She had an eye removed because of a cancerous tumour on her face in
2003
She and Roland Curram's two daughters, Kay Curram and Lou Gish, also became actresses. Lou died of cancer less than a year after her mother at the age of 38.
She spent her earliest years in the Sudan and Egypt before being sent
to the Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army in Bath.
She won a Laurence Olivier Theatre award in 1996 (1995 season) for Best
Supporting Performance in a Musical for her performance in "Company" at
the Donmar Warehouse.