Morag Siller (1 November 1969 – 15 April 2016) was a Scottish actress,

voice artist Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

, and

radio personality A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a rad ...

. Siller died of breast cancer aged 46.

Biography

Early life and education

Siller was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland, and was adopted at the age of three with her twin brother. While in school, she initially wanted to be a pianist but realised she would probably never be able to do it as a profession. Her attention then turned to becoming a policewoman but discovered she couldn’t apply as she was an inch shy of the department's height requirement of 5'4". During her school years, she had appeared in plays, but only as an excuse to get out of classes. She attended the Edinburgh Acting School part-time, until she moved to London at the age of 18. She attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School followed by a postgraduate degree at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...

. While still in school, she landed a small part in the David Puttnam film '' Memphis Belle''.

Acting career

Since 1992 Siller has performed in films,

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

theatre, television, and radio. She has also appeared in numerous television commercials and pop videos, including Morrissey,

Holly Johnson William Holly Johnson (born 9 February 1960) is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he was ...

Thompson Twins Thompson Twins were a British pop band formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the mid-1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Ki ...

and

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

. In 2000 she fulfilled an ambition by writing and co-directing a comedy sketch show, ''The Brushed Forward Arrangement.'' She created semi-regular roles on television, such as Flora Kilwillie in '' Monarch of the Glen'', Marilyn Dingle in ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffa ...

'' and Leona in '' Casualty'', (for which she won AOL's award for Best Dramatic Performance in a Television Series in 2000). She performed in two musicals, ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'' and ''

Mamma Mia! Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent *Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlemen ...

''. She also played Karen alongside

Maureen Lipman Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakesp ...

and

Anne Reid Anne Reid, MBE (born 28 May 1935) is a British stage, film and television actress, known for her roles as Valerie Barlow in the soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (1961–1971); Jean in the sitcom '' dinnerladies'' (1998–2000); and her ro ...

in the ITV comedy drama, '' Ladies of Letters''.

Personal life

In May 2005 Morag married her long term partner, classical musician Tim Nicholson. The couple lived in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

, England. She had no children.

Credits

Theatre

TV

Film

References

Content source

External links

Morag Siller's official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Siller, Morag 1969 births 2016 deaths Actresses from Edinburgh Scottish film actresses Scottish child actresses Scottish television actresses Scottish voice actresses Scottish radio presenters Scottish women radio presenters Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Actresses from Manchester