Background
She was born Sheila Anne Syme Gash in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and made her stage debut with a repertory company.
She was born Sheila Anne Syme Gash in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and made her stage debut with a repertory company.
Royal Academy of Dramatic Artist
Her film appearances included a A Day in the of Joe Egg (1972), Quartet (1981), Highlander (1986) and Mansfield Park (1999) On television, she starred in the 1969 British Broadcasting Corporation series The First Churchills, the 1992 television miniseries of Danielle Steel"s Jewels and the short-lived Independent Television sitcom Brighton Belles (1993-1994). 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.
In 1999 she played Mission 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.
Gish also appeared in many television dramas, from The First Churchills (in which she played Mary of Modena) to the successful adaptation of Love in a Cold Climate (2001) in which she played the eccentric and outrageous Lady Montdore. She also appeared in an episode of The Sweeney in 1975 as June Boyse, a villain"s wife.
Gish occasionally appeared in films, her most notable performances being in A Day in the of Joe Egg (1972), Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973), the Merchant-Ivory film Quartet (1981), Merisairas (1996), and as Mrs Norris in Jane Austen"s Mansfield Park (1999).
She is also known for her appearance as Rachel Ellenstein in the 1986 film Highlander and its 2000 sequel Highlander: Endgame. In 2003 she lost her right eye to skin cancer. She died of cancer in 2005 in Camden, London.
Her final performance was for British Broadcasting Corporation Radio.
Her daughter, Lou, also died of cancer less than a year after her mother.