Fiona Shaw She was born on 10 July 1955 in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, to a mixed religion couple, and is widely regarded as one of the finest classical actresses of the age. 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, a role which demonstrated her gift for comedy.
Other notable stage roles include Celia in As You Like It (1984), Madame de Volanges in Dangerous Liaisons (1985), Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew (1987), and the title roles in Elektra (1988) and Hedda Gabler (1991).
She controversially played the lead in Richard II, directed by Deborah Warner in 1995. Shaw collaborated with Warner on a number of occasions, on both stage and screen.
Shaw has been linked romantically with English actress Saffron Burrows.
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 and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), in which she plays the insufferable Aunt Petunia .
She was awarded an honorary CBE in 2001.
