Fiona Shaw
Fiona Shaw CBE (born Fiona Mary Wilson; 10 July 1958) is an Irish actress and theatre and opera director. She is known for her role as Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter film series (2001–10), as Marnie Stonebrook on season four of the HBO series True Blood (2011),[1][2] and as Carolyn Martens on the BBC America series Killing Eve (2018–present), for which she won the 2019 BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress.[3] For her performances in the second seasons of Killing Eve and the comedy-drama Fleabag, Shaw received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series respectively.[4]
Fiona Shaw CBE | |
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Shaw in 2011 | |
Born | Fiona Mary Wilson 10 July 1958 Cobh, County Cork, Ireland |
Alma mater | University College Cork Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
Occupation |
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Years active | 1983–present |
Spouse(s) |
Shaw has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. She won the 1990 Olivier Award for Best Actress for various roles, including Electra, the 1994 Olivier Award for Best Actress for Machinal, and the 1997 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance for The Waste Land. Her other stage work includes playing the title role in Medea in the West End and on Broadway (2001–02). She was awarded an Honorary CBE in 2001.[5]
Early life
Shaw was born in County Cork and identifies as a Roman Catholic.[6] Her father, Denis Wilson, was an ophthalmic surgeon[7][8] and her mother, Mary, was a physicist.[9]
She attended secondary school at Scoil Mhuire in Cork City. She received her degree in University College Cork.
Career
Acting
Shaw trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London and was part of a 'new wave' of actors to emerge from the Academy. She received much acclaim as Julia in the National Theatre production of Richard Sheridan's The Rivals (1983).[10]
Shaw's 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), Lady Franjul in The New Inn (1987), Young Woman in Machinal (1993), for which she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress, Winnie in Happy Days (2007), 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 performed T. S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land as a one-person show at the Liberty Theatre in New York to great acclaim in 1996, winning the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show for her performance.[11]
She played Miss Morrison in the 1984 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes episode "The Adventure of the Crooked Man" and Catherine Greenshaw in Agatha Christie's Marple episode "Greenshaw's Folly" in 2013.
Shaw notably played the male 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 (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 the Harry Potter films in which she played Harry Potter's aunt Petunia Dursley. Shaw had a brief but key role in Brian DePalma's The Black Dahlia (2006).
In 2009, Shaw collaborated with Deborah Warner again, taking the lead role in Tony Kushner's translation of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children. In a 2002 article for The 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's The Good Woman of Szechuan and Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, the latter was adapted for television.[13]
Shaw appeared in The Waste Land at Wilton's Music Hall in January 2010 and in a National Theatre revival of London Assurance in March 2010.[14] In November 2010, Shaw starred in Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin alongside Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan.[15][16] The play was also staged in New York's Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2011.[17]
Shaw appeared in season four of American TV show True Blood. Shaw's character, Marnie Stonebrook, has been described as an underachieving palm reader who is spiritually possessed by an actual witch.[18] Her character leads a coven of necromancer witches who threaten the status quo in Bon Temps, erasing most of Eric Northman's memories and leaving him almost helpless when he tries to kill her and break up their coven.
In 2012, Shaw appeared in the National Theatre revival of Scenes from an Execution by Howard Barker.
The world’s largest solo theatre festival, United Solo recognized her performance in The Testament of Mary on Broadway with the 2013 United Solo Special Award.[19]
In 2018 Shaw began portraying Carolyn Martens, head of the MI6 Russian Desk, in BBC America's Killing Eve, for which she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Television Series. Later the same year, she played a senior MI6 officer in Mrs Wilson.[20]
Personal life
Shaw openly identifies as a lesbian and was previously in a relationship with actress Saffron Burrows.[21]
She is married to the economist Sonali Deraniyagala.[22]
Credits
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984) (TV series) as Miss Morrison
- Sacred Hearts (1985) as Sister Felicity
- The Taming of the Shrew (RSC 1987)
- Electra (RSC 1988)
- My Left Foot (1989) as Dr. Eileen Cole
- Mountains of the Moon (1990) as Isabel Arundell (Mrs Burton as from 1861)
- Three Men and a Little Lady (1990) as Miss Lomax
- London Kills Me (1991) as Headley
- Machinal (1993)
- Hedda Gabler (1993) (a televisation of the NT production) as Hedda Gabler
- Super Mario Bros. (1993) as Lena
- Undercover Blues (1993) as Novacek
- The Duchess of Malfi (1995, radio) as The Duchess
- Persuasion (1995) as Mrs. Croft
- Jane Eyre (1996) as Mrs. Reed
- Anna Karenina (1997) as Lydia
- The Butcher Boy (1997) as Mrs. Nugent
- Richard II (1997) (TV) as Richard II
- The Avengers (1998) as Father
- The Last September (1999) as Marda Norton
- Gormenghast (2000) (TV) as Irma Prunesquallor
- RKO 281 (1999) (TV) as Hedda Hopper
- The Triumph of Love (2001) as Leontine
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) as Petunia Dursley
- Medea (2001) (West End & NYC)
- The Seventh Stream (2001) - Mrs. Gourdon
- Close Your Eyes (2002) - Catherine Lebourg
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) as Petunia Dursley
- The PowerBook (2002) (NT, which she co-devised)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) as Petunia Dursley
- Midsummer Dream (2005) as The Witches (English version, voice)
- Empire (2005, international tour) (TV) as Fulvia
- The Black Dahlia (2006) as Ramona Linscott
- Catch and Release (2007) as Mrs. Douglas
- Fracture (2007) as Judge Robinson
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) as Petunia Dursley
- Happy Days (2007 & 2008, NT and internationally)
- Dorian Gray (2009) as Agatha
- National Theatre Live: London Assurance (2010) as Lady Gay Spanker
- Noi Credevamo (2010) as Emilie Ashurst
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) as Petunia Dursley
- Mother Courage and her Children (NT)
- London Assurance (NT)
- The Tree of Life (2011) as Grandmother
- True Blood (2011)[23] as Marnie Stonebrook
- The English Teacher (2013) as Narrator
- The Testament of Mary (2013) (Broadway)[24]
- Agatha Christie's Marple: Greenshaw's Folly (2013) (TV) as Miss Katherine Greenshaw
- Ceiliuradh (celebration) at The Royal Albert Hall on 10 April 2014 (Televised)
- Pixels (2015) as Prime Minister (uncredited)
- The White King (2016) as Kathrin Fitz
- Out of Innocence (2016) as Catherine Flynn
- Channel Zero (2016) as present-day Marla Painter
- The Rising (2016) as Countess Markievicz
- Maigret (2016) as Mdm Moncin
- Emerald City (2017) (TV) as Mombi
- Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero (2017) (TV) as Hedwin (voice)
- Private View (Inside No. 9) (2017) (TV) as Jean
- The Hippopotamus (2017) as Anne Logan
- Medea (2017) Wexford Festival Opera - Director[25]
- Colette (2018) as Sido
- Lizzie (2018) as Abby Borden
- Mrs Wilson (2018) as MI6 boss Coleman
- Killing Eve (2018–present) as Carolyn Martens, Head of the Russia Section at MI6
- 3Below: Tales of Arcadia (2018) as Birdie/Halcon
- Fleabag (2019) as the counsellor
- Ammonite (upcoming) as Elizabeth Philpot
- Corvidae (upcoming)
Other projects, contributions
- When Love Speaks (2002, EMI Classics): "It is thy will thy image should keep open"
- Simon Schama's John Donne: 2009[26][27]
Awards and nominations
References
- "Fiona Shaw". London: Film.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- Edgware Times Archived 26 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- "Killing Eve takes top prizes in BAFTA TV awards 2019". The Guardian. 12 May 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
- "71st Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- "Honorary CBE notice for Shaw". BBC News. 30 December 2000. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- "Ancient Theater Today". Didaskalia. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- "Dedicated ophthalmic surgeon with a lifelong interest in all things artistic". The Irish Times.
- Fiona Shaw Biography at Film Reference.com
- "Tim Teeman » Fiona Shaw: 'I have enormous sadness in me'". timteeman.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- "Fiona Shaw (NT 50th)". National Theatre Website. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015.
- Ben Brantly, Memory and Desire: Hearing Eliot's Passion, New York Times 18 November 1996
- Rupert Christiansen "Fiona Shaw's double life", Daily Telegraph, 10 May 2002
- Lloynd, Ray (27 March 1993). "TV REVIEWS : Visually Exciting, Powerful 'Hedda Gabler'". Los Angeles Times.
- Taylor, Paul (18 December 2009). "Mother courage: How Fiona Shaw became the leading actress of her generation". The Independent. London. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- Events Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Abbey Theatre web site
- Brantley, Ben (13 January 2011). "Ibsen's Big Chill, With Soul Mates Frozen in Time". The New York Times.
- Brantley, Ben (13 January 2011). "'John Gabriel Borkman' at BAM - Review". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
- Vozick-Levinson, Simon (8 November 2010). "Fiona Shaw joins 'True Blood' cast". Entertainment Weekly.
- "Fiona Shaw, Gordon Clapp, & Eric Roberts Among 2013 United Solo Festival Winners". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- "Mrs Wilson". BBC Media Centre. 4 December 2018.
- "Fiona Shaw: We don't know who were are and the joy is in finding out - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
- Interview with Fiona Shaw, The Observer, 3 March 2019.
- "Harry Potter's Fiona Shaw Joins True Blood" 8 November 2010, Source: Deadline, ComingSoon.com
- Hetrick, Adam. "Fiona Shaw Stars in 'The Testament of Mary', Beginning March 26 on Broadway" Archived 7 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, 26 March 2013
- " Fiona Shaw to direct Madea at Wexford Festival Opera Irish Times, 2 March 2017
- "Simon Schama's John Donne, BBC2
Armando Iannucci in Milton's Heaven and Hell, BBC2
My Life in Verse: Sheila Hancock, BBC2". The Independent. Retrieved 2 September 2015. - "TV review: the BBC's poetry season". The Daily Telegraph. 26 May 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
External links
- Fiona Shaw on IMDb
- Fiona Shaw at the Internet Broadway Database
- World Theatre – Working in the Theatre Seminar video at American Theatre Wing.org, January 2002
- Fiona Shaw interviewed by Sophie Elmhirst on New Statesman, September 2009
- Fiona Shaw (director) on Operabase