Francesca Annis (born May 14, 1944) is an English actress, particularly well known for her film and television appearances, most recently the BBC Television series Wives and Daughters and Deceit. She is dating Ralph Fiennes.

Francesca Annis began acting professionally in her teens, and made her film debut in the 1950s. In 1967 she played Estella in a television adaptation of Great Expectations. She also presented children's television programmes. While becoming an increasingly well known face on screen, she enjoyed a successful stage career, playing many leading roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her performance as Lady Macbeth in Roman Polanski's controversial 1971 film of Macbeth gained her notoriety. She continued to be a leading television actress throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, appearing in series such as Edward the Seventh (as Lillie Langtry, a role she reprised in Lillie (1978)), Madame Bovary and Parnell and the Englishwoman, in which she played Kitty O'Shea. Her films have included Dune (1984).

External links