Sheila Mercier

Who is Sheila Mercier?

Sheila Mercier is an English actress and the elder sister of actor Brian Rix. She was born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.

After education at the French Convent, Hull and Hunmanby Hall, East Riding of Yorkshire, she trained for the stage at the Stratford-upon-Avon College of Drama. Mercier had a long career on stage before her television career. Donald Wolfit had talent spotted her and she toured with Wolfit's own Shakespeare company in 1939. During the Second World War she joined the WAAF division of the Royal Air Force, eventually becoming adjutant. Mercier appeared in supporting roles in a handful of films, and the television series Dial RIX alongside her husband, Peter Mercier.

She is best known for her role as the matriarch Annie Sugden in the long-running British soap opera Emmerdale. She appeared from the very first episode in 1972 and appeared as a main cast member until 1994 with rare occasional appearances since, notably for on-screen son Joe's funeral in June 1995, along with screen husband Amos Brearly. Aged 89, Mercier appeared in a special programme dedicated to Emmerdale's 5,000th episode, where members of the cast were interviewed.