Shirley Dynevor

Shirley Dynevor (; 15 May 1933 – 10 January 2023) was a Welsh actress. She was the grandmother to actresses

Phoebe Dynevor Phoebe Harriet Dynevor (; born 17 April 1995) is an English actress. She is known for starring in the films '' The Colour Room'' (2021), '' Fair Play'' (2023), and ''Inheritance'' (2025) as well as the first two series of the period drama ''Br ...

and

Hattie Dynevor Hattie or Hatty is traditionally an English feminine nickname for the name Harriet, long used, however, independently."Hattie"

.

Early life
Shirley Teague was born on 15 May 1933 in Cardiff to Nancy (née Sutton), a nurse, and Hedley Teague, a landscape gardener. She attended Hereford Grammar School for Girls and afterwards worked in repertory theatre in Pontypridd before moving to London.

Career
In 1953, she was invited to join Joan Littlewood's
Theatre Workshop Theatre Workshop is a theatre group whose long-serving director was Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company, many of its productions were transferred to theatres in the West ...
, where she would later meet her future husband Gerard Dynevor. Between 1953 and 1959, she performed in many productions with the workshop at
Theatre Royal Stratford East Stratford East (formerly known as Theatre Royal Stratford East) is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with di ...
including ''A Christmas Carol'' (1953), ''The Dutch Courtesan'' (1954), ''
Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...
'' (1954) and ''An Italian Straw Hat'' (1955). In the 1950s, Dynevor had a starring role in the series '' Charlesworth''. Other television roles included ''
Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...
'', ''
Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Ca ...
'', ''Family Solicitor'', ''The Liars'', ''
Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...
'' and ''
The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic ...
''. After her husband's death in 1966, Dynevor had to step away from acting to look after her two sons, but continued to take the occasional role, such as in 1976, when she starred as
Eva Braun Eva Anna Paula Hitler (; 6 February 1912 – 30 April 1945) was a German photographer who was the longtime companion and briefly the wife of Adolf Hitler. Braun met Hitler in Munich in 1929 (aged 17) when she was an assistant and model ...
in '' Rogue Male''. For the last 15 years of her career, Dynevor worked as a stage manager on ''
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 ...
''.

Personal life and death
In 1954, she met actor Gerard Dynevor after he joined the Theatre Workshop. He invited her to a café within minutes of meeting, where he proposed to her. Later that year, she would give birth to a son, Jonathan. They would later have another son, Tim. After Gerard decided to leave acting, the family moved to Altrincham where Gerard worked as a director at
Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
. Gerard died in 1966. Dynevor married for a second time in 1989 to guitarist Simon White. She is the grandmother of actresses Phoebe and
Hattie Dynevor Hattie or Hatty is traditionally an English feminine nickname for the name Harriet, long used, however, independently."Hattie"
. In 2009, Dynevor was diagnosed with dementia. On 10 January 2023, Dynevor died at the age of 89.

References

External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dynevor, Shirley 1933 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Welsh actresses 21st-century Welsh actresses Actresses from Cardiff Shirley Welsh film actresses Welsh stage actresses Welsh television actresses People educated at Hereford High School for Girls