Irish actress Fiona Shaw is most renowned for her stage work, particularly her classical roles. She has gained the greatest exposure, however, for her recurring role as Aunt Petunia in the wildly successful Harry Potter franchise.

Fiona Mary Wilson, known popularly as Fiona Shaw, was born July 10, 1958 in County Cork, Republic of Ireland. Her parents practiced different religions, but she was raised Catholic. Her father was a practicing eye surgeon, while her mother was a physicist.

Shaw obtained her initial education from Scoil Mhuire Secondary School, while she went on to pursue her degree at University College Cork.

Deciding she wanted to act professionally, she then studied her craft at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art located in London, England.

Her first notable stage role was in 1983 with a production of The Rivals. She received considerable praise from the critics for her comedic turn as Julia.

The following year, she had another successful role in William Shakespeare’s As You Like It followed by Les Liaisons Dangereuses and The Taming of the Shrew. In 1996, she won a great deal of acclaim for her one woman show in which she performed TS Eliot’s poetry masterpiece The Wasteland.

1984 was the beginning of her onscreen career as she appeared in The Man Who Shot Christmas opposite Jim Broadbent.

Her next notable role was beside Daniel Day Lewis in his first Oscar win for My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown. Brenda Fricker also starred.

She also took a controversial step by playing the lead in 1997’s Richard II.

But it was 2001 that truly introduced Shaw to the general public. In this year, she landed the role of Aunt Petunia Dursley in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. She reprised her role in 2002, 2004, and 2007. In each film, she shared the screen with Daniel Radcliffe, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson.

Shaw is also noted for appearing in Brian De Palma’s 2006 crime drama The Black Dahlia. The star-studded cast also featured Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, and Mia Kirshner.

She is currently filming Tree of Life, which is set to star Brad Pitt and Sean Penn.

In her personal life, Shaw has been linked to fellow actress Saffron Burrows. Although neither Burrows nor Shaw have confirmed or denied these claims, it is known that they live together in Thaxted, England.

They also worked together in The PowerBook, an adaptation of Jeanette Winterson’s novel. In the play, they appeared as lovers.