Sharon Morgan (born 29 August 1949) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

of stage and screen, currently based in Cardiff. She was brought up in the village of Llandyfaelog. She is best known for her work within the Welsh film and television industries and has been the recipient of three BAFTA Cymru awards.

Personal life

Morgan grew up in

Glanamman Glanamman ( cy, Glanaman) is a Welsh mining village in the valley of the River Amman in Carmarthenshire. Glanamman has long been a stronghold of the Welsh language; village life is largely conducted in Welsh. Like the neighbouring village of Gar ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known ...

, the daughter of a headmaster and a drama teacher. In her youth she didn't believe she could succeed as an actress, but states that her parents always supported her career choice. As a back up to her desired acting career, Morgan studied an

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

history course at

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

in the 1960s, before training to be a stage actress. Morgan has two children, Stephan (born 1979/1980) and Saran (born 1995/1996) and spent the largest part of her acting career juggling her work and life as a single parent. Speaking of her difficult home/work balance Morgan elaborates that "You manage with the help of friends. You find a way". A

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

campaigner, Morgan was arrested in 1988 for daubing paint on the Welsh Office. The actress was afraid that this criminal conviction may have precluded her from gaining a US Visa to film '' Torchwood'' in Los Angeles. Morgan is trilingual, speaking Welsh – her mother tongue – English and French. Morgan is an advocate for remaining active in old age, and cites fellow actress

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdo ...

as an inspiration to older women.

Career

Since beginning her acting career in the 1970s, Morgan has appeared in a variety of TV series, films and stage productions in both the English and Welsh languages. Welsh Newspaper the ''Western Mail'' referred to her as "one of the most respected actors of her generation." Notable roles include her portrayal of Professor Margaret Edwards in '' A Mind to Kill'' between 1994 and 2002, and portraying Stella Craven in '' Mine All Mine'', (2004) written by Russell T Davies. Amongst Morgan's other screen credits are a regular lead role in the BBC drama series Belonging, as well as a semi-regular role in ''Doctors'' and appearances in other UK television shows such as ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...

'', '' Casualty'', ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based ...

'', '' Caerdydd'', ''

Pobol y Cwm ''Pobol y Cwm'' (''People of the Valley''; ) is a Welsh-language soap opera produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, ''Pobol y Cwm'' was originally transmitted on BBC One Wales an ...

'' and ''

Alys Alys is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Alys, Countess of the Vexin (c. 1160–1220), French princess * Alys Clare (born 1944), English historical novelist * Alys Faiz (1914–2003), Pakistani poet, writer, journalist ...

''. In 2002 Morgan appeared as Kath, a frustrated middle-aged housewife in the Cardiff-shot comedy short ''Pleasure Pill''. She played the lead role of Martha in the 2008

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

drama ''Martha, Jac a Sianco'' which she describes as a "culturally important film" that serves as "a strong and sensitive portrayal of agricultural life in Wales". Morgan's portrayal of Martha won her her second BAFTA Cymru award for best actress (having previously won one for her performance in ''Tair Chwaer'' 998. Morgan has also achieved prominence through her role in '' Torchwood'' as Mary Cooper, the mother of principal character Gwen Cooper. Morgan first appeared in the episode "

Something Borrowed Something may refer to: Philosophy and language *Something (concept) *Something, an English indefinite pronoun Music Albums *Something (Chairlift album), ''Something'' (Chairlift album), 2012 *Something (Shirley Bassey album), ''Something'' ...

" in the second series (2008), and returned for six episodes of the show's fourth series, '' Torchwood: Miracle Day'' (2011). Later in 2011, Morgan starred as Maggie Jones in ''

Resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

'', an adaptation of the novel of the same name by

Owen Sheers Owen Sheers (born 20 September 1974) is a Welsh poet, author, playwright and television presenter. He was the first writer in residence to be appointed by any national rugby union team. Early life Owen Sheers was born in Suva, Fiji in 1974, and ...

. Morgan's work on ''Resistance'' earned her a further best actress nomination at the 21st BAFTA Cymru awards; she went on to win the award in a ceremony held on 30 September 2012. In September 2012 Morgan joined the cast of the fifth series of '' Hollyoaks Later'', playing Nana Flo. She will also star in the upcoming U.S drama series '' Da Vinci's Demons'' as Sister Albina. In addition to her screen career, Morgan is also an established stage actress and dramatist who has also translated plays, including the '' Vagina Monologues'', into the Welsh language. Her stage acting roles include the National Theatre Wales production ''A Good night out in the Valleys'' which was first performed in 2010.

Selected filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Sharon 1949 births Living people Alumni of Cardiff University Welsh language activists Welsh stage actresses Welsh television actresses Welsh soap opera actresses People from Carmarthenshire