Marcia was born on 26 November 1943 and trained as an actress at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1963. From there on she took the path of many of her performing contemporaries, acting in repertory throughout the country - beginning as a assistant stage manager in 'David Copperfield' in Salisbury. By 1964 she was playing in the West End, picking up an Olivier award as best supporting actress for the play 'Stepping Out' - and garnering another in 2002 for her role in 'Humble Boy'. Deprecatingly she claims that she could never have been a leading lady because she has "a funny face" but has delighted in television comedy in a variety of roles from 'No Place Like Home' in 1986 to 'Vicious' in the 2010s, stealing whole scenes as an extremely foul-mouthed old lady.