became known to a large international audience when she played Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter films, but connoisseurs mark her as one of the finest classical actors and directors of her generation. Fiona Shaw studied philosophy before joining the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She played many of the great female roles on stage: she was Celia in As You Like It (1984), Madame de Volanges in Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1985), Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew (1987), and Winnie in Happy Days (2007). She played the lead roles in Electra (1988), Hedda Gabler (1991), and Medea (2000). On television and on film, she appeared in Persuasion, Jane Eyre, and Anna Karenina, among other productions. In 2008, she directed her first opera, Riders to the Sea by Vaughan Williams. Shaw received an honorary CBE, as well as four Olivier Awards for Best Actress.