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.
Acted in 86
2020s
- 2026
Frank and Percy
Movie
- 2024
Apple Cider Vinegar
Voice
- 2022
- 2021
National Theatre Live: Under Milk Wood
Mrs Utah Watkins / Polly Garter / Mrs Beyon
- 2020
2010s
- 2019
National Theatre Live: Les Blancs
Madame Neilsen
Time & Again
Eleanor
- 2018
Miss Dalí
Anna Maria Dalí
Voyageuse
Erica
- 2017
- 2014
Under Milk Wood
Mrs. Pugh
- 2012
Lovesong
Maggie
2000s
- 2007
- 2004
The Murder Room
Marie Strickland
- 2003
The Last Detective
Vera Dulciman · 1 episode
- 2001
- 2000
Cinderella: The ITV Pantomime
Evil Baroness
1990s
- 1999
- 1998
The Scold's Bridle
Mathilda Gillespie
The Scold's Bridle
Mathilda · 2 episodes
- 1997
House of America
Mam
- 1996
- 1995
The Vacillations of Poppy Carew
Calypso
- 1993
Heidi
Frau Sesemann · 2 episodes
- 1992
- 1991
The Chestnut Soldier
Nain Griffiths
Tonight at 8.30
Clare Wedderburn, Barbara Faber, Olive Lloyd-Ransome · 1 episode
The Black Candle
Daisy Barnett
- 1990
Emlyn's Moon
Nain Griffiths
Perfect Scoundrels
Mother Aloysius · 1 episode
Dark River
Mrs. Blessington
1980s
- 1989
Shadow of the Noose
Lady Scott · 1 episode
David Macaulay: Pyramid
Mersyankh (voice)
- 1988
The Snow Spider
Nain Griffiths
- 1987
Vanity Fair
Matilda Crawley · 4 episodes
A Killing on the Exchange
Isobel Makepeace · 5 episodes
The Two Mrs. Grenvilles
Duchess of Windsor · 2 episodes
- 1985
The Doctor and the Devils
Annabella Rock
- 1984
- 1982
How Many Miles to Babylon?
Mrs Alicia Moore
- 1981
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
Clementine Churchill · 8 episodes
- 1980
Carpathian Eagle
Mrs. Henska
Nijinsky
Lady Ripon
1970s
- 1979
Crime and Punishment
Katerina Ivánovna · 3 episodes
- 1978
Warrior Queen
Queen Boudicca · 6 episodes
- 1977
Heartbreak House
Hesione Hushabye
The Achurch Letters
Janet Achurch
- 1976
- 1975
How Green Was My Valley
Beth Morgan · 6 episodes
- 1974
Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill
Mrs. Patrick Campbell
Shoulder to Shoulder
Emmeline Pankhurst · 6 episodes
- 1972
Under Milk Wood
Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard
- 1971
1960s
- 1969
Laughter in the Dark
Lady Pamela More
- 1968
It’s Dearer After Midnight
Jo
- 1967
Half Hour Story
A Girl · 1 episode
- 1966
Eh, Joe?
Voice
- 1965
Young Cassidy
Ella
- 1964
- 1963
- 1962
1950s
- 1956
Armchair Theatre
TV
Appearances16
2020s
- 2025
Richard Burton: Wild Genius
Self
- 2024
Alec Guinness: A Class Act
self
- 2022
Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba
Self
Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends
Self
- 2021
Wonders of the Celtic Deep
Self - Narrator · 4 episodes
A Year in the Beacons
Narrator · 4 episodes
2010s
- 2018
Nureyev
Narrator
- 2011
The Mountain That Had To Be Painted
Narrator
2000s
- 2007
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
Self
- 2003
Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film
Self - Ru (archive footage)
Stalin: Inside the Terror
Narrator
- 2002
I, Claudius: A Television Epic
Self
1990s
- 1995
The Mousehole Cat
Narrator
