Alison Steadman (born 26 August 1946) is an English actress. She received the 1991 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress for the

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Des ...

film '' Life Is Sweet'' and the 1993

Olivier Award for Best Actress The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Play is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards ...

for her role as Mari in the original production of '' The Rise and Fall of Little Voice''. In a 2007

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

poll, the ‘50 Greatest Actors’ voted for by other actors, she was ranked 42. Steadman made her professional stage debut in 1968 and went on to establish her career in Mike Leigh's 1970s TV plays '' Nuts in May'' (1976) and '' Abigail's Party'' (1977). She received

BAFTA TV Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...

nominations for the 1986 BBC serial ''

The Singing Detective ''The Singing Detective'' is a BBC television serial drama, written by Dennis Potter, starring Michael Gambon and directed by Jon Amiel. Its six episodes are "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It". The ser ...

'' and in 2001 for the ITV drama series '' Fat Friends'' (2000–2005). Other television roles include ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'' (1995), ''

Gavin & Stacey ''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom written by James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one in Billericay, Essex; one in Barry, South Wales. Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play the titular characters Gavin and Stacey and the writers ...

'' (2007–2010, 2019) and ''

Orphan Black ''Orphan Black'' is a Canadian science-fiction thriller television series created by screenwriter Graeme Manson and director John Fawcett and starring Tatiana Maslany. The series focuses on Sarah Manning, one of several genetically identical ...

'' (2015–2016). Her other film appearances include ''

A Private Function ''A Private Function'' is a 1984 British comedy film starring Michael Palin and Maggie Smith. The film was predominantly filmed in Ilkley, and Ben Rhydding in West Yorkshire. The film was also screened in the section of Un Certain Regard a ...

'' (1984), ''

Topsy-Turvy ''Topsy-Turvy'' is a 1999 British musical period drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh, starring Allan Corduner as Sir Arthur Sullivan and Jim Broadbent as W.S. Gilbert, along with Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville and Ron Cook. The ...

'' (1999), ''

The Life and Death of Peter Sellers ''The Life and Death of Peter Sellers'' is a 2004 television film about the life of English comedian Peter Sellers, based on Roger Lewis's book of the same name. 1108 pagesPublished in the U.S. via Applause BooksA very comprehensive biography, ...

'' (2004), ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran fo ...

'' (2016) and ''

The King's Man ''The King's Man'' is a 2021 spy action film directed by Matthew Vaughn from a screenplay by Vaughn and Karl Gajdusek and a story by Vaughn. The third installment in the British ''Kingsman'' film series, which is based on the comic book ''Th ...

'' (2021).

Early life and education

Steadman was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, the youngest of three sisters born to Marjorie (née Evans) and George Percival Steadman, who worked as a production controller for

Plessey The Plessey Company plc was a British electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after World War II by acquisition of companies and formed overseas compan ...

, an electronics firm. Steadman was educated at Childwall Valley High School for Girls, a state grammar school in the Liverpool suburb of

Childwall Childwall () is a suburb and ward of Liverpool, England, located to the southeast of the city. It is bordered by Belle Vale, Bowring Park, Broadgreen, Gateacre, Mossley Hill, and Wavertree. In 2019, the population was 13,640. Overview The earl ...

, followed by

East 15 Acting School East 15 Acting School (East 15) is a British drama school in Loughton, Essex.Its degrees are awarded by the University of Essex, with which it merged on 1 September 2000. As of 2020, Essex University, where East 15 is located, has been ranked N ...

, at which she secured a place in the autumn of 1966 and where she met

during her second year.

Career

Stage work

Having left the East 15 Acting School in

Loughton Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Chari ...

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

, Steadman worked in various regional repertory theatres, starting at Lincoln in 1968, where her first role was the schoolgirl Sandy in '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie''. She created the role of the monstrous Beverly in Mike Leigh's '' Abigail's Party'', which she reprised with the original cast on television. She won an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

for '' The Rise and Fall of Little Voice'' and also appeared in ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams. An adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", the play was written by him between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his p ...

'', ''

Entertaining Mr Sloane ''Entertaining Mr Sloane'' is a three-act play written in 1963 by the English playwright Joe Orton. It was first produced in London at the New Arts Theatre on 6 May 1964 and transferred to the West End's Wyndham's Theatre on 29 June 1964. Plo ...

'', ''Hotel Paradiso'', and others in locations as diverse as the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

, the Theatre Royal, the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

, the Hampstead Theatre, the

Nottingham Playhouse Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and F ...

, the Everyman Liverpool and the National Theatre. She starred as Elmire in the 1983 RSC production of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

's ''

Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; french: Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur, ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical thea ...

'', which was adapted for BBC television. In 2010 Steadman played Madame Arcati in a revival of

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 called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

's ''

Blithe Spirit Blithe Spirit may refer to: * ''Blithe Spirit'' (play), a 1941 comic play written by Noël Coward * ''Blithe Spirit'' (1945 film), a British comedy film based on the play * ''Blithe Spirit'' (2020 film), a British-American comedy film based on th ...

''. In 2014 Steadman appeared as Madame Raquin in Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Emile Zola's '' Thérèse Raquin''.

Film

Steadman has appeared in many films, including ''

P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang ''P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang'', also released as ''Kipperbang'', is a British television film first shown on Channel 4 on its second night, 3 November 1982. Written by Jack Rosenthal as part of the ''First Love'' series, it is a coming-of-age fil ...

'' (1982), '' Champions'' (1983), ''

'' (1984), ''Number One'' (1984), ''

Clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite ...

'' (1986), ''

Stormy Monday "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)" (commonly referred to as "Stormy Monday") is a song written and recorded by American blues electric guitar pioneer T-Bone Walker. It is a slow twelve-bar blues performed in the West Coast blu ...

'' (1988), '' The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' (1988), '' Shirley Valentine'' (1989), '' Wilt'' (1989), '' Life Is Sweet'' (1990), ''

Blame It on the Bellboy ''Blame It on the Bellboy'' is a 1992 comedy film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Dudley Moore, Bryan Brown, Patsy Kensit, Richard Griffiths, Andreas Katsulas, and Bronson Pinchot. The plot is about a case of mistaken identity ...

'' (1992), '' Secrets & Lies'' (1996), ''

'' (1999), ''

'' (2004), ''

Confetti Confetti are small pieces or streamers of paper, mylar, or metallic material which are usually thrown at celebrations, especially parades and weddings. The origins are from the Latin ''confectum'', with ''confetti'' the plural of Italian ''co ...

'' (2006), ''

Burn Burn Burn ''Burn Burn Burn'' is a 2015 British black comedy film, the directorial debut of Chanya Button. The film is a coming-of-age tale, written by Charlie Covell and inspired by the Jack Kerouac novel ''On the Road'' published in 1957. The film had i ...

'' (2015) and '' 23 Walks'' (2020).

Television

Steadman's television work includes '' Fat Friends'' as Betty, ''

Grumpy Old Women ''Grumpy Old Women'' is a British television series, continuing in the same vein as its predecessor, '' Grumpy Old Men''. Both programmes are shown on BBC Two. The first two series were narrated by Alison Steadman Alison Steadman (born 26 Au ...

'', '' Stressed Eric'', '' Let Them Eat Cake'', ''

'', '' No Bananas'', ''

The Caucasian Chalk Circle ''The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' (german: Der kaukasische Kreidekreis) is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a ...

'', '' Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years'' as Pauline Mole, opposite James Bolam in the television film '' The Missing Postman'', and ''

'' as

Mrs. Bennet The Bennet family is a fictional family created by the English novelist Jane Austen, in her 1813 novel, '' Pride and Prejudice''. The family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, and their five daughters: Jane, Mary, Catherine, Lydia, and Elizabeth, ...

. In 1991, she also appeared as Edda Göring in '' Selling Hitler'' and as Lauren Patterson in '' Gone to the Dogs'', which was then followed up by ''Gone to Seed''. Television productions directed by Leigh in which she has appeared include '' Nuts in May'', '' Hard Labour'' and '' Abigail's Party''. She also appeared in the BBC comedy '' The Worst Week of My Life''. In 2007 she featured in the

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

programme '' Coming Home'' about her Welsh family history, with roots in Trefarclawdd and

Ruabon Ruabon ( cy, Rhiwabon ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The name comes from ''Rhiw Fabon'', ''rhiw'' being the Welsh word for "slope" or "hillside" and ''Fabon'' being a mutation from St Mabon, the original church ...

. In October 2007 Steadman appeared in ''

Fanny Hill ''Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure''—popularly known as ''Fanny Hill''—is an erotic novel by English novelist John Cleland first published in London in 1748. Written while the author was in debtors' prison in London,Wagner, "Introduction" ...

'' on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

. From May 2007 to January 2010 Steadman starred in the BBC comedy ''

'' as Pam Shipman. She returned in the role in the 2019 Christmas special. She appeared in ''

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

'' as the Reverend Martha Steadman in ‘Intelligent Design’ in 2013. Steadman starred with

Myra Frances Myra Frances (13 April 1942 – 30 March 2021) was a British actress known for her role in the drama series '' Survivors'' and in ''Doctor Who''. Career In the 1974 ''Second City Firsts'' episode "Girl", Frances and Alison Steadman performed th ...

in ''Girl'', a 1974 BBC play in the ''

Second City Firsts ''Second City Firsts'' is a British drama anthology series of single plays, broadcast by the BBC, all lasting thirty minutes. Recorded at BBC Pebble Mill in Birmingham, or sometimes filmed on location, the series was broadcast between 1973 and 19 ...

'' series, performing the first lesbian kiss on British television. In 2014 Steadman starred in the first series of the BBC comedy '' Boomers'' as Joyce. The show returned with a Christmas Special in 2015 and a second series in 2016. In 2016 she presented the three-part series ''Little British Islands with Alison Steadman'' on Channel 4. The series visited Gigha, Jura, Colonsay and Oronsay in episode 1, Jersey, Alderney and Sark in episode 2 and the Isles of Scilly in episode 3. In 2016 she appeared as Abigail in the Midsomer Murders episode ‘The incident at Cooper Hill’. In 2018 Steadman made a return to BBC1 with

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...

in '' Hold the Sunset''. On 9 December 2018 Steadman appeared in the BBC1 Drama ‘Care’ in the role of Mary.

Radio

On radio Steadman's talent for mimicry and character voices was given full rein in shows such as ''

Week Ending ''Week Ending'' was a satirical radio current affairs sketch show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1970 and 1998. It was devised by writer-producers Simon Brett and David Hatch and was originally hosted by '' Nationwide'' presenter Michael B ...

'', ''Castle's on the Air'' and ''The Worst Show on the Wireless''. In the second and third of these she played the over-protective mother to Eli Woods' long-suffering ''Bunty/Precious''. From 1982 to 1984 she joined Eli Woods and Eddie Braben (''

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, workin ...

s scriptwriter) in 13 episodes of the UK radio show ''The Show with No Name'', which can be described as an updated version of ''

Round the Horne ''Round the Horne'' is a BBC Radio comedy programme starring Kenneth Horne, first transmitted in four series of weekly episodes from 1965 until 1968. The show was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman, who wrote the first three series. The ...

'' comedy sketch show. Later, from 2002, she starred as Mrs Naughtie in the series ''

Hamish and Dougal Hamish and Dougal are two characters from the long-running BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'', played by Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden, who later went on to have their own Radio 4 series, ''You'll Have Had Your ...

''. Steadman had a spell in Roy Hudd's long-running comedy show The News Huddlines in the early to mid 1980s. In December 2009 she starred in Mike Stott's ''My Mad Grandad'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

. From 2012 she played Ginny Fox, a parody of

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born ...

, in the sitcom '' Gloomsbury''. In 2018 she made a guest appearance in Radio 4's The Archers as Olwen, a friend of Jill Archer.

Personal life

In 1972 director

drove to Liverpool to see Ted Whitehead's play ''The Foursome'', which featured Steadman. He asked her to be in his film '' Hard Labour'', during which, both said, they "got together". They married in 1973 and had two sons, Toby (b. 1978) and Leo (b. 1981). The couple lived with their sons in

Wood Green Wood Green is a suburban district in the borough of Haringey in London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms a m ...

, London. They separated in 1995 and divorced in 2001. Steadman's partner is actor Michael Elwyn. The couple live in

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisat ...

, London. She is a birdwatcher and in November 2016 became an ambassador for

London Wildlife Trust London Wildlife Trust (LWT), founded in 1981, is a local nature conservation charity for Greater London. It is one of 46 members of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (known as The Wildlife Trusts), each of which is a local nature conservatio ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Biodata at Debrett's
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steadman, Alison 1946 births Living people Alumni of East 15 Acting School People educated at Childwall Valley High School for Girls English film actresses English radio actresses English stage actresses English voice actresses English television actresses Officers of the Order of the British Empire Actresses from Liverpool 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Birdwatchers