Sian Phillips

Siân Phillips, CBE, is a British actress. She was born Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips in Betws, Carmarthenshire, Wales, on May 14, 1933. She has made many films and television programmes, but is undoubtedly best remembered as the evil Livia in the BBC adaptation of Robert Graves' novel I, Claudius (BBC2, 1976). She also appeared as Ann, the unfaithful wife of Alec Guinness's character George Smiley, in the BBC1 espionage dramas Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) and Smiley's People (1982), adapted from John le Carré's novels of the same names.

Related Topics:
CBE - British - Betws - Carmarthenshire - Wales - May 14 - 1933 - Film - Television - Livia - BBC - Robert Graves - I, Claudius - BBC2 - 1976 - Alec Guinness - George Smiley - BBC1 - Espionage - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - 1979 - Smiley's People - 1982 - John le Carré

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She married Peter O'Toole and they had two daughters, but she subsequently divorced him. She wrote about this tempestuous period of her life in the second volume of her autobiography, Public Places.

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In June 2000, she was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. She is also a leading light in Social, Welsh and Sexy (SWS), the London-based organisation for Welsh socialites. She is a Welsh-speaker: in the first volume of her autobiography (Private Faces) she notes that she spoke Welsh before she spoke English as a child.

Related Topics:
2000 - Welsh

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