Anne Kristen (7 March 1937 – 7 August 1996) was a Scottish actress, best known for her television roles, including Olive Rowe in ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', Miss Meiklejohn in ''

Hamish Macbeth Hamish Macbeth is the police constable of the fictional Scottish Highlands, Scottish Highland town of Lochdubh, in a series of murder mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney). Considered by many to be a useless, lazy moocher, M ...

,'' Molly Farmer in '' Wings'', and Norma Sullivan in ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

''.

Early life and education

Kristen was born in 1937 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, and grew up in the suburb of

Bearsden Bearsden ( ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the Glasgow city centre, city centre. The Roman Empire, Roman Antonine Wall runs through the town, and the remains of ...

. Her father, Reginald Biles, was a senior journalist and lead writer for the ''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

''. She acted in plays at the Laurel Bank school in Glasgow. After leaving school, she went on to study at the Royal College of Music and Dramatic Art in Glasgow, where she won a

Silver Medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

for her work. Kristen then went on to further stage work in Scotland and London before embarking on a television career.

Career

Theatre

Early television career

Kristen's first role was on '' BBC Sunday-Night Play'' in 1960, for one episode, as the character Nellie Watson. She then appeared in '' Doctor Finlay's Casebook'' for two episodes in 1963 and 1966, with a later guest appearance on '' Doctor Finlay'' in 1994. Throughout the 1960s she made numerous one-episode appearances in various TV series. She was in '' The Expert'' for three episodes in 1969. Her best-known early role was in ''

'', in 1971, as Olive Rowe.

Regular TV appearances

Between her debut and her death in 1996, Kristen continued making regular one-episode television appearances, such as in ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

'' in 1973 and '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' in 1978. Other notable TV series in which she played a role were ''

Play For Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'' (two episodes in 1976 and 1981), ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

'' (two episodes in 1983) and ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'' (two episodes in 1985). She also played Professor Maggie McLeish in ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries ''Killer'' from 6 until 20 Septe ...

,'' a Scottish detective television program taking place in her birth town of Glasgow, for two episodes in 1986 and 1994.

Longest-lasting TV roles

Kristen appeared in '' Wings'' as Molly Farmer, for one episode in 1976. She then came back for 15 episodes throughout 1977 and 1978. She played in ''King's Royal'' as Mrs. Veitch for 14 episodes in 1982 and 1983. "It's nice to be able to wear modern clothes. I'm so tired of wearing corsets," she said of the ''King's Royal'' role. Between 1991 and 1993, she was in multiple episodes of ''Casualty (TV series)'' as receptionist Norma Sullivan. Her longest-lasting role was as Miss Meiklejohn in '' Hamish Macbeth''. She appeared in 17 episodes in 1995 and 1996.

Film

'' Silent Scream'' (1990) was Kristen's only film.

Personal life

Kristen was married to the actor Iain Cuthbertson from January 1964 until their divorce in 1988. She died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

on 7 August 1996, at age 59. Her ashes are buried in Ancrum Churchyard, beside her mother and father, in

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh () is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. T ...

References

External links

*
Obituary in ''The Independent''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kristen, Anne 1937 births 1996 deaths People educated at Laurel Bank School Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Scottish soap opera actresses Scottish television actresses 20th-century British actresses Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Scotland 20th-century British businesspeople Actresses from Glasgow