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Sheila Gish

1942 - 2005 (age 62) • Acting

Sheila Gish (23 April 1942 – 9 March 2005) was a British stage and television actress. She was born Sheila Anne Gash in Lincoln, studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and made her stage debut with a repertory company. Her first starring role in the West End was as Bella in Robert and Elizabeth. She continued to be best known for her stage work, but she also appeared in many television dramas, from The First Churchills (in which she played Mary of Modena) to the successful adaptation of Love in a Cold Climate (2001) in which she played the eccentric and outrageous Lady Montdore. She had two daughters: the actresses Kay Curram and Lou Gish (1967–2006) by her first husband, the actor Roland Curram. While filming That Uncertain Feeling for BBC2 in 1985, she met actor Denis Lawson, who was to become her second husband. She rarely appeared on film, her most notable performances being as Anna in the Merchant-Ivory film Quartet (1981) and as Mrs Norris in Jane Austen's Mansfield Park (1999). She is also known for her appearance in the 1986 film Highlander as Rachel Ellenstein. She took the part of the alcoholic Joanne in Stephen Sondheim's musical Company, directed by Sam Mendes at the Donmar Warehouse and in the West End, in 1995. The following year, she won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical. In 1999 she played Miss Venable in Tennessee Williams's Suddenly Last Summer, directed by Sean Mathias with Rachel Weisz at the Comedy Theatre, London. One of her last stage roles was as Arkadina in the Chichester Festival Theatre's production of The Seagull in 2003. By this time she had been diagnosed with cancer and had lost an eye as a result of surgery. She died in Camden, London. Her final performance was for BBC Radio. She is Ewan McGregor's mother's sister-in-law. Her daughter, Lou, also died of cancer less than a year after her mother.

Known For

Mansfield Park

67%

Mrs. Norris

1999

Inspector Morse

79%

Gwladys Probert

1987

The Thin Blue Line

72%

Maeve the Sex Therapist

1995

Jonathan Creek

76%

Serena Shale

1997

Tales of the Unexpected

67%

Laura Parker / Mary Hitchman / Frances

1979

Quartet

58%

Anna

1981

The Sweeney

81%

June

1975

A Day in the Death of Joe Egg

44%

Pam

1972

Love in a Cold Climate

81%

Lady Montdore

2001

Mansfield Park

67%

Mrs. Norris

1999

The Bass Player

1999

The Blonde Bombshell

35%

Mrs Fluck

1999

Jonathan Creek

76%

Serena Shale

1997

Company

71%

Joanne

1996

Seasick

33%

Martina Schaffer

1996

The Thin Blue Line

72%

Maeve the Sex Therapist

1995

The Perfect Match

Helen

1995

Pie in the Sky

83%

Julia Sutton

1994

Resnick: Rough Treatment

Maria Roy

1993

Brighton Belles

43%

Bridget

1993

Jewels

61%

Victoria Thompson

1992

Stanley and the Women

65%

Nowell Hutchinson

1991

Performance

63%

Joanne

1991

The House of Eliott

66%

Yolande Hermane

1991

Inspector Morse

79%

Gwladys Probert

1987

Highlander

69%

Rachel Ellenstein

1986

Quartet

58%

Anna

1981

Tales of the Unexpected

67%

Laura Parker / Mary Hitchman / Frances

1979

Anna Karenina

70%

Unknown

1977

The Lifeswappers

Dinah/Miss Trevor

1976

The Sweeney

81%

June

1975

Let's Marry Liz

Sarah Gage

1974

Helen: A Woman of Today

Unknown

1973

Hitler: The Last Ten Days

62%

Frau Christian

1973

Crown Court

57%

Erika Brabazon

1972

The Adventurer

63%

Laura

1972

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