Sian Clifford

Sian Clifford (born 7 April 1982) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Claire, the older sister of the titular character in the BBC comedy-drama series Fleabag (2016–2019) and also portrayed Martha Crawley in the ITV/Amazon Studios series Vanity Fair (2018). In 2020, she played Diana Ingram in the ITV series Quiz. For the second season of Fleabag, Clifford won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance, and received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series as well as a Critics' Choice nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Her theatre credits include Consent at the Harold Pinter Theatre, Pains of Youth at the National Theatre, and The Road to Mecca at the Arcola Theatre. Early life Clifford was born in London on 7 April 1982, the daughter of an executive assistant mother and a father who works for the local council. She grew up in the London borough of Ealing. She has a sister, Natalie, who is an art dealer in New York City. Growing up, she knew she wanted to be an actress and participated in youth theatre. She worked for three years as a writing consultant before being accepted into Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). While attending RADA, she met her future co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge early on and they became friends. She earned a BA in acting from RADA in 2006.