Susan Owen (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Cleaver, born 2 September 1963) is an English actress. She is best known for portraying the role of Eileen Grimshaw on the ITV soap opera ''

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 ...

'', which she played from 2000 to 2025. In 2024 Cleaver became a panellist on '' Loose Women''.

Early life

Cleaver was born on 2 September 1963 i
Barnet

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. She is adopted; however, she reconnected with her birth mother when she was in her twenties and discovered she had two half-sisters, one of who is the actress Kate Harbour.

Career

She studied at the Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre, and her first television appearance was a small part in an episode of '' A Touch of Frost''. She went on to star in the acclaimed drama series '' Band of Gold'' before landing a role in the film '' Girls' Night'' alongside

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a Go ...

and

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. In 1998, she played Duty Sgt. Standish in the first series of '' The Cops'', and also played Glenda, a woman delivering baked goods in

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comedy series '' dinnerladies'', appearing in four episodes from 1999 until 2000. She appeared as PC Sylvia Holland in '' This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper'', a miniseries, in 2000. She also had a small part in the

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

and

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film '' The Man Who Cried''. It was after filming that role in 2000 that she was cast as Eileen Grimshaw on ''

''. Cleaver won praise for her portrayal of Eileen, the mother of a son, Todd, who struggles with his sexuality and comes out as gay. Cleaver covered for Denise Robertson as the agony aunt on the ITV daytime programme '' This Morning'' until Robertson's death in 2016. Cleaver also completed three years of training to become a psychotherapist. In 2022, Cleaver was a contestant on the twenty-second series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.'' She placed 9th after sixteen days in the jungle. In 2023, Cleaver made a guest appearance on the ITV show '' Loose Women'', and then became a regular panellist. In 2024, Cleaver published her first book, ''A Work In Progress'', through Bloomsbury.

Personal life

Cleaver was married to James Quinn between 1993 and 2003; the marriage produced one child. She later married Brian Owen, a lighting technician, after meeting him on the set of ''Coronation Street''. In March 2010, Cleaver was arrested for drink-driving and was banned from driving for seventeen months and ordered to pay a £1,000 fine.

Charity

Cleaver is patron of the charitie
Prevent Breast Cancer
and When You Wish Upon a Star.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Sue Cleaver
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleaver, Sue 1963 births Living people Alumni of the Manchester School of Theatre English television actresses English stage actresses English soap opera actresses Actresses from Hertfordshire Actresses from Manchester 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actors from the London Borough of Barnet People from Chipping Barnet