Olivia was born in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe, but she also lived in Stoke-on-Trent, Preston, and Cambridge as a child.

She trained at New College of Speech and Drama in London and continued her life in London until recently when she and her husband bought a home in Long Melford, where she spends many happy hours in the garden. She is delighted to be making her debut at the beautiful Theatre Royal, now her local theatre.

Earlier this year, Olivia played the titular role of Agatha in a new play at the Pleasance Theatre, London. Other stage highlights include Pat and Margaret (New Vic, Staffs), Cinderella (Library Theatre, Manchester), Life After George (Duchess Theatre), and Man in the Middle (Theatre 503). She spent ten years as a regular at Polka Theatre where she appeared in many shows, including The Wizard of Oz, The Giant’s Baby, Charlotte’s Web, The Odyssey and the award-winning Yoshi and the Teakettle.

Her TV credits include Life (BBC), Killing Eve (BBC), Pennyworth (Warner Horizon), the recent TV series of Four Weddings and a Funeral (Hulu/MGM), Coronation Street (ITV), Emmerdale (ITV), Eastenders (BBC), Doctors (BBC), the BBC TV film Joe’s Palace, two series of Cutting It (BBC) and In a Land of Plenty (BBC).

She played David Bowie’s mother in the recent feature film Stardust and she is the co-founder of the educational drama company Teach-it-through-drama.

Olivia is not good at keeping secrets, but she secretly believes that any setbacks she has encountered in her life have always turned out for the best, even though that may be hidden at the time.