Fiona Shaw was born on July 10, 1958, in County Cork, Ireland. She attended secondary school at Scoil Mhuire in Cork City and then earned a degree from University College Cork. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London and was part of the contingent of actors who came out of the college and were considered a "new wave." While Fiona is primarily a product of the stage, she has worked extensively in front of the camera with appearances in "My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown" (1989), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (2010), The Black Dahlia (2006), and HBO's True Blood (2008).