Saffron Domini Burrows (born 22 October 1972) is an English actress who has appeared in such films as In the Name of the Father (1993), Circle of Friends (1995), Wing Commander (1999), Deep Blue Sea (1999), Gangster No. 1 (2000), Enigma (2001), Troy (2004), Reign Over Me (2007) and The Bank Job (2008), as well as starring as Lorraine Weller on Boston Legal (2007–08), Dr. Norah Skinner on My Own Worst Enemy (2008) and Detective Serena Stevens on Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Biography

Burrows is a socialist and has spoken of her admiration for French Socialist politician Ségolène Royal. She joined an anti-racism group when she was 11 years old and she went on to become the Vice President of the National Civil Rights Movement. Burrows is a campaigner for disabled rights and equality.

For a number of years, Burrows was involved with film director Mike Figgis, and starred in some of his films, including Miss Julie. She was involved with Alan Cumming for several years, while he was separated from his wife. In a 2003 interview, the actor was quoted as saying, "I was really lucky that the first relationship I had after [my divorce] was with Saffron, who's really... understanding and a broadminded person. And who's now, as I'm sure you know ... well, she bats for both teams too."

In 2009 Burrows became an American citizen.

Burrows is openly bisexual, and has said that she "prefers the company of women". In 2006, the The Independent listed Burrows as the 90th most influential gay person in the UK. In August 2013, two months after the US Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) - the law barring federal recognition of same-sex marriage - in United States v. Windsor, Burrows married her long-term girlfriend Alison Balian, a writer for the Ellen DeGeneres Show. The couple had been together for six and a half years; in 2012, Burrows gave birth to their first child, a son.

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