Biography
Thin-lipped and statuesque Irish actress Fiona Shaw frequently takes the lead on the theatrical stage but steers her talents toward supporting roles in feature films. Born in County Cork, she studied philosophy before moving on to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. During the '80s she worked mainly on-stage as part of the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Some of her stage credits include As You Like It, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and a one-woman reading of T.S. Eliot's epic poem The Waste Land, just to name a few. She made her film debut in 1984 as one of the nuns in the WWII drama
Sacred Hearts, but her breakthrough role came in 1989 as the doctor whom Christy Brown grows infatuated with in
My Left Foot. The next year, she played the wife of an explorer in the British Empire film
Mountains of the Moon. She also excelled at comedy with memorable roles in
Three Men and a Little Lady,
London Kills Me, Super Mario Bros., and
Undercover Blues. In 1995, she turned to literary adaptations and costume dramas with
Persuasion,
Jane Eyre, and
Anna Karenina. She then played Francie's sharp-tongued mother in
Neil Jordan's childhood drama
The Butcher Boy. Around this time, her longtime colleague Deborah Warner directed the controversial television adaptation of Richard II, with Shaw in the lead role of the young king. Also on television, she played
Hedda Hopper in the HBO movie
RKO 281 and Irma Prunesquallor in the BBC miniseries
Gormenghast. She collaborated with director Warner again for
The Last September, based on the novel by Irish author Elizabeth Bowen. In 2001, she received the honorary Companion of the British Empire award and portrayed the spinster scientist Leontine in
Clare Peploe's
The Triumph of Love. Returning to the stage to play Medea on Broadway, she found herself well-costumed once again as the wretched Aunt Petunia Dursely in the series of
Harry Potter feature films. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide