The chemotherapy was very peculiar, something that makes you feel much worse than the cancer itself, a very nasty thing. I used to go to treatment on my own, and nearly everybody else was with somebody. I wouldn't have liked that. Why would you want to make anybody sit in those places?

She married actor Robert Stephens on 29 June 1967 at Greenwich Register Office ten days after their first child was born. She has older twin brothers Alistair and Ian who went to architecture school. She appeared in a 1954 BBC television programme Oxford Accents produced by the late Ned Sherrin.

She has won numerous awards for acting both for the stage and for film including seven BAFTA Awards (five competitive awards and two special awards including the BAFTA Fellowship in 1996) two Academy Awards three Golden Globes three Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. She has had an extensive career both on screen and in live theatre and is known as one of Britain's preeminent actors.