Fiona Shaw | |
|---|---|
_(54100308426)_(cropped-J1).jpg) Fiona Shaw at the68th BFI London Film Festival premiere ofThat Christmas on 19 October 2024 | |
| Born | Fiona Mary Wilson (1958-07-10)10 July 1958 (age 66) Cobh,County Cork, Ireland |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Spouse | |
Fiona Shaw (bornFiona Mary Wilson; 10 July 1958) is an Irish film and theatre actress. She did extensive work with theRoyal Shakespeare Company and theNational Theatre, as well as in film and television. In 2020, she was listed at No. 29 onThe Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors. She was made anHonorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by QueenElizabeth II in 2001.[1]
She won both the1990 and1994Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress for roles in the playsElectra,As You Like It,The Good Person of Szechwan (1990), andMachinal (1994) and received a further threeOlivier Award nominations for her roles inMephisto (1986),Hedda Gabler (1992), andHappy Days (2008). She made herBroadway debut playing the title role inMedea (2002) for which she earned a nomination for theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She returned to Broadway in theColm Tóibín playThe Testament of Mary (2013).
In film, she playedPetunia Dursley in theHarry Potter film series (2001–2010). Other notable film roles include inMy Left Foot (1989),Persuasion (1995),Jane Eyre (1996),The Tree of Life (2011),Colette (2018),Ammonite (2020), andEnola Holmes (2020).
Her television roles includeHedda Hopper in theHBO filmRKO 281 (1999), andMarnie Stonebrook in the HBO seriesTrue Blood (2011). She played Carolyn Martens in theBBC seriesKilling Eve (2018–22), for which she received the 2019BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as twoPrimetime Emmy Award nominations. For her role as a counselor inFleabag (2019), she received aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series nomination. She starred in theBBC One seriesBaptiste (2021), and theDisney+ seriesAndor (2022).
Shaw was born Fiona Mary Wilson on 10 July 1958[2] inCobh,[3]County Cork, Ireland,[4] the daughter of physicist Mary T. Wilson (née Flynn, born 1927)[5] andophthalmic surgeon Denis Joseph Wilson (1922–2011), who wed in 1952.[citation needed] They maintained a home inMontenotte.[6][7] Her father was of half English descent. The second of four children, she has an older brother, John, and two younger brothers, Mark and Peter, the latter of whom was killed in a car accident aged 18.[5] She attended secondary school atScoil Mhuire inCork, and received her degree in philosophy atUniversity College Cork. Shaw studied at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, graduating in 1982 with an Acting (RADA Diploma).[8] On joiningEquity, she had to change her name because they already had a member named Fiona Wilson. She adopted the surname Shaw, which was her grandmother's maiden name, also doing so in tribute toGeorge Bernard Shaw.[9]
In 1983, she starred as Julia in theNational Theatre production ofRichard Brinsley Sheridan'sThe Rivals (1983).[10] Her theatrical roles include Celia inAs You Like It (1984), Madame de Volanges inLes Liaisons Dangereuses (1985), Katherine inThe Taming of the Shrew (1987), Lady Franjul inThe New Inn (1987), Young Woman inMachinal (1993), for which she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress.
Shaw notably played the male lead inRichard II, directed byDeborah Warner in 1995. She performedT. S. Eliot's poemThe Waste Land as a one-person show at the Liberty Theatre in New York to great acclaim in 1996, winning theDrama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show for her performance.[11]
Winnie inHappy Days (2007), and the title roles inElectra (1988),The Good Person of Sechuan (1989),Hedda Gabler (1991),The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1998) andMedea (2000).
In 2009, Shaw collaborated with Deborah Warner again, taking the lead role inTony Kushner's translation ofBertolt Brecht'sMother Courage and Her Children. In a 2002 article forThe Daily Telegraph,Rupert Christiansen described their professional relationship as "surely one of the most richly creative partnerships in theatrical history."[12] Other collaborations between the two women include productions of Brecht'sThe Good Woman of Szechuan and Ibsen'sHedda Gabler, the latter was adapted for television.[13]
In 2010, Shaw appeared inThe Waste Land atWilton's Music Hall, and in aNational Theatre revival ofLondon Assurance.[14] In November 2010, Shaw starred inIbsen'sJohn Gabriel Borkman at theAbbey Theatre, Dublin alongsideAlan Rickman andLindsay Duncan.[15][16] The play was also staged in New York's Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2011.[17] In 2012, Shaw appeared in the National Theatre revival ofScenes from an Execution byHoward Barker. The world's largest solo theatre festival,United Solo, recognised her performance inThe Testament of Mary on Broadway with the 2013 United Solo Special Award.[18]
In 1984, Shaw played Miss Morrison inThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes episodeThe Adventure of the Crooked Man. She appeared inMy Left Foot (1989),Mountains of the Moon (1990),Three Men and a Little Lady (1990),Super Mario Bros. (1993),Undercover Blues (1993),Persuasion (1995),Jane Eyre (1996),The Butcher Boy (1997),The Avengers (1998),Gormenghast (2000), and five of theHarry Potter films in which she played Petunia Dursley,Harry Potter's repressed maternal aunt. Shaw had a brief but key role in Brian DePalma'sThe Black Dahlia (2006).
Shaw appeared inseason four of the American TV showTrue Blood.[4][19] Shaw's character,Marnie Stonebrook, has been described as an underachieving palm reader who is spiritually possessed by an actual witch.[20]
In 2013, she starred as Catherine Greenshaw inAgatha Christie's Marple episode "Greenshaw's Folly".
In 2018, Shaw began portraying Carolyn Martens, the head ofMI6's Russia-focused branch, inBBC America'sKilling Eve. For her performance, she won theBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Television Series.[21] Later the same year, she played a senior MI6 officer inMrs Wilson.[22] For her role as a counselor inPhoebe Waller-Bridge seriesFleabag (2019) she received aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series nomination.[23][24]
In 2020, she was listed at No. 29 onThe Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.[25]
Shaw starred in theStar Warstelevision seriesAndor as thetitular character's adoptive mother, Maarva Andor.[26] For her work inAndor, Shaw was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress.[27]
In October 2022, Shaw was awarded anAudioFile MagazineEarphone Award for her performance ofThe Bullet That Missed, the third book inRichard Osman'sThe Thursday Murder Club series.[28]
In 2024, she portrayed Rose Aguineau, a woman with a mysterious past who aids the protagonists, inseason 4 ofTrue Detective.
Shaw is a lesbian, although she had been in two long-term relationships with men before realising her sexual orientation, stating "It was a shock. I was full of self-hatred and thought I would come back into the fold shortly. But I just didn't."[29]
From 2002 to 2005, Shaw was the partner of English actressSaffron Burrows.[30] She met Sri Lankan economistSonali Deraniyagala after reading Deraniyagala's memoir,[31] and they married in 2018.[32] Shaw lives inIslington,North London, having previously lived in nearbyPrimrose Hill, "within earshot ofLondon Zoo".[31]
Shaw was raisedCatholic, and in January 1997, she spent two weeks with theTyburn Nuns at their convent.[33]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The Man Who Shot Christmas | Laura | Short film |
| 1985 | Sacred Hearts | Sister Felicity | |
| 1989 | My Left Foot | Dr. Eileen Cole | |
| 1990 | Mountains of the Moon | Isabel | |
| Three Men and a Little Lady | Miss Lomax | ||
| 1991 | London Kills Me | Headley | |
| 1992 | The Big Fish | Unknown role | Short film |
| Ridin' High: The Video | Dancer | Direct-to-video | |
| 1993 | Super Mario Bros. | Lena | |
| Undercover Blues | Novacek | ||
| 1995 | Persuasion | Mrs Croft | |
| The Waste Land | Unknown role | Short film | |
| 1996 | Jane Eyre | Mrs Reede | |
| 1997 | Anna Karenina | Lydia | |
| The Butcher Boy | Mrs Nugent | ||
| 1998 | The Avengers | Father | |
| 1999 | The Last September | Marda Norton | |
| 2001 | The Triumph of Love | Leontine | |
| Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Petunia Dursley | ||
| 2002 | Close Your Eyes | Catherine Lebourg | |
| Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Petunia Dursley | ||
| 2004 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Petunia Dursley | |
| 2005 | Midsummer Dream | The Witches (voices) | English version only |
| 2006 | The Black Dahlia | Ramona Linscott | |
| Catch and Release | Mrs Douglas | ||
| 2007 | Fracture | Judge Robinson | |
| Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Petunia Dursley | ||
| 2009 | Dorian Gray | Agatha | |
| 2010 | National Theatre Live: London Assurance | Lady Gay Spanker | |
| We Believed | Emilie Ashurst | ||
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | Petunia Dursley | ||
| Tell Me | Martha | Short film | |
| 2011 | The Tree of Life | Grandmother | |
| 2013 | The English Teacher | Narrator | |
| The Daisy Chain | Narrator | Short film | |
| 2015 | Pixels | Prime Minister (uncredited) | |
| 2016 | The White King | Kathrin Fitz | |
| Out of Innocence | Catherine Flynn | ||
| 2017 | The Hippopotamus | Anne Logan | |
| 2018 | Lizzie | Abby Borden | |
| Colette | Sido | ||
| 2020 | Ammonite | Elizabeth Philpot | |
| Enola Holmes | Miss Harrison | ||
| Kindred | Margaret | ||
| 2024 | IF | Margaret | |
| That Christmas | Miss Trapper (voice) | ||
| 2025 | Hot Milk[34] | Rose | Post-production |
| TBA | Echo Valley | Jessie Oliver | Post-production |
| Ladies First | Filming |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | All for Love | Elspeth | Episode: "Fireworks for Elspeth" | |
| 1984 | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | Miss Morrison | Episode: "The Crooked Man" | |
| 1985 | Love Song | Young Deirdre | TV movie | |
| 1990 | Theatre Night | Clytemnestra | Episode: "Iphigenia at Aulis" | |
| 1991 | For the Greater Good | Gillian Savage | 2 episodes | |
| 1992 | Shakespeare: The Animated Tales | Viola | Voice; Episode: "Twelfth Night" | |
| 1992, 1995 | Screen Two | Pauline | Episode: "Maria's Child" | |
| Mrs Croft | Episode: "Persuasion" | |||
| 1993, 1997 | Performance | Hedda Gabler | Episode: "Hedda Gabler" | |
| Richard II | Episode: "Richard II" | |||
| 1994 | Seascape | Unknown role | TV movie | |
| 1999 | RKO 281 | Hedda Hopper | TV movie | |
| 2000 | Gormenghast | Irma Prunesquallor | Miniseries (4 episodes) | |
| 2001 | Mind Games | Frances O'Neil | TV movie | |
| The Seventh Stream | Mrs Gourdon | TV movie | ||
| 2005 | Empire | Fulvia | Miniseries (3 episodes) | |
| 2007 | Trial & Retribution | Jo Wilson QC | Episode: "Mirror Image: Part 2" | |
| 2009 | Dido and Aeneas – Didon et Énée | Comédienne dans le prologue | TV movie | |
| 2011 | True Blood | Marnie Stonebrook | Recurring role (12 episodes) | |
| 2013 | Marple | Miss Katherine Greenshaw | Episode: "Greenshaw's Folly" | |
| 2014 | Masterpiece Mystery | Miss Katherine Greenshaw | Episode: "Agatha Christie's Miss Marple VII: Greenshaw's Folly" | |
| 2015 | Lumen | D'Laria | TV movie | |
| 2015–17 | Sarah & Duck | Music Lady | 2 episodes | |
| 2016 | Maigret Sets a Trap | Madam Moncin | TV movie | |
| Channel Zero | Marla Painter | Series regular (6 episodes) | ||
| 2017 | Emerald City | Mombi | 2 episodes | |
| Inside No. 9 | Jean | Episode: "Private View" | ||
| Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero | Hedwin | Voice; Episode: "Mr. Rippen" | ||
| 2018 | Mrs Wilson | Coleman | Miniseries (3 episodes) | |
| 3Below: Tales of Arcadia | Birdie / Halcon | Voice; Episode: "Flying the Coop" | ||
| 2018–22 | Killing Eve | Carolyn Martens | Series regular (31 episodes) | |
| 2019 | Fleabag | Counsellor | Episode: "#2.2" | |
| 2021 | Baptiste | Emma Chambers | Series regular (6 episodes) | [35] |
| 2022 | Andor | Maarva Andor | Series regular (5 episodes) | [26] |
| 2024 | True Detective: Night Country | Rose Aguineau | Main role | [36] |
| Bad Sisters | Angelica Collins | Main role | [37] | |
| TBA | Anansi Boys | Maeve Livingstone | Upcoming series |
