Phipps was born out of wedlock[2] to Elizabeth Maude in Marylebone, London, England,[1] and "kind of tucked away," said a long-time friend.
[5] Her other performances included work at the Stratford Festival in The Winter's Tale,[6] St. Lawrence Center in Mother Courage,[7] Theatre Calgary in The Entertainer,[4] the Vancouver Playhouse in The Glass Menagerie[8] and the National Arts Centre in A Touch of the Poet and Mrs. Warren's Profession.
[9] On television, Phipps appeared in The Fifth Season (1955), Coming of Age (1993) and Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (2008).
[1] Phipps' debut performance in the Stratford Festival in 1969 led to her winning the Tyrone Guthrie Award.
[11] In 1977, Phipps won an award from the Montreal Star for her acting,[7] and in 1983, she received a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role – Play for her performance in Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto.