Dame Eileen Atkins was born in a Salvation Army Women’s Hostel in north London. Her father was a gas meter reader, and her mother a seamstress and barmaid. A drama teacher helped her drop her Cockney accent, and she studied Shakespeare and Greek tragedies. Her breakthrough role in “The Killing of Sister George” took her to Broadway. She is a breast cancer survivor and co-created “Upstairs, Downstairs.” She was awarded the CBE in 1990 and DBE in 2001 for her services to drama and won the 1992 London Critics Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress.