about the arranged marriage between the title character, the daughter of King John and a Welsh prince | |
1959 | Made London stage debut as "Hedda Gabler" | |
1958 | Played title role of "Saint Joan" in Covington | |
| Toured Wales in Welsh-language productions for the Wales Arts Council | ||
1953 | Worked as a newsreader and announcer for the BBC | |
| Made TV debut in the 1950s on BBC-Television, Wales | ||
| Began career as a radio actress with BBC-Radio, Wales in the mid-1940s | ||
| Born and raised in Wales | ||
Awards
1969 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture in Goodbye, Mr. Chips |