Sian Phillips

This slender, willowy actress with hooded eyes and chiseled cheekbones has demonstrated her versatility in roles ranging from the bon vivant of Herbert Ross' musical remake of "Goodbye, Mr. 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 Joan" in repertory or debuting in the West End as "Hedda Gabler". Since the late 50s, Phillips has amassed an impressive resume, generally earning strong reviews for her performances.

In 1959, Phillips wed the tempestuous Irish actor Peter O'Toole and over the course of their 20-year union, the pair frequently collaborated. They starred as illicit lovers in the BBC production "Siwan" (1960) and acted alongside one another in four films, most notably "Becket" (1964), "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" and "Under Milk Wood" (1971). While her feature career lay dormant throughout the 70s, the small screen offered this marvelous character player several excellent roles. Phillips excelled as the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst in the acclaimed BBC drama "Shoulder to Shoulder" (1974) and won BAFTA Awards for her turns as the matriarch of a Welsh mining family in the series adaptation of "How Green Was My Valley" (BBC, 1975) and as a power-hungry Roman Empress in "I, Claudius". As the 80s dawned, Phillips teamed with Alec Guinness for adaptations of John le Carre's spy novels "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (PBS, 1980) and "Smiley's People" (syndicated, 1982). Simultaneously, she revived her feature career offering nice turns often in material that was subpar (i.e., "Clash of the Titans" 1981). Occasionally, juicier roles, like Madame de Volanges in Milos Forman's "Valmont" (1989) or Mrs. Archer in Martin Scorsese's "The Age of Innocence" (1993) reminded all of what this actress was capable.

In 1980, Phillips undertook her first stage musical role, that of Vera, in a London revival of "Pal Joey" and a new chapter in her career was born. In addition to appearing in classic roles like "Major Barbara" and "Ghosts", she alternated parts in musicals like "Gigi" and "A Little Night Music". Both aspects of her career dovetailed in "Marlene", her superb impersonation of the Teutonic movie legend. The first half of the show was a behind-the-scenes look at preparations for one of the legendary concerts Dietrich gave late in her life, while the second act was a recreation of said concert. When the show opened in 1997 in London, it was a resounding success. A 1999 Broadway staging met a less receptive response, but Phillips justly received a Tony Award nomination for her performance.

• Also Credited As:
  Siân Phillips
• Born:
  May 14, 1934 in Bettws, Carmenthenshire, Wales, United Kingdom
• Job Titles:
  Actor, TV announcer, Newsreader

Family

• Daughter: Kate O Toole. born in 1960; father, Peter O Toole
• Daughter: Patricia O Toole. born in 1963; father, Peter O Toole
• Father: David Phillips.
• Mother: Sally Phillips. worked as a housekeeper for daughter during daughter s marriage to Peter O Toole

Significant Others

• Husband: . married when she was an undergraduate; left him to attend RADA; divorced

Education

• University of Wales, Cardiff, Wales, 1955
• Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, England

Milestones

• 1953 Worked as a newsreader and announcer for the BBC
• 1958 Played title role of Saint Joan in Covington
• 1959 Made London stage debut as Hedda Gabler
• 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
• 1962 Film debut in small role in The Longest Day
• 1964 Appeared as Hannah Jelkes in the London production of Tennessee Williams The Night of the Iguana
• 1964 Had co-starring role in Becket , starring then-husband Peter O Toole; first of four films together
• 1967 Played another Williams heroine, Alma, in Eccentricities of a Nightingale
• 1969 Received widespread attention for her theatrical performance in the musical remake of Goodbye, Mr. Chips , starring O Toole and directed by Herbert Ross
• 1971 Final film with O Toole, Under Milk Wood ; last film for nine years
• 1973 Portrayed Virgina Woolf in the stage production, A Nightingale in Bloomsbury Square
• 1974 Starred as suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst in the BBC series Shoulder to Shoulder (aired in the USA on PBS in 1975)
• 1976 Offered a delectable turn as the evil Livia in the BBC production of I, Claudius
• 1978 Starred in the British TV series Warrior Queen (Thames Television)
• 1979 First played Ann Smiley opposite Alec Guiness in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (aired on PBS in the USA in 1980)
• 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
• 1981 Cast as Clementine Churchill opposite Robert Hardy in Winston Churchill--The Wilderness Years
• 1982 Reprised Ann Smiley in the syndicated Smiley s People
• 1984 Played Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam in Dune
• 1985 Appeared in the London production of the stage adaptation of the musical Gigi
• 1987 Portrayed the Duchess of Windsor in the NBC miniseries The Two Mrs Grenvilles
• 1989 Essayed the mother or Fairuza Balk s Cecile in Valmont , Milos Forman s adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses
• 1993 Appeared as the title character s grandmother in Heidi (The Disney Channel)
• 1993 Initial collaborations with playwright Pam Gems (as translator/adaptor) and director Sean Mathias, Ghosts
• 1993 Played Daniel Day-Lewis mother in The Age of Innocence
• 1994 First portrayed screen legend Marlene Dietrich for two nights in the musical play Marlene ; written by Gems and directed by Mathias
• 1995 Returned to Broadway as star of the award-winning revival of An Inspector Calls
• 1996 Portrayed Madame Armfeldt in a stage revival of A Little Night Music , starring Judi Dench and staged by Mathias
• 1997 Delivered a mememorable performance as Queen Eleanor in the A&E miniseries Ivanhoe
• 1998 Played the Red Queen in the Channel Four adaptation of Alice Through the Looking Glass , starring Kate Beckinsale
• 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
• 2002 Starred in L.A. stage production My Old Lady
• Began career as a radio actress with BBC-Radio, Wales in the mid-1940s
• Born and raised in Wales
• Made TV debut in the 1950s on BBC-Television, Wales
• Portrayed Beth Morgan in the BBC TV adaptation of How Green Was My Valley
• Revived Marlene for a tour and eventual run in London s West End
• Toured Wales in Welsh-language productions for the Wales Arts Council