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Sarah Miles (born 31 December 1941) is an English actress. She is known for her roles in films '' The Servant'' (1963), '' Blowup'' (1966), '' Ryan's Daughter'' (1970), '' The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'' (1973), '' White Mischief'' (1987) and '' Hope and Glory'' (1987). For her performance in ''Ryan's Daughter'', Miles received a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. ...
.


Early life

Sarah Miles was born in Ingatestone, Essex, in
south east England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshi ...
; her brother is film director, producer, and screenwriter Christopher Miles. Miles's parents were Clarice Vera Remnant and John Miles, of a family of engineers; her father's inability to secure a divorce from his first wife meant Miles and her siblings were illegitimate. Through her maternal grandfather Francis Remnant, Miles claims to be the great-granddaughter of Prince Francis of Teck (1870–1910), thus a second cousin once removed of
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
.Sarah Miles, ''A Right Royal Bastard'' (1993), p. 20: "Clarice... the eldest child of Francis (Frank) Remnant, bastard son of Prince Francis of Teck, Queen Mary's brother. Sexy old Frank, as he was known, came over when Mary married Prince George, who became
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Q ...
, and had a cuddle with the seamstress in the White Lodge at Richmond."
Unable to speak until the age of nine because of a stammerBarry Ega
"I can't wait to get off this planet"
''The Independent'' (Ireland), 16 September 200

13 April 2010
and dyslexia,Lynn Barbe

''The Independent'', 12 July 1992
she attended Roedean and three other schools but was expelled from all of them. Miles enrolled at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...
(RADA) at the age of 15.


Career


Early career

Shortly after finishing at RADA, Miles performed in "Manhunt" an episode of the TV series '' Deadline Midnight''. Her film debut was as Shirley Taylor, a "husky wide-eyed nymphet"David Thomson ''A New Biographical Dictionary of Film'', London: Little Brown, 2002, p.594 in '' Term of Trial'' (1962), which featured
Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage o ...
; she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer. Miles appeared in ''The Rehearsal'' (1963) for TV and then played Vera from Manchester in Joseph Losey's '' The Servant'' (1963), and "thrust sexual appetite into British films" according to David Thomson. Miles was in a short directed by her brother, ''The Six-Sided Triangle'' (1963) and a feature film directed by and starring Laurence Harvey, '' The Ceremony'' (1963). She did '' Ring Round the Moon'' (1964) for TV. 16 June 1965 saw the release of Ken Annakin's '' Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines,'' a British period
comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...
revolving around the craze of early aviation circa 1910. A pompous newspaper magnate ( Robert Morley) is convinced, by his daughter (Miles) and her fiancé ( James Fox), to organize an air race from London to Paris. A large sum of money is offered to the winner, hence it attracts a variety of characters who participate. The film received positive reviews, described as funny, colourful and clever, capturing the early enthusiasm for aviation. She was in ''
Time Lost and Time Remembered ''I Was Happy Here'' is a 1966 drama film directed by Desmond Davis. The film won three awards at the 1966 San Sebastián International Film Festival. The film was released in the U.S. as ''Time Lost and Time Remembered''. Plot Cass follows the ...
'' (1966), directed by Desmond Davis. In 1966, Miles gained another BAFTA nomination, this time as Best Actress. She had a "peripheral" part in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Blowup''. At Antonioni's death in 2007, she referred to him as "a rogue and a tyrant and a brilliant man".


Robert Bolt

After acting in several plays from 1966 to 1969, Miles was cast as Rosy in the leading title role of
David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics '' The Bridge on the Rive ...
's '' Ryan's Daughter'' (1970). It was critically savaged, which discouraged Lean from making a film for some years, despite Miles's performance gaining her an Oscar nomination and an Oscar win for John Mills, and the film making a substantial profit. In Terence Pettigrew's biography of Trevor Howard, Miles describes the filming of ''Ryan's Daughter'' in Ireland in 1969. She recalls, "My main memory is of sitting on a hilltop in a caravan at six in the morning in the rain. There was no other actor or member of the crew around me. I would sit there getting mad, waiting for either the rain to stop or someone to arrive. Film-acting is so horrifically belittling." Miles would marry the film's screenwriter, Robert Bolt. He wrote and directed '' Lady Caroline Lamb'' (1972) starring Miles in the title role. She then appeared in ''
The Hireling ''The Hireling'' is a 1973 British drama film directed by Alan Bridges, based on a 1957 novel of the same title by L. P. Hartley, which starred Robert Shaw and Sarah Miles. It tells the story of a chauffeur who falls in love with an aristoc ...
'' (1973). On 11 February 1973, while filming '' The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'', aspiring screenwriter
David Whiting David Andrew Whiting (August 1946February 11, 1973) was an American writer and personal manager who died in unusual circumstances. After becoming the youngest correspondent hired by '' Time'', he turned to working in the film industry, where he e ...
, briefly one of her lovers, was found dead in her motel room. She was acquitted of culpability in his death.Ron Rosenbaum, "The Corpse as Big as the Ritz", ''The Secret Parts of Fortune'' (reprinted from ''Esquire'') Miles later commented: "It went on for six months. Murder? Suicide? Murder! Suicide! Murder! Suicide! And, gradually, the truth came out, which I'm not going to speak about, but it certainly wasn't me. I had actually saved the man from three suicide attempts, so why would I want to murder him? I really can't imagine." This led to the end of her first marriage to Bolt.


Television

Miles starred in some TV movies: '' Great Expectations'' (1974), '' Requiem for a Nun'' (1975), and ''
Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
'' (1976) as well as the Spanish film '' Bride to Be'' (1975). Her performance as Anne Osborne in '' The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea'' (1976) was nominated for a
Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
. Miles appeared in '' The Big Sleep'' (1978), ''
Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a ...
'' (1981), ''
Walter and June ''Walter'' is a British television drama directed by Stephen Frears and starring Ian McKellen, Barbara Jefford, Tony Melody, David Ryall, Keith Allen, Paula Tilbrook, and Jim Broadbent. It was first broadcast on the launch night of Channe ...
'' (1983), '' Ordeal by Innocence'' (1984), '' Steaming'' (1985), ''
Harem Harem ( Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A har ...
'' (1986) and ''
Queenie Queenie may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Queenie'' (film), a 1921 American silent drama film *Queenie (Melbourne elephant), an elephant at Melbourne Zoo *Queenie (waterskiing elephant) *''Queenie'', a 1985 novel by Michael Korda ** ''Queeni ...
'' (1987). She received great acclaim for ''Hope and Glory''. Interviewer Lynn Barber wrote of Miles' appearances in '' Hope and Glory'', '' White Mischief'', and her two earliest films that she "has that Vanessa Redgrave quality of seeming to have one skin fewer than normal people, so that the emotion comes over unmuffled and bare." Filming ''White Mischief'' on location in
Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
in 1987, Miles worked for the second and last time with Trevor Howard, who had a supporting role, but was by then seriously ill from alcoholism. The company wanted to fire him, but Miles was determined that Howard's distinguished film career would not end that way. In an interview with Terence Pettigrew for his biography of Howard, she describes how she gave an ultimatum to the executives, threatening to quit the production if they got rid of him. The gamble worked. Howard was kept on. It was his last major film; he died the following January.


Later career

She appeared in ''
A Ghost in Monte Carlo ''A Ghost in Monte Carlo'' is a 1951 novel by Barbara Cartland. It was the gayest season Monte Carlo had ever known, Mademoiselle Fantôme was causing a sensation. Who was the exquisite "ghost", with her shining golden hair and dreaming dark e ...
'' (1990), '' The Touch'' (1992), '' Dandelion Dead'' (1994), ''Jurij'' (2001) and ''The Accidental Detective'' (2004). She most recently (2008) appeared in ''
Well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. T ...
'' at the Trafalgar Studios and the
Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.
opposite Natalie Casey.


Personal life

Miles was married twice to the British playwright Robert Bolt, 1967–1975 and 1988–1995. He wrote and directed the film '' Lady Caroline Lamb'', in which Miles played the eponymous heroine, and wrote '' Ryan's Daughter'', as well. After his stroke, the couple reunited and Miles cared for him. "I would be dead without her", Bolt said in 1987, "When she's away, my life takes a nosedive. When she returns, my life soars." The couple had a son. Miles stated, in 2007, that she had been drinking her own urine for 30 years for health reasons. In 2016, she reported that she had written a sequel to ''Ryan's Daughter''.


Filmography


Television


Books

Sarah Miles has written the following books: * * * *


Other work

In 1995, Miles was one of the readers of Edward Lear poems on a specially made spoken word audio CD bringing together a collection of Lear's nonsense songs.


References


External links

*
Interview with Sarah Miles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miles, Sarah 1941 births Living people Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English film actresses English stage actresses People educated at Roedean School, East Sussex People from Ingatestone 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses