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Fiona Shaw, CBE (Hon) (christened Fiona Mary Wilson, born 10 July, 1958 in County Cork, Republic of Ireland) is a leading Irish stage actress who regularly appears in London theatre. She is widely regarded as one of the finest classical actresses of the age.

Biography

Shaw's parents are a mixed-religious couple. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, she received much acclaim as Julia in the National Theatre production of Richard Sheridan's The Rivals (1983), a role which demonstrated her gift for comedy. Despite her natural comic abilities, Shaw has opted more often than not for roles showcasing her extreme but unaffected emotional intensity. These performances have earned her numerous stage awards.

Other notable theatrical roles include Celia in As You Like It (1984), Madame de Volanges in Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1985), Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew (1987), and the title roles in Electra (1988), The Good Person of Sechuan (1989), Hedda Gabler (1991), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1998) and Medea (2000).

She controversially played the lead in Richard II, directed by Deborah Warner in 1995. Shaw has collaborated with Warner on a number of occasions, on both stage and screen.

Shaw has also worked in film and television, including My Left Foot, Jane Eyre, Persuasion, Gormenghast, and the Harry Potter films (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), in which she plays the insufferable Aunt Petunia .

She was awarded an honorary CBE in 2001.

For a number of years, Fiona Shaw has been romantically linked in the press with actress Saffron Burrows. "Mad About Saffron", Sydney Morning Herald, May 15 2004"Saffron Burrows Embraces Lesbian Relationships On-screen and Off", AfterEllen.com, October 2003"A hint of Saffron", The Observer, May 5 2002 Neither actress has publicly confirmed or denied the relationship. The two appeared together in the National Theatre's production of "The PowerBook", "The PowerBook" at the National Theatre, a play based on the novel of the same name by Jeanette Winterson and including lesbian themes; Shaw and Burrows played lovers.

Selected filmography

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
• The Black Dahlia (2006)
• Catch and Release (2005)
• Midsummer Dream (2005)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
• Gormenghast (2000) (miniseries)
• The Avengers (1998)
• The Butcher Boy (1997)
• Anna Karenina (1997)
• Persuasion (1995)
• Super Mario Bros. (1993)
• Hedda Gabler (1993) (TV)
• Three Men and a Little Lady (1990)
• Mountains of the Moon (1990)
• My Left Foot (1989)

External links

• World Theatre Working in the Theatre Seminar video at American Theatre Wing, January 2002

References

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