Biography
Siân Phillips is a Welsh actress. Born Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips on 14 May 1933 in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Glamorgan, she is a Welsh-speaker who learned English by listening to the radio. She studied English at University College Cardiff and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art on a scholarship, winning the Bancroft Gold Medal for her performance as Hedda Gabler.
Her film debut was as Gwendolen in Becket (1964). She is known for roles including Livia in the BBC series I, Claudius (1976), for which she received a BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress, the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam in Dune (1984), and Mrs Archer in The Age of Innocence (1993). She has also appeared in Clash of the Titans (1981), Valmont (1989) and the series Good Omens (2019). Phillips was appointed DBE for services to drama.
