Margaret Fairchild

Margaret Mary Fairchild (4 January 1911 – 28 April 1989) also known as Mary Teresa Sheppard, Miss Shepherd and M T Sheppard was a former concert pianist, nun and homeless woman who is the title character in the 2015 film The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett in which she was played by Maggie Smith. Smith had previously played her in a 1999 play of the same name and a radio adaptation for BBC Radio 4 in 2009.