Rita Gemma Craven (born 1 June 1950) is a retired Irish actress. She is best known for her roles as

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

in the film '' The Slipper and the Rose'' (1976) and as Joan Parker, the frigid wife of Arthur ( Bob Hoskins), in the BBC TV

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

'' Pennies From Heaven'' (1978).

Biography

Craven's family moved from

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

to Britain in 1960, and she attended the same school as

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

, St Bernard's Convent High School for Girls in

Westcliff-on-Sea Westcliff-on-Sea (previously known as Milton, often abbreviated to Westcliff, and in the past spelt as Westcliffe-on-Sea) is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, located within the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is on the north sh ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. She appeared as

in the film '' The Slipper and the Rose'' (1976) opposite Richard Chamberlain. She was cast as an unknown, having been spotted by one of the producers while performing at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

in a production of ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François V ...

''. The local press touted the event as her own "Cinderella" story. In London's West End, she starred opposite

Tom Conti Tommaso Antonio Conti (born 22 November 1941) is a Scottish actor. Conti has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award and a Laurence Olivier Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and two Golden Globe Awards ...

in the musical '' They're Playing Our Song'' for which she won a

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

(at the time known as the Society of West End Theatre Awards SWET) for her performance, the lead role in '' South Pacific'', and in

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's ''

Private Lives ''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetuall ...

'' opposite Marc Sinden, Tony Anholt and Anholt's wife Tracey Childs which toured throughout 1991 and into 1992. She also played Josie in

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...

's ''

Taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

'' and features on the OCR singing "Independent Woman". She appeared as Joan Parker, the frigid wife of Arthur ( Bob Hoskins), in the original television version of Dennis Potter's '' Pennies From Heaven'' (1978); she has since talked about the difficulty the role presented in undertaking a nude scene, which was seen as counter to her public image. She also made guest appearances on '' Robin of Sherwood'' (1985), ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'', '' The Morecambe and Wise Show'', ''

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from 10 April 1971 to 25 December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo se ...

'', ''

Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three seri ...

'' (episode " And God Created Woman") and in the popular British drama ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

'' episode, "Shot at Dawn" as Judy Hicks, the wife of Dave Hicks ( Brian Capron). She co-starred in the acclaimed 1982 British TV version of '' East Lynne''. On the same Victorian theme she also appeared on BBC TV's long running old time music hall show The Good Old Days. Her most substantial film role was as Minna Wagner opposite

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

, in the 1983 film ''

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

''. She also appeared in ''Why Not Stay for Breakfast?'' (1979), '' Double X: The Name of the Game'' (1992), '' The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' (1993), '' Words Upon the Window Pane'' (1994) and '' The Hole'' (2001). On radio, she played the part of Helen in the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

comedy '' Clare in the Community''. She appeared on Irish television in the popular

medical drama A medical drama is a Television film, television movie or film in which events center upon a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, a paramedic, or any other medical topic or environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic progra ...

series '' The Clinic'' which ran weekly on RTÉ One. In November/December 2008, Craven appeared in ''

Hollyoaks Later ''Hollyoaks Later'' (originally ''Late Night Hollyoaks'') is a British television spin-off of the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. The series allows for more sexual content, edgier storylines and stronger language than ''Hollyoaks''. The sho ...

'' as Erin "Ma" Fisher – Mother to Malachy,

Kris The kris or is a Javanese culture, Javanese asymmetrical dagger with a distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade, although ma ...

and Bernadette.

Personal life

Craven was married from 1981 to 1984 to actor

Frazer Hines Frazer Simpson Frederick Hines (born 22 September 1944) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor and appeared in ''A King in New York'' (1957) with Charlie Chaplin. He later played Jamie McCrimmon in ''Doctor Who'', appearing i ...

, and from 1990 to 1996 to financier David Beamish.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craven, Gemma 1950 births Irish film actresses Irish stage actresses Irish television actresses Living people Laurence Olivier Award winners Actresses from Dublin (city) Singers from Dublin (city) Actresses from Blackpool Irish radio actresses 20th-century Irish actresses 21st-century Irish actresses 20th-century Irish women singers 21st-century Irish women singers People from Crumlin, Dublin