Gabrielle Anwar

Gabrielle Anwar is a British‑American actress whose career spans over three decades, beginning in mid‑1980s British television and evolving into a recognizable presence in Hollywood film and prime‑time series. Born on 4 February 1970 in Laleham, Surrey, England, she is the daughter of actress Shirley Hills and film producer‑editor Tariq Anwar, and she inherited a richly multicultural heritage that includes Austrian Jewish and Indian Muslim ancestry. After attending Laleham C of E Primary and Middle School, she honed her performance skills at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, where she studied drama and dance, laying the groundwork for her future screen work. Anwar made her screen debut in the 1986 British miniseries Hideaway and soon appeared in Paul McCartney’s music video “Pretty Little Head,” before landing her first film role in Manifesto (1988). Her breakout Hollywood moment came with the 1991 family drama Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken and was cemented by the iconic tango scene with Al Pacino in the 1992 Academy Award‑winning film Scent of a Woman. Throughout the 1990s she added genre staples such as Body Snatchers and For Love or Money to her résumé, while also maintaining a steady television presence in series like Press Gang and a guest spot on Beverly Hills, 90210. In the new millennium Anwar demonstrated her versatility by portraying Princess Margaret Tudor in The Tudors and, most prominently, the resourceful former operative Fiona Glenanne in the popular USA Network series Burn Notice (2007‑2013). Later roles included Eva Sintzel in a 2008 episode of Law & Order: SVU and the wicked step‑mother Lady Tremaine in the seventh season of Once Upon a Time. Beyond acting, she has been recognized for her beauty, appearing on People’s “50 Most Beautiful People” list in 1994, and she became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2008. Today she continues to work in film and television while residing in Palm Island, Florida, with her husband Shareef Malnik and their three children.