Siân Phillips

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

110

Gender

Female

Birthday

1933-05-14 (92 years old)

Place of Birth

Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Glamorgan, Wales

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.

Known For

  • Midsomer Murders

    Midsomer Murders

  • Agatha Christie's Poirot

    Agatha Christie's Poirot

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Silent Witness

    Silent Witness

  • Tales of the Unexpected

    Tales of the Unexpected

  • BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

  • BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

  • BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

  • Good Omens

    Good Omens

  • Doctor Who

    Doctor Who

  • La Femme Nikita

    La Femme Nikita

  • Playhouse

    Playhouse

  • Playhouse

    Playhouse

  • The Chelsea Detective

    The Chelsea Detective

  • The Longest Day

    The Longest Day

  • I, Claudius

    I, Claudius

  • I, Claudius

    I, Claudius

  • McDonald & Dodds

    McDonald & Dodds

  • Dune

    Dune

  • The Age of Innocence

    The Age of Innocence

  • Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba

    Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba

  • Hammer House of Horror

    Hammer House of Horror

  • Clash of the Titans

    Clash of the Titans

  • Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

  • The Murder Room

    The Murder Room

  • Young Cassidy

    Young Cassidy

  • The Last Detective

    The Last Detective

  • Smiley's People

    Smiley's People

  • Goodbye, Mr. Chips

    Goodbye, Mr. Chips

  • I, Claudius: A Television Epic

    I, Claudius: A Television Epic

  • Summerland

    Summerland

  • Alice Through the Looking Glass

    Alice Through the Looking Glass

  • National Theatre Live: Under Milk Wood

    National Theatre Live: Under Milk Wood

  • Attila

    Attila

  • A Christmas Carol

    A Christmas Carol

  • Platonov

    Platonov

  • Becket

    Becket

  • Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years

    Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years

  • Emlyn's Moon

    Emlyn's Moon

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • Perfect Scoundrels

    Perfect Scoundrels

  • The Scold's Bridle

    The Scold's Bridle

  • Ewoks: The Battle for Endor

    Ewoks: The Battle for Endor

  • Laughter in the Dark

    Laughter in the Dark

  • The Magician's House

    The Magician's House

  • The Magician's House

    The Magician's House

  • The Black Candle

    The Black Candle

  • The Borrowers

    The Borrowers

  • Ivanhoe

    Ivanhoe

  • Eh, Joe?

    Eh, Joe?

  • Aberfan: The Green Hollow

    Aberfan: The Green Hollow

  • The Snow Spider

    The Snow Spider

  • Shoulder to Shoulder

    Shoulder to Shoulder

  • Voyageuse

    Voyageuse

  • How Green Was My Valley

    How Green Was My Valley

  • Valmont

    Valmont

  • Nijinsky

    Nijinsky

  • Heidi

    Heidi

  • The Two Mrs. Grenvilles

    The Two Mrs. Grenvilles

  • Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill

    Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill

  • Aristocrats

    Aristocrats

  • The Return of the Borrowers

    The Return of the Borrowers

  • Vanity Fair

    Vanity Fair

  • Arthouse

    Arthouse

  • Heartbreak House

    Heartbreak House

  • Under Milk Wood

    Under Milk Wood

  • Crime and Punishment

    Crime and Punishment

  • Thief

    Thief

  • Murphy's War

    Murphy's War

  • The Vacillations of Poppy Carew

    The Vacillations of Poppy Carew

  • Under Milk Wood

    Under Milk Wood

  • Alec Guinness: A Class Act

    Alec Guinness: A Class Act

  • The Achurch Letters

    The Achurch Letters

  • Dream Horse

    Dream Horse

  • Come and Go

    Come and Go

  • Shadow of the Noose

    Shadow of the Noose

  • Dark River

    Dark River

  • David Macaulay: Pyramid

    David Macaulay: Pyramid

  • The Chestnut Soldier

    The Chestnut Soldier

  • Still: Here/Now

    Still: Here/Now

  • Siân Phillips at 90

    Siân Phillips at 90

  • The Doctor and the Devils

    The Doctor and the Devils

  • Warrior Queen

    Warrior Queen

  • Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends

    Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends

  • The Sherman Plays

    The Sherman Plays

  • The Scold's Bridle

    The Scold's Bridle

  • Hochelaga, Land of Souls

    Hochelaga, Land of Souls

  • House of America

    House of America

  • It’s Dearer After Midnight

    It’s Dearer After Midnight

  • Miss Dalí

    Miss Dalí

  • The 50 Greatest Television Dramas

    The 50 Greatest Television Dramas

  • To Provide All People

    To Provide All People

  • Emperor: Rise & Fall of a Dynasty

    Emperor: Rise & Fall of a Dynasty

  • Wonders of the Celtic Deep

    Wonders of the Celtic Deep

  • Apple Cider Vinegar

    Apple Cider Vinegar

  • Cinderella: The ITV Pantomime

    Cinderella: The ITV Pantomime

  • A Picture of London

    A Picture of London

  • A Year in the Beacons

    A Year in the Beacons

  • Be Happy!

    Be Happy!

  • Carpathian Eagle

    Carpathian Eagle

  • Don Juan in Hell

    Don Juan in Hell

  • Red Empire

    Red Empire

  • How Many Miles to Babylon?

    How Many Miles to Babylon?

  • Nureyev

    Nureyev

  • Lovesong

    Lovesong

  • Stalin: Inside the Terror

    Stalin: Inside the Terror

  • National Theatre Live: Les Blancs

    National Theatre Live: Les Blancs

  • The Mountain That Had To Be Painted

    The Mountain That Had To Be Painted

  • Time & Again

    Time & Again

  • The Mousehole Cat

    The Mousehole Cat