Siân Phillips

Dame Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips, DBE (born 14 May 1933), known professionally as Siân Phillips (/ˈʃɑːn/), is a Welsh actress.

Early life

Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, West Glamorgan, 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.

She attended Pontardawe Grammar School and was originally known there as Jane. But her Welsh teacher, Eic Davies, called her Siân, the Welsh form of Jane. Later she took up English and Philosophy at University College Cardiff.

Phillips graduated from the University of Wales in 1955. She entered RADA 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.