Daughter of publisher and literary agent Roger Schlesinger, and niece of his siblings director John Schlesinger and actress Susan Maryott. Her mother, a stage manager, was a niece of Peggy Ashcroft, and is thought to be the sister of Margaret Ashcroft.
Great niece of Dame Peggy Ashcroft.
The romance of Jane Austen's novels were partly responsible for inspiring her to become an actress.
Left drama school in 1984.
Her first job was as a fairy and maids in Regents Park Open Air Theatre.
I love Jane Austen. I love all those romantic classical books - 'Little Women' and the books that you read as a child.
[on Northanger Abbey (1987)] I loved Catherine Morland. She's very direct and honest. She has no pretensions and admits to everything. She even admits to her own ignorance.
I like the sort of material that deals with emotions and relationships and all the odd subtleties of people.