Pygmalion (1938)	Born in Bramhall, Cheshire, England, the daughter of Frank Watkin and Marie (née Hiller). She was educated at Winceby House School, Bexhill, then moved on to the Manchester Repertory Theatre. She appeared on stage in Sir John Barry's tour of Evensong, then as Sally Hardcastle in Love on the Dole, adapted from the Walter Greenwood novel by her future husband Ronald Gow. When the play began its successful 1935 London run, she was brought to the attention of playwright George Bernard Shaw who, noting something special in the actress, became her mentor and friend. Following her 1936 Broadway debut in the play, Hiller appeared at the Malvern Festival honoring Shaw's 80th birthday, taking leading parts in Shaw's Pygmalion and Saint Joan with only six rehearsals for each show. In relatively few film roles. Hiller was outstanding in PYGMALION (1938), opposite Leslie Howard and only her second film role, and in her third film, another Shaw adaptation, MAJOR BARBARA (1941).
Major Barbara (1941)	Possessing a beautiful speaking voice and a uniquely crisp brand of charm, Hiller showed an early preference for appearing plainly, forsaking make-up and fancy costumes to specialize in characters withered by frustration and emotional deprivation. She played The Heiress on Broadway in 1947, the dowdy role that would win Olivia de Havilland an Oscar two years later. Her own Oscar-winning supporting turn as a dejected, lonely woman in SEPARATE TABLES (1958) and an Oscar-nominated part as Sir Thomas More's alienated wife in A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966) were also in this vein, as was her Gunhild Borkman in Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman on the London boards in 1975. Unlike her fellow 'dames' of the English stage, Hiller essayed relatively few Shakespearean roles: the 1955-56 season with London's Old Vic Company under the direction of Tyrone Guthrie, a tour of UK factory centers as Viola in Twelfth Night (1943), Portia in The Merchant of Venice (1946) and the Duchess of York in a TV presentation of "Richard II" (PBS, 1979).
A Man for All Seasons (1966)	At a glance there is very little to connect the young Hiller of Love on the Dole and the Shaw plays with the grande dame familiar to spectators of later years. She made an early transition to age and dignity, playing Queen Mary in Royce Ryton's Crown Matrimonial on the London stage in 1972, and has appeared frequently on the small screen, portraying such characters as Janet Mackenzie in "Witness for the Prosecution" (CBS, 1982), Lady Bracknell in "The Importance of Being Earnest" (PBS, 1985) and Princess Victoria in "Lord Mountbatten: The Last Victory" (PBS, 1986). She was back on the London stage in 1988 in the title role of Driving Miss Daisy and several years later returned to Shaw, this time as Dame Laurentia McLachlan, his long-time friend and spiritual advisor, in "The Best of Friends" (PBS, 1992), co-starring John Gielgud (as Sir Sydney Cockerell) and Patrick McGoohan (as Shaw). For the young actress who had gone onstage at Malvern as Saint Joan after only six days' rehearsal in a vacant swimming bath under the author's watchful eye, the world had come full circle. The following year, she acted in "The Countess Alice" and "Ending Up", both airing on PBS. Other notable film credits include I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING! (1945), SONS AND LOVERS (1960), TOYS IN THE ATTIC (1963), MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (1974), VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED (1976), THE CAT AND THE CANARY (1979), THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980), MISS MORISON'S GHOSTS (1981), MAKING LOVE (1982), ATTRACTA (1983) and THE COUNTESS ALICE (1992). She was made an Officer ot the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1971, and a Dame of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1975. Married to writer Ronald Gow from 1937 until his death in 1993.  Nominated for Actress 1938: PYGMALION  Supporting Actress 1958: SEPARATE TABLES  Nominated for Actress 1966: A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS 3 nominations, 1 Award