 McAuliffe was born in 1955 in Cobham, Surrey, England, and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.In 1984 she won the Clarence Derwent Award for her role as Queen Victoria in the West End production of "Poppy" at the Adelphi Theatre.Between 1989 and 1995, she starred as obstreperous surgeon Sheila Sabatini in the ITV sitcom "Surgical Spirit", her most high-profile acting role to date.