Susan Owen ( 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'' is an English soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based ...

'', which she has played since 2000.

Early and personal life

Cleaver was born on 2 September 1963 in Barnet, Hertfordshire. Cleaver is adopted, however later reconnected with her birth mother when she was in her twenties, and discovered her two half-sisters, actresses Emma and Kate Harbour. Cleaver was married to James Quinn between 1993 and 2003 and they have a son together, Elliot, born in 1998. She later married Brian Owen, lighting technician, after meeting him on the set of ''Coronation Street''. In March 2010, Cleaver was arrested for drink-driving and as a result was banned from driving for seventeen months and ordered to pay a £1,000 fine.

Career

She studied at the

Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre The Manchester School of Theatre (originally the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre) is a tertiary school of theatre, drama and performance situated in the city of Manchester, founded in 1970. It is a part of Manchester Metropolitan Univer ...

and her first television appearance was a small part in an episode of ''

A Touch of Frost A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...

''. 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 and

Brenda Blethyn Brenda Blethyn (''née'' Bottle; 20 February 1946) is an English actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and two Academy Award nominations. Blethy ...

. In 1998, she played Duty Sgt. Standish in the first series of '' The Cops'', and also played Glenda, a woman delivering baked goods in Victoria Wood's BBC comedy series, '' dinnerladies'' on a recurring basis between 1999 and 2000. She appeared as PC Sylvia Holland in '' This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper'' 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 multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awar ...

and

Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received n ...

film ''

The Man Who Cried ''The Man Who Cried'' is a 2000 drama film written and directed by Sally Potter, and starring Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Harry Dean Stanton and John Turturro. The film tells the story of a young Jewish girl who, after be ...

''. 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 Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...

, who struggles with his sexuality and announces he is gay. Cleaver covered for Denise Robertson as the agony aunt on the ITV daytime programme ''

This Morning This Morning may refer to: * ''This Morning'' (TV programme), a British daytime television programme * ''This Morning'' (radio program), a Canadian radio show which aired from 1997 to 2002 * '' CBS This Morning'', an American morning show, succe ...

'' until Robertson's death in 2016. Cleaver completed three years of training to become a psychotherapist after co-stars told her she was good at listening. In 2022, Cleaver was a contestant on the twenty-second series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!,'' and came 9th.

Charity

Cleaver is patron of the charity When You Wish Upon a Star.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleaver, Sue 1963 births Living people English television actresses English soap opera actresses Actresses from Hertfordshire Actresses from Manchester 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants