Siân Phillips
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- May 14, 1933
- Birthplace
- Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Glamorgan, Wales
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.
Filmography
Frank and Percy 2026
Actor
Richard Burton: Wild Genius 2025
as Self
Apple Cider Vinegar 2024
as Voice
Alec Guinness: A Class Act 2024
as self
- Siân Phillips at 90
Siân Phillips at 90 2023
as Self
Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba 2022
as Self
Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends 2022
as Self
National Theatre Live: Under Milk Wood 2021
as Mrs Utah Watkins / Polly Garter / Mrs Beyon
Dream Horse 2021
as Maureen
A Christmas Carol 2020
as Grandmother / narrator (voice)
Summerland 2020
as Margaret Corey
National Theatre Live: Les Blancs 2019
as Madame Neilsen
Time & Again 2019
as Eleanor
Be Happy! 2019
as Maria
Nureyev 2018
as Narrator
- To Provide All People
To Provide All People 2018
as Patient
Miss Dalí 2018
as Anna Maria Dalí
Voyageuse 2018
as Erica
Hochelaga, Land of Souls 2017
as Sarah Walker
- Aberfan: The Green Hollow
Aberfan: The Green Hollow 2016
Actor
Under Milk Wood 2014
as Mrs. Pugh
- A Picture of London
A Picture of London 2012
as Narrator
Lovesong 2012
as Maggie
The Mountain That Had To Be Painted 2011
as Narrator
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas 2007
as Self
The Murder Room 2004
as Marie Strickland
- Still: Here/Now
Still: Here/Now 2003
as Self
Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film 2003
as Self - Ru (archive footage)
Stalin: Inside the Terror 2003
as Narrator
I, Claudius: A Television Epic 2002
as Self
Cinderella: The ITV Pantomime 2000
as Evil Baroness
- Come and Go
Come and Go 2000
as Ru
Alice Through the Looking Glass 1998
as Red Queen
The Scold's Bridle 1998
as Mathilda Gillespie
House of America 1997
as Mam
The Mousehole Cat 1995
as Narrator
The Vacillations of Poppy Carew 1995
as Calypso
The Age of Innocence 1993
as Mrs. Archer
The Chestnut Soldier 1991
as Nain Griffiths
The Black Candle 1991
as Daisy Barnett
Emlyn's Moon 1990
as Nain Griffiths
Dark River 1990
as Mrs. Blessington
Valmont 1989
as Madame de Volanges
David Macaulay: Pyramid 1989
as Mersyankh (voice)
The Snow Spider 1988
as Nain Griffiths
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor 1985
as Charal
The Doctor and the Devils 1985
as Annabella Rock
Dune 1984
as Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
How Many Miles to Babylon? 1982
as Mrs Alicia Moore
Clash of the Titans 1981
as Cassiopeia
Carpathian Eagle 1980
as Mrs. Henska
Nijinsky 1980
as Lady Ripon
Heartbreak House 1977
as Hesione Hushabye
The Achurch Letters 1977
as Janet Achurch
Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill 1974
as Mrs. Patrick Campbell
Under Milk Wood 1972
as Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard
- Platonov
Platonov 1971
as Anna
Murphy's War 1971
as Hayden
Goodbye, Mr. Chips 1969
as Ursula Mossbank
Laughter in the Dark 1969
as Lady Pamela More
- Thief
Thief 1968
as Woman
It’s Dearer After Midnight 1968
as Jo
Eh, Joe? 1966
as Voice
Young Cassidy 1965
as Ella
Becket 1964
as Gwendolen
- Don Juan in Hell
Don Juan in Hell 1962
as Dona Ana
The Longest Day 1962
as WRNS Officer (uncredited)
Credits from TMDB.