ROSEMARY HARRIS (Mrs. Higgins) was born in England, but brought up in India. She graduated from Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts with the Brancroft Gold Medal, when she was directed by Mary Duff in Heiress.

Her first job in the London theater was understudying and looking after Nellie the greyhound, in The Gay Dog at the Picadilly Theatre. She then made her London debut in the Seven Year Itch, having already starred in Moss Hart's Climate of Eden on Broadway. Following a season at the Bristol Old Vic playing Elizabeth Proctor in the British premiere of The Crucible, she joined the London Old Vic to play Desdemona opposite Richard Burton in Othello and followed that by playing Cressida in Tyrone Guthrie's production of Troilus and Cressida.

In 1962, she appeared in Laurence Olivier's Company at the Chichester Festival Theatre for their first season of The Broken Heart and Chances and returned the following year for Uncle Vanya. In 1964 she joined the National Theatre to play Ophelia, opposite Peter O'Toole in Laurence Olivier's inaugural production of Hamlet. In 1967, she created the part of Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter on Broadway, for which she won a Tony award. In 1969, she was awarded the Evening Standard Award for best actress for her performance in Plaza Suite. In 1970, Rosemary appeared opposite Jack Lemmon in Idiot's Delight at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. In 1987, she appeared in The Best of Friends at the Apollo Theatre co-starring Sir John Gielgud and Ray McNally, and in 1989 in Steel Magnolias with Miranda Richardson at the Lyric. Most recently, she starred in Waiting in the Wings on Broadway with Lauren Bacall and was nominated for a Tony Award.

Her numerous television credits include Notorious Woman, in which she played George Sand, for which she was awarded an Emmy for Best Actress. She was awarded a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Berte Weiss in Holocaust. She also starred in Summer Day's Dream with Sir John Gielgud, directed by Christopher Morahan.

Her films include The Boys from Brazil, Beau Brummel, A Flea in Her Ear, The Ploughman's Lunch, Tom and Viv (for which she was nominated for an Oscar), Sunshine, The Gift, and Spider-Man.

Harris lectures at Oxford University and is married to the novelist John Ehle and they have a daughter, Jennifer, who is also an actress.