Siân Phillips

Biography

Dame Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips DBE (born 14 May 1933), known professionally as Siân Phillips, is a Welsh actress, author and singer. Phillips was the daughter of Sally (née Thomas), a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman. She is a Welsh-speaker and 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. She attended Pontardawe Grammar School and later read English and Philosophy at University College Cardiff, graduating in 1955. She entered RADA in LOndon, England with a scholarship in September 1955, the same year as Diana Rigg and Glenda Jackson. She went on to win the prestigious Bancroft Gold Medal for Hedda Gabler and was offered work in Hollywood when she left RADA. While still a student she was offered three film contracts, entailing her to work for an extended period of time in the United States; but she declined, preferring to work on stage instead.

Movies & TV Shows

1. Dune (1984) — Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
2. Good Omens (2019) — Mr. Henderson
3. The Age of Innocence (1993) — Mrs. Archer
4. The Longest Day (1962) — WRNS Officer (uncredited)
5. Clash of the Titans (1981) — Cassiopeia
6. Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989) — Mrs. Laura Upward
7. Midsomer Murders (1997) — Lady Annabel Butler
8. Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985) — Charal
9. Doctor Who (2024) — Enid Meadows
10. Valmont (1989) — Madame de Volanges
11. La Femme Nikita (1997) — Adrian
12. Summerland (2020) — Margaret Corey
13. Becket (1964) — Gwendolen
14. I, Claudius (1976) — Livia
15. Dream Horse (2021) — Maureen
16. Attila (2001) — Grandmother
17. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) — Ann Smiley
18. Lewis (2007) — Adele Goffe
19. Silent Witness (1996) — Beattie Elletson
20. Murphy's War (1971) — Hayden
21. Hammer House of Horror (1980) — Mrs. Henska
22. Alice Through the Looking Glass (1998) — Red Queen
23. The Chelsea Detective (2022) — Grandma Dix
24. McDonald & Dodds (2020) — Agnes Gillian
25. The Doctor and the Devils (1985) — Annabella Rock
26. Tales of the Unexpected (1979) — Hermione
27. Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969) — Ursula Mossbank
28. Heidi (1993) — Frau Sesemann
29. Nureyev (2018) — Narrator
30. Under Milk Wood (1972) — Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard
31. Young Cassidy (1965) — Ella
32. Hochelaga, Land of Souls (2017) — Sarah Walker
33. Nijinsky (1980) — Lady Ripon
34. A Christmas Carol (2020) — Grandmother / narrator (voice)
35. The Borrowers (1992) — Mrs. Driver
36. The Last Detective (2003) — Vera Dulciman
37. Under Milk Wood (2014) — Mrs. Pugh
38. Miss Dalí (2018) — Anna Maria Dalí
39. Ivanhoe (1997) — Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
40. The Scold's Bridle (1998) — Mathilda Gillespie