Sheila Gish

Sheila Gish (born Sheila Anne Syme Gash; 23 April 1942 – 9 March 2005) was an English actress. For her role in the 1995 London revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical Company, she won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical. Her film appearances included an A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1972), Quartet (1981), Highlander (1986) and Mansfield Park (1999) On television, she starred in the 1969 BBC series The First Churchills, the 1992 TV miniseries of Danielle Steel's Jewels and the short-lived ITV sitcom Brighton Belles (1993–94). Personal life She was born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), and made her stage debut with a repertory company. She had two daughters: the actresses Lou Gish and Kay (Katharine Ghislaine S. A.) Curram (born 1974) 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. Career 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. In 1996, Gish played the role of Joanne in Stephen Sondheim's Company at the Donmar Warehouse directed by Sam Mendes. Gish received the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Role in a Musical for her performance. In 1999 she played Mrs 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.