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)[1] and also portrayed Martha Crawley in the ITV/Amazon Studios series Vanity Fair (2018).[2] In 2020, she played Diana Ingram in the ITV series Quiz.[3]

Sian Clifford
Clifford in 2019
Born (1982-04-07) 7 April 1982
London, England
OccupationActress
Years active2006–present

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.[4][5][6]

Her theatre credits include Consent at the Harold Pinter Theatre,[7] Pains of Youth at the National Theatre,[8] and The Road to Mecca at the Arcola Theatre.[9]

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.[10] She grew up in the London borough of Ealing. She has a sister, Natalie, who is an art dealer in New York City.[11] 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).[10] 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.[12][13]

Career

2006–2010: Early career

In the first ten years of her professional acting career, Clifford became a prolific Off West End actress. In her first few years out of drama school, she was involved with Theatre503 in which she was involved the productions Without Laughing, Contraction, and Listening Out.[14] In March 2007, she acted in the play Not the End of the World at the Bristol Old Vic theatre.[15] Her first notable performance was playing Ismene in the Nottingham Playhouse production of Burial at Thebesat the Barbican which premiered in September 2007.[16][17]

In Summer 2008, she acted in a play called The Pendulum, written by her co-star Alexander Fiske-Harrison, at the Jermyn Street Theatre in the West End, which ran for the month of June,[18] and in the following month she took part in the annual Latitude Festival in the play Public Displays of Affection.[19] Clifford was in three theatre productions the next summer; in June she had a small role in a chamber opera titled Parthenogenesis at the Royal Opera House's Linbury Studio,[20] she co-starred in the Arcola Theatre play The Road to Mecca,[21][22] and she toured with the production Is Everyone Okay? which co-starred future Fleabag castmate Phoebe Waller-Bridge.[23][24]

2010–2016: Beauty and the Beast and success in theatre

Throughout September 2010, Clifford starred in the well-reviewed experimental theatre piece Pieces of Vincent at the Arcola Theatre.[25][26][27] For the rest of autumn 2010, she had a supporting role in the play Pains of Youth at the prestigious Royal National Theatre.[28][29] Finishing out the year, Clifford held the titular role in an original production of Beauty and the Beast, also at the Royal National Theatre. The production ran throughout the Christmas season and was critically successful.[30][31]

In 2014, she was one of the stars of the Nottingham Playhouse's production of Time and the Conways. Also that year, she took part in Good. Clean. Fun., a collection of short plays by Phoebe Waller-Bridge which included an early version of Clifford's Fleabag character Claire, as well as the Victorian-era play Fever at the Jermyn Street Theatre.[32][33]

During her career, Clifford has also participated in many workshops and readings for Off West End productions.[34] She has often collaborated with DryWrite and Nabakov theatre companies, theatre directors Vicky Jones (DryWrite), Lynsey Turner (Royal National theatre, Theatre503) and Andrew Steggall, and writer/actor Phoebe Waller-Bridge.[34]

2016–present: Fleabag and acting for television

In 2016, Clifford had her breakthrough screen acting role in Fleabag, as Claire, Fleabag's uptight older sister and character foil.

Clifford was part of the cast of the play Gloria, part of Hampstead Theatre's 2017 Season and the play's Off West End premiere.[35] In 2018, she had a recurring role in the ITV miniseries Vanity Fair and was in a production of Circle Mirror Transformation in Manchester.[36] Later that year she was part of the cast in the West End production of Consent at the Harold Pinter Theatre.[37][38]

Fleabag returned in 2019 to huge fanfare. Clifford's performance in the show was widely praised and she was nominated for the Emmy Award for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and the Critics' Choice Award for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance. She later won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance.

Following the second series of Fleabag, Clifford is set to star in many more film and television roles. She had a small role in the independent dark comedy film A Serial Killer's Guide to Life in 2019. In 2020, she had guest roles on the television shows Hitmen on Sky One and Liar. She starred opposite Matthew Macfadyen in the April 2020 miniseries Quiz, based on the 2001 Charles Ingram Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? scandal. Clifford will also co-star in the Sky comedy series Two Week to Live.[39]

Personal life

Clifford is a vegan and practises daily meditation.[40] In 2016, she launched a digital wellness and meditation platform called Still Space.[41]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes Refs.
2012 Dark Matters: Twisted But True Ida Thomas TV Series documentary (Episode: "Agent Orange, Ben Franklin") [42]
2013 Midsomer Murders PC Milton TV series (Episode: "Schooled in Murder") [42]
2014 Paddy Meg Short [43]
2016 – 2019 Fleabag Claire TV series (12 episodes) [44]
2017 Fry-Up Rosie Short [43]
2018 Dodgy Dave Stephanie Short [45]
2018 Vanity Fair Martha Crawley TV Miniseries (5 episodes) [46]
2018 White Lies Mum Short
2020 A Serial Killer's Guide to Life Cynthia [45]
2020 Hitmen The Accountant TV Series (Episode: "Money")
2020 Liar Ruby Allen TV Series (Episode: "2.5")
2020 Quiz Diana Ingram TV Miniseries (3 episodes) [44]
2020 The Duke Dr. Unsworth [47]
2020 Two Weeks to Live Tina Noakes TV Series (6 episodes)

References
  1. Gee, Catherine (24 September 2016). "Fleabag's sex scenes are the filthiest on TV. But the heartbreak makes it revolutionary". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  2. "Meet the cast of Vanity Fair". Radio Times. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  3. "7 Questions with… Sian Clifford and Michael Jibson: 'Quiz raises bigger questions than whether the Ingrams are guilty or not'". BT. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  4. "71st Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". Television Academy. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  5. "BAFTA TV 2020: Nominations for the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and British Academy TV Craft Awards". British Television Academy. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  6. "Critics' Choice Awards". Critics' Choice Association. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  7. Berrington, Katie. "How #MeToo Has Impacted This Summer's Most Topical Play". Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  8. Spencer, Charles (30 October 2009). "Pains of Youth at the National Theatre, review". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  9. Gardner, Lyn (29 June 2010). "The Road to Mecca | Theatre review". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  10. "Fleabag actress Sian Clifford on why this season packs a punch". Evening Standard. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  11. "Contact | Space Gallery St Barth". spacegallerystbarth.com. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  12. Broster, Alice (12 March 2019). "Who Is Sian Clifford? The 'Fleabag' Actress Has Conquered Stage & Screen, All While Running Her Own Website". Bustle. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  13. Fabrique. "Sian Clifford — RADA". www.rada.ac.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  14. "Credits". Monica Bertei British Actress and Voice-Over Artist. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  15. Mahoney, Elisabeth (21 March 2007). "Theatre review: Not the End of the World / Old Vic, Bristol". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  16. "Theatre review: The Burial at Thebes at Nottingham Playhouse". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  17. Billington, Michael (20 September 2007). "Theatre review: The Burial at Thebes / Pit, Barbican, London". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  18. Billington, Michael (9 June 2008). "Theatre review: The Pendulum / Jermyn Street Theatre, London". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  19. "Latitude 2008". nabokov. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  20. "Parthenogenesis at Linbury Studio Theatre - Opera". Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  21. Cavendish, Dominic (29 June 2010). "The Road to Mecca, Arcola theatre, London, review". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  22. Gardner, Lyn (29 June 2010). "The Road to Mecca | Theatre review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  23. "Is Everyone Okay?". Daily Info. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  24. "Is Everyone Ok?". nabokov. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  25. Billington, Michael (7 September 2010). "Pieces of Vincent | Theatre review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  26. Tripney, Natasha. "Pieces of Vincent review at Arcola London | Review | Theatre". The Stage. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  27. "Theatre Review: Pieces Of Vincent @ Arcola Theatre". Londonist. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  28. Theatre, National. "Pains of Youth at National Theatre, Cottesloe - West End".
  29. Callan, Paul (31 October 2009). "Pains Of Youth: National Theatre, London". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  30. Spencer, Charles (2 December 2010). "Beauty and the Beast, National Theatre, review". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  31. "Beauty and the Beast, National Theatre | reviews, news & interviews | The Arts Desk". theartsdesk.com. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  32. Day, Elizabeth (10 January 2016). "Foul-mouthed, frank, funny: generation rent finds its comic voice". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  33. Billington, Michael (17 June 2014). "Fever/District 6 review – insights into South Africa's past traumas". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  34. "Sian Clifford CV". United Agents. 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  35. "GLORIA". Hampstead Theatre. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  36. "Circle Mirror Transformation". HOME. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  37. Haynes, Natalie (29 May 2018). "Consent review – bracingly clever courtroom drama". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  38. "Consent at Harold Pinter Theatre | in the West End". www.nationaltheatre.org.uk. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  39. Clarke, Stewart (26 June 2019). "'Game of Thrones' Star Maisie Williams to Star in Sky Comedy 'Two Weeks to Live'". Variety. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  40. "My Fashion Life: Sian Clifford AW19". www.matchesfashion.com. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  41. "Still Space". Still Space. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  42. Rosenfeld, Laura (15 September 2016). "The 'Fleabag' Cast Is Just One Reason To Watch This Buzzy New Comedy". Bustle. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  43. "BBC Comedy confirms Bafta winning Fleabag will return to BBC Three in 2019". BBC. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  44. Blake, Meredith (20 September 2019). "'Fleabag' scene-stealer Sian Clifford's Emmy nod was 16 years in the making". LA Times. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  45. Heath, Paul (18 October 2019). "'A Serial Killer's Guide To Life' Set For January 2020 Release". The Hollywood News. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  46. Steafel, Eleanor (3 March 2019). "Fleabag's Sian Clifford: 'Phoebe and I really are like sisters'". Telegraph. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  47. "Sian Clifford". United Agents. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
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