Childhood: Sher was born to wealthy Jewish parents and was brought up in Sea Point outside Cape Town. His family had fled eastern Europe at the turn of the century. Sher had elocution lessons with Esther Kaplan and he lost his South African accent. She introduced him to the plays of Beckett, Pinter, and Wesker.

Education: Sher moved to London in 1968 to train as an actor and studied at the Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. Sher had a relationship with an American girl and briefly married another as a way of being "normal" however he performed for the theatre group Gay Sweatshop (Thinking Straight, (1975); The Fork, (1976); Stone, (1976)) and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982. Sher achieved fame through his portrayal of the predatory heterosexual lecturer in the TV adaptation of The History Man and was also acclaimed for his role as Richard III.

Performances: Thinking Straight,1975, theatre acting role for Gay Sweatshop. Teeth 'n' Smiles, 1975, theatre acting ole. The Fork,1976, theatre acting role for Gay Sweatshop. Stone,1976, theatre acting role for Gay Sweatshop. The History Man, 1982, lead film acting role. King Lear, 1982, theatre acting role as the Fool for the RSC. Tartuffe, 1982, theatre acting role for the RSC. Richard III, 1984, lead theatre acting role with the RSC. Received the Best Actor Olivier Award. The Merchant of Venice, 1987, theatre acting role as Shylock for the RSC. Twelfth Night, 1987, theatre acting role as Malvolio for the RSC. The Revenger's Tragedy, 1987, theatre acting role as Vindice for the RSC.Singer, 1990, theatre acting role for the RSC. Travesties, 1993, theatre acting role as Henry Carr for the RSC. Tamburlaine the Great, 1994, lead theatre acting role with the RSC. Alive and Kicking, film acting role as a gay character. Stanley, 1996, theatre acting role. Received the Best Actor Olivier Award. Mrs Brown, film acting role as Disraeli. Cyrano de Bergerac, 1997, theatre acting role for the RSC. The Winter's Tale, 1998, theatre acting role as Leontes for the RSC. Macbeth, 1999/2000, theatre acting role with the RSC.

Writing: The Year of the King, 1985, a book in which he describes his work on Richard III. Middlepost, 1988, a novel, published by Chatto & Windus, 379 pages. The novel is set in South Africa in 1902 and contains five illustrations by Antony Sher. Characters: Paintings, Drawings and Sketches, 1989, published by Nick Hern Books, (hardback). Pictures produced over eighteen years are accompanied by text or extracts from Antony Sher's diaries and journalism. Changing Step, 1989, a film script. An Indoor Boy, 1991, a novel, published London: Chatto & Windus, 277 pages. Cheap Lives, 1995, a novel, published by Little, Brown & Co., 246 pages. Woza Shakespeare!, 1996, a discussion of the staging of Titus Andronicus, co-authored with Gregory Doran. The Feast, 1998, a novel, ISBN 0 316 64764 published by Little Brown and Company.

Friends & Relationships: Sher had a relationship with Jim Hooper for some years. The Royal Shakespeare Company theatre director, Gregory Doran, became his boyfriend in 1986. After Ian McKellen had announced his own gayness on the radio, and Simon Callow had come out as gay in his book On Being an Actor, Antony Sher finally came out publicly as gay with his book of paintings and drawings.
Sher was awarded Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services to the arts and be known as Sir Antony Sher, KBE.

Finest Achievement: Sher's Richard III; "like a spider in a bottle" said one critic.

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