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 E...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Apple Cider Vinegar
2024
as Voice
Stones are at once the most foundational and the most overlooked parts of our lifeworld. When a retired nature documentary narrator passes a kidney st...

Alec Guinness: A Class Act
2024
as self
The story of one of Britain's most celebrated actors of the 20th century, told by those who knew and admired him.
Siân Phillips at 90
2023
as Self
Acclaimed actress Dame Siân Phillips is still working at 90. The star of I, Claudius speaks openly about her marriage to Peter O'Toole and reflects on...

Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba
2022
as Self
Reflecting Peter O'Toole's theatrical legacy, this feature documentary is structured into four acts, each introduced by a quote about O'Toole that enc...

Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends
2022
as Self
On 3 May 2022, Cameron Mackintosh invited many of Stephen Sondheim’s old friends to join him in London’s West End for a thrilling, joyously staged pro...

National Theatre Live: Under Milk Wood
2021
as Mrs Utah Watkins / Polly Garter / Mrs Beyon
A community is sleeping. If you listen closely, you can hear their dreams. The retired sea captain yearning for his lost love. The landlady living ...

National Theatre Live: Under Milk Wood
2021
Writer
A community is sleeping. If you listen closely, you can hear their dreams. The retired sea captain yearning for his lost love. The landlady living ...

Dream Horse
2021
as Maureen
The inspiring true story of Dream Alliance, an unlikely race horse bred by small town bartender, Jan Vokes. With very little money and no experience, ...

A Christmas Carol
2020
as Grandmother / narrator (voice)
The radical new take on Dickens’ classic seeks both to exhume the original story’s gritty commentary on social inequality and the corrupting influence...

Summerland
2020
as Margaret Corey
A woman during the Second World War opens her heart to an evacuee after initially resolving to be rid of him.

National Theatre Live: Les Blancs
2019
as Madame Neilsen
An African country teeters on the edge of civil war. A society prepares to drive out its colonial present and claim an independent future. Racial tens...

Time & Again
2019
as Eleanor
Eleanor and Isabelle meet again, sixty years after their relationship break up...

Be Happy!
2019
A contemporary love story about Peter, a Freudian psychiatrist married to the Finnish Mika, David, a young British gay who lives in Banyoles, addicted...

Nureyev
2018
as Narrator
An insight into the life of the world's most famous male dancer, Rudolf Nureyev.
To Provide All People
2018
as Patient
To mark the 70th anniversary of the birth of the NHS, acclaimed poet Owen Sheers takes us on a journey that weaves the extraordinary story of the birt...

Miss Dalí
2018
as Anna Maria Dalí
Anna Maria Dalí is four years younger than her brother Salvador and they love each other. Both enjoy the great progressive atmosphere of republican Sp...

Voyageuse
2018
as Erica
Based on the life of my late mother-in-law, Erica Thomas, “Voyageuse” is a mix of romance, science and conspiracy theory drawn directly from her journ...

Hochelaga, Land of Souls
2017
as Sarah Walker
Mohawk archaeologist Baptiste Asigny engages in a search for his ancestors following a tragic terrain slump in the Percival Molson Stadium.
Aberfan: The Green Hollow
2016
A film poem to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, written by Owen Sheers and performed by a stellar cast of Wales's best-known ...

Under Milk Wood
2014
as Mrs. Pugh
An all star cast unite to perform a distinctive BBC Wales Television adaptation of Dylan Thomas's radio play, presented in collaboration with National...
A Picture of London
2012
as Narrator
From its early years until the present day, London has provided powerful, emotional inspiration to artists. This documentary evokes the city as seen b...

Lovesong
2012
as Maggie
Lovesong intricately weaves the story of a couple in the first stages of their life together with the same couple as they approach the end of this sto...

The Mountain That Had To Be Painted
2011
as Narrator
Documentary about the painters Augustus John and James Dickson Innes who, in 1911, left London for the wild Arenig Valley in North Wales. Over three y...

The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
2007
as Self
Boasting an amazing selection of the most watched, most influential and most highly acclaimed programmes ever made, The 50 Greatest Television Dramas ...

The Murder Room
2004
as Marie Strickland
London's Dupayne Museum is in danger of closing since one of the trustees feels that the money expended on preserving the past could be better spent a...
Still: Here/Now
2003
as Self
A search for the poetic soul of Wales - a feature documentary which explores poetic responses, historical & contemporary, to the issues of social & cu...

Stalin: Inside the Terror
2003
as Narrator
This program is an overview of the life and career of Joseph Stalin. It concentrates on describing and attempting to explain the origins of the policy...

I, Claudius: A Television Epic
2002
as Self
The cast and crew of I, Claudius (1976) discuss the making of the series.

Cinderella: The ITV Pantomime
2000
as Evil Baroness
A televised pantomime of Cinderella featuring various celebrities.
Come and Go
2000
as Ru
An adaptation of Samuel Beckett's short play from 1965. Three women meet on a bench; they reminisce about their old school days and whisper terrible s...

Aristocrats
1999
as Narrator/Older Lady Emily Lennox
18th-century England and Ireland viewed through the eyes of four beautiful high-born sisters - Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah Lennox, great-grandd...

Alice Through the Looking Glass
1998
as Red Queen
A modern adaptation of the classic children's story 'Alice through the Looking Glass', which continued on from the popular 'Alice in Wonderland' story...
The Scold's Bridle
1998
as Mathilda Gillespie
Detective Cooper investigates the bizarre circumstances surrounding the murder of Matilda who was found dead in her bath wearing the Scold's Bridle.

House of America
1997
as Mam
"House of America" is a 1997 film directed by Marc Evans. The film, set in a depressed Welsh mining town, centres on a dysfunctional family unit of br...

The Mousehole Cat
1995
as Narrator
Told through the eyes of Mowzer, a cat, this tale -- based on a Cornish legend -- follows brave Tom Bawcock as he makes his way towards the treacherou...

The Vacillations of Poppy Carew
1995
as Calypso
Adaptation of the novel by Mary Wesley.

The Age of Innocence
1993
as Mrs. Archer
In 19th century New York high society, a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin...

The Chestnut Soldier
1991
as Nain Griffiths
Gwyn can feel danger coming in the wind. Somehow he knows the warnings have to do with the broken toy horse that holds the evil spirit of a prince who...

The Black Candle
1991
as Daisy Barnett
Lily Whitmore is the heir to a crumbling factory that she's determined to restore to its former glory. Unfortunately, Lily must instead turn her atten...

Emlyn's Moon
1990
as Nain Griffiths
Young magician Gywn and his friend Nia have been warned to stay away from Emlyn Llewelyn, the strange boy who claims his mother lives on the moon. And...

Red Empire
1990
as Narrator (voice)
A thorough and intelligently summarized history of the Soviet Union, from the socio-political origins for the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917 to ...

Dark River
1990
as Mrs. Blessington
An angry father sets out to get revenge for the death of his daughter in a toxic waste accident.

Valmont
1989
as Madame de Volanges
Set in Baroque France, a scheming widow and her lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman. The lover, Valmont, bets that h...

David Macaulay: Pyramid
1989
as Mersyankh (voice)
How did ancient Egyptians build the Great Pyramid at Giza, joining two million blocks of heavy stone with amazing precision? Who were the leaders who ...

The Snow Spider
1988
as Nain Griffiths
On his ninth birthday, young Gwyn (Osian Roberts), who lives on a remote hill farm in Wales, receives five strange gifts from his grandmother (Siân Ph...

Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
1985
as Charal
The army of the Marauders, led by King Terak and the witch Charal, attack the Ewoks village, killing Cindel's family. Cindel and the Ewok Wicket escap...

The Doctor and the Devils
1985
as Annabella Rock
In Victorian England, two grave robbers supply a wealthy doctor with bodies to research anatomy on, but greed causes them to look for a more simple wa...

Dune
1984
as Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spi...

How Many Miles to Babylon?
1982
as Mrs Alicia Moore
Wealthy Alexander Moore and working-class Jerry Crowe are childhood friends and in 1914 find themselves in the same Army unit - Alex as an officer and...

Clash of the Titans
1981
as Cassiopeia
To win the right to marry his love, the beautiful princess Andromeda, and fulfil his destiny, half-God-half-mortal Perseus must complete various tasks...

Carpathian Eagle
1980
as Mrs. Henska
Murder victims are being found with the hearts cut out. A police detective is assigned to find and stop the killer. Originally an episode of British h...

Nijinsky
1980
as Lady Ripon
A ballet dancer struggles with his homosexuality and the increasing allure of a young ballerina who seeks to draw him away from his domineering lover.

Heartbreak House
1977
as Hesione Hushabye
Captain Shotover, a retired seafarer, is reluctantly hosting a weekend house party for his two daughters and their bohemian friends. As they indulge i...

The Achurch Letters
1977
as Janet Achurch
1889: young Bernard Shaw falls under the spell of actress Janet Achurch. An important and highly charged relationship develops.

Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill
1974
as Mrs. Patrick Campbell
Lee Remick stars as Jennie Jerome, born in the United States in 1845, who eventually became Lady Randolph Churchill, and gave birth to Sir Winston Chu...

Under Milk Wood
1972
as Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard
The delightful if peculiar story of a day in the life of a small, Welsh fishing village called "Llareggub" in which we meet a host of curious characte...
Platonov
1971
as Anna
The title character is a married provincial schoolmaster and a notorious philanderer. He is a russian Don Juan except that he himself doesn't seek to ...

Murphy's War
1971
as Hayden
Murphy is the sole survivor of his crew, that has been massacred by a German U-Boat in the closing days of World War II. He is rescued, and ends up at...

Goodbye, Mr. Chips
1969
as Ursula Mossbank
Academy Award-honoree Peter O'Toole stars in this musical classic about a prim English schoolmaster who learns to show his compassion through the help...

Laughter in the Dark
1969
as Lady Pamela More
Swinging London in the 1960's. Deals with the affection of a middle-aged man for a very young woman, resulting in a mutually parasitic relationship.
Thief
1968
as Woman
A lady catches the attention of a compulsive gambler.

It’s Dearer After Midnight
1968
as Jo
A two-hander, set in a fictional Northern city, featuring Keith Barron as a taxi driver and Sian Phillips as the customer he takes to a strip club in ...

Eh, Joe?
1966
as Voice
The first English broadcast of Eh, Joe? which aired on BBC2 on July 4th, 1966 with Jack MacGowran, for whom the play was specifically written, playing...

Young Cassidy
1965
as Ella
In Dublin circa 1911, John Cassidy (Rod Taylor), an impoverished idealist, whose ambitions are restricted by the demands of looking after his family, ...

Becket
1964
as Gwendolen
Thomas Becket, Henry II's longtime advisor, finds his friendship with the debauched king corroding when he is unwillingly appointed as Archbishop of C...
Don Juan in Hell
1962
as Dona Ana
The third act of George Bernard Shaw's philosophical comedy Man and Superman. This dream episode depicts a lively debate between Don Juan, the Devil, ...

The Longest Day
1962
as WRNS Officer (uncredited)
The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the d...