Catherine Tyson (born 12 June 1965) is an English actress. She won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

'' (1986), which also earned her Best Supporting Actress nominations at the Golden Globes and

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...

. She has starred in '' The Serpent and the Rainbow'' (1988), ''

Priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

'' (1994), and '' Band of Gold'' (1995–1997). She won the

British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress This is a list of the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress. The British Academy Television Awards (BAFTA TV Awards) were first presented in 1954. They are the UK equivalent to the Emmy Awards in the United States. From 195 ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

for her performance in the film ''

Help Help may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Help (2010 film), ''Help'' (2010 film), a Bollywood horror film * Help (2021 theatrical film), ''Help'' (2021 theatrical film), a British psychological thriller film * Help (2021 TV ...

''.

Early life and education

Tyson was born in Kingston-upon-Thames on 12 June 1965, the daughter of an English

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

mother and a

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

ian barrister father. She grew up in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, having moved there with her parents when she was two years old. She was a pupil at St Winifred's School. She attended Liverpool's Everyman Youth Theatre in her teens, and dropped out of college at 17 to pursue an acting career there.

Career

Tyson joined the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

in 1984, taking the lead role in their performance of '' Golden Girls''. Also in 1984, Tyson made an early TV appearance playing Joanna in '' Scully''. Tyson's film debut was in ''

'' (1986) as Simone, an elegant prostitute, a performance which brought her critical acclaim. Her other films include '' Business as Usual'' (1987), '' The Serpent and the Rainbow'' (1988), '' The Lost Language of Cranes'' (1991), ''

'' (1994) and '' The Old Man Who Read Love Stories'' (2001). Probably her best-known television appearance was also as a prostitute, Carol Johnson, in the ITV series '' Band of Gold''. In 2007, Tyson joined the cast of two long-running television series. She played headmistress Miss Gayle in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

school drama ''

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 ...

'', and featured in the ITV soap opera ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

'' as single mother Andrea Hayworth. Tyson played Herodia in

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

's ''Liverpool Nativity'', a modern adaptation of the traditional Christmas story. Recorded as a live event in

Liverpool City Centre Liverpool city centre is the administrative, commercial, cultural, financial and historical centre of Liverpool and the Liverpool City Region, England. There are different definitions of the city centre for urban planning and local government; ...

on 16 December 2007, it was broadcast several times over the Christmas period and repeated the following year. In September 2009, Tyson enrolled at the adult learning centre City Lit on an access to higher education course in creative studies. She completed a degree in English and Drama at

Brunel University Brunel University of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...

in 2013. In 2018 Tyson played DI Siobhan Clarke in the stage play '' Rebus: Long Shadows'', written by Rona Munro and Ian Rankin. In 2020, Tyson was cast as the second titular character in the

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...

series '' JoJo & Gran Gran''. In 2021, she guest starred in an episode of TV drama '' McDonald & Dodds''. In 2021, Tyson appeared in

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

film ''

'' playing Poll, an elderly resident of a care home during the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

; the following year she won the

for her performance. In 2023 she appeared as Maureen in the film '' Bank of Dave''. She also produced the short ''The Consequence.'' In 2024 she played Sam in Luna Carmoon's debut feature ''

Hoard A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...

'', and Mother Superior Raquella Berto-Anirul in '' Dune: Prophecy''. She also played one of the Furies, Alecto, in the tv series Kaos. Over Christmas 2024 she performed as Mrs Higgins in ''My Fair Lady'' at the Curve Theatre, Leiciester.

Charity work

Tyson hosted a charity event for the Sick Children's Trust on 17 November 2007, and again on 1 November 2008. The event, organised by Friends of Eckersley House, a committee supporting the charity's

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

house, was held at the Haven Golden Sands resort in Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire. She is also one of the Honorary Patrons of the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

children's charity Scene & Heard.

Personal life

Tyson married actor and comedian Craig Charles in 1984. Their son Jack was born in 1988. They divorced in 1989.

Awards and nominations

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'' , Actress in a Leading Role , 40th British Academy Film Awards , , , align="center" , , - ! scope="row" , 1987 , Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture , 44th Golden Globe Awards , , , align="center" , , - ! scope="row" , 2002 , '' Night and Day'' , Best Actress , The British Soap Awards , , , align="center" , , - ! scope="row" rowspan="2" , 2022 , ''

'' , Best Supporting Actress , 2022 British Academy Television Awards , , , align="center" , , - , '' JoJo & Gran Gran'' , Performer , British Academy Children's Awards 2022 , , , align="center" ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyson, Cathy 1965 births Actors from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Actresses from Liverpool Actresses from Surrey Alumni of Brunel University London Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award (television) winners Black British actresses English film actresses English people of Trinidad and Tobago descent English television actresses Living people People from Kingston upon Thames