Siân Phillips, CBE (pronounced IPA: [ʃɑːn 'fɪlɪps], born Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips; 14 May 1933) is a Welsh actress.
Phillips was born in Betws, Ammanford, Wales, the daughter of Sally (née Thomas), a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman. She is a Welsh-speaker: 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 ra...
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Siân Phillips, CBE (pronounced IPA: [ʃɑːn 'fɪlɪps], born Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips; 14 May 1933) is a Welsh actress.
Phillips was born in Betws, Ammanford, Wales, the daughter of Sally (née Thomas), a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman. She is a Welsh-speaker: 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.
Phillips has made many films and television programmes, but is probably best-known for her role as Livia in the BBC adaptation of Robert Graves' novel, I, Claudius (BBC2, 1976) and for many appearances on the original run of Call My Bluff. She also appeared opposite Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton in Becket (1964); as Ursula Mossbank in the musical film Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969) again starring Peter O'Toole; once more opposite O'Toole in Murphy's War (1971); as Emmeline Pankhurst in the TV mini-series Shoulder to Shoulder (1974); as Ann...
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