Miserably in great need, she acts in sad roles (11)
I believe the answer is:
tragedienne
'she acts in sad roles' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'miserably in great need' is the wordplay.
'miserably' indicates anagramming the letters (the letters in a poor or miserable condition).
'in'+'great'+'need'='ingreatneed'
'ingreatneed' is an anagram of 'TRAGEDIENNE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tragedienne that I've seen before include "Sort of actress" , "Serious actress" , "Performer" , "Female dramatic actress" .)