Yahoo News 'Killing Eve' star Fiona Shaw: It was a shock to discover I am gay
Killing Eve star Fiona Shaw has confessed she was shocked and “full of self-hatred” when she first realised she was gay.
The 60-year-old actress - who is married to 56-year-old economist Sonali Deraniyagala - revealed she dated men for several years before discovering her sexuality - which came as a surprise to herself.
Shaw told the Big Issue: “I wasn’t in any way gay until I was. One goes on developing. As a teenager, I was very modest in my romantic life.
Read more: Fiona Shaw: I can’t wait until a new generation is in charge
“I had this wonderful boyfriend, then another, then later I became gay. It was a shock. I was full of self-hatred and thought I would come back into the fold shortly. But I just didn’t.”
The Harry Potter star - who played the boy wizard’s aunt Petunia Dursley in the hit franchise - said she would now tell her younger self, “You must be very gentle on yourself’ and that ‘you are not in control of those aspects of yourself and you mustn’t try to be.”
Shaw was introduced to her Sri Lankan wife Dr Deraniyagala after reading her memoir, Wave, which details how she lost her entire family in the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami.
Read more: Fiona Shaw Is More Than Happy With Being The Boss In Killing Eve
The Fleabag actress said earlier this year: “I married and that calms you down. I didn’t really have a domestic life because I was always working. But I do have one now, which I love.”
Shaw was previously in a relationship with Mozart In The Jungle star Saffron Burrows. The 46-year-old actress now has two children with her wife Alison Balian who she married in 2013.
