Sylvia May Laura Syms (6 January 1934 – 27 January 2023) was an English stage and screen actress. Her best-known film roles include '' My Teenage Daughter'' (1956), '' Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957), for which she was nominated for a

BAFTA Award 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 British and international contributions to f ...

, '' Ice Cold in Alex'' (1958), '' No Trees in the Street'' (1959), '' Victim'' (1961) and '' The Tamarind Seed'' (1974). Known as the "Grand Dame of British Cinema", Syms was a major player in films from the mid-1950s until mid-1960s, usually in stiff-upper-lip English pictures, as opposed to kitchen sink realism dramas, before becoming more of a supporting actress in both film and television roles. On television, she was known for her recurring role as dressmaker Olive Woodhouse on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

''. She was also a notable theatre player. Syms portrayed Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in the 2006 biopic '' The Queen''.

Early life and education

Syms was born in Woolwich, London, England, in 1934, the daughter of Daisy (''née'' Hale) and Edwin Syms, a trade unionist and civil servant. With the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Syms was evacuated to

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

and subsequently

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

. She grew up in Well Hall, Eltham."Well Hall" entry of ''London Gazetteer'' by Russ Willey, ( Chambers 2006) (online extrac

When Syms was 12, her mother died from a brain tumour. At 16, she suffered a nervous breakdown and contemplated taking her own life until an intervention from her stepmother. Syms was educated at convent schools before deciding to become an actress and attending the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

, graduating in 1954. She later served on RADA's council. Syms's career began in repertory theatre in Eastbourne and Bath. She made her West End debut in '' The Apple Cart'' with

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

Film career

Syms appeared in a TV play ''The Romantic Young Lady''. This led to two offers, one to make a film for

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and film director, director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best know ...

, ''My Teenage Daughter'', another to sign a long-term contract with Associated British. She accepted both. In '' My Teenage Daughter'' (1956), Syms played Anna Neagle's troubled daughter. The film was successful at the British box office. For Associated British she made ''No Time for Tears'' then appeared in ''The Birthday Present''. Syms had the third lead in '' Woman in a Dressing Gown'' for director J. Lee Thompson which was very popular. She then made the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

film, ''

The Moonraker ''The Moonraker'' is a 1957 British swashbuckler film directed by David MacDonald (director), David MacDonald and starring George Baker (British actor), George Baker, Sylvia Syms, Marius Goring, Gary Raymond, Peter Arne, John Le Mesurier and Pa ...

'' and the war film '' Ice Cold in Alex'', also directed by Thompson. In early 1958 she made a third film for Thompson, ''No Trees in the Street''. She announced she would make her first screen comedy ''The Light Blue''. This became '' Bachelor of Hearts''. In March 1959 she was voted Variety Club's Film Actress of 1958. In 1959, Syms appeared in the film '' Expresso Bongo'' as Maisie King, opposite

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

. She played opposite Dirk Bogarde in the 1961 film '' Victim'', as the wife of a barrister who is a closet homosexual. The film is thought to have broadened the debate that led to the decriminalisation of homosexual acts in private in the United Kingdom. Syms made ''Ferry to Hong Kong'', ''The World of Suzie Wong'' and ''Conspiracy of Hearts''. A May 1962 article in ''Variety'' called her the top female star in British films "with little competition, as yet". Syms travelled to Ireland to play opposite Patrick McGoohan as the wife of a condemned man in '' The Quare Fellow''. She played Tony Hancock's wife in '' The Punch and Judy Man''. The film also featured her nephew, Nick Webb. In 1963 she ended her contract with Associated British which by then guaranteed her £10,000 a year but which she felt was too restrictive. She appeared in '' East of Sudan'' (1964). In 1965 she appeared on stage in ''Dual Marriageway'', a comedy by Enid Rudd.

Later career

Other comedies followed, such as '' The Big Job'' (1965), but it was for drama that she won acclaim, including ''The Tamarind Seed'' (1974) with

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

and Omar Sharif, for which she was nominated for a British Film Academy award. In 1970, Syms changed direction playing Beatrice opposite Julian Glover's Benedick in a production of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

. The Prospect Theatre Company production, directed by

Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director, producer and screenwriter, whose career spanned five decades. He was identified with the "angry young men" group of British directors and play ...

, was first presented at the Edinburgh International Festival and subsequently toured the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Syms featured in the husband-and-wife TV comedy ''My Good Woman'' from 1972 to 1974 and on the weekly BBC programme ''Movie Quiz'' as one of two team captains. In 1975, Syms headed the jury at the 25th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1989, Syms guest-starred in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' story '' Ghost Light''. Shortly after the end of British Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

's term in office in 1990, Syms portrayed her in '' Thatcher: The Final Days'' (1991), a

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

television film for ITV, which dramatises the events surrounding Thatcher's removal from power, a role she recreated for the stage. From 2000 to 2003, she played Marion Riley in the ITV comedy-drama '' At Home with the Braithwaites''. She also featured in the serial '' The Jury'' (2002) and in the same year contributed '' Sonnet 142'' to the compilation album '' When Love Speaks''. For

Stephen Frears Sir Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is a British director and producer of film and television, often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply-drawn characters. He has received numerous a ...

's biopic ''The Queen'' (2006), Syms was cast as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She also appeared in '' The Poseidon Adventure'' (2005), an American TV film that was a loose remake of the 1972 feature film. Syms also took up producing and directing. In 2009, Syms appeared in the film '' Is Anybody There?'' alongside

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

and Anne-Marie Duff. In 2009, she featured in the ITV drama series '' Collision''. In 2010, she guest-starred as a patient in BBC One's drama series '' Casualty'', having played a different character in an episode in 2007. Syms also appeared as another character in ''Casualty''s sister series ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'' in 2003. From 2007 to 2010, she had a recurring role in

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 ...

's ''EastEnders'', playing dressmaker Olive Woodhouse. In 2010, Syms took part in the

's ''The Young Ones'', a series in which six celebrities in their seventies and eighties attempt to overcome some of the problems of ageing by harking back to the 1970s. From 2013 to 2019, Syms was the narrator of '' Talking Pictures'', which aired on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

. Syms had numerous theatre roles, including in productions of ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' and ''Antony and Cleopatra''.

Personal life

From 9 June 1956 to 1989, Syms was married to Alan Edney, whom she had dated since she was a teenager. In 1961 they lost a baby daughter, Jessica. Later that year Syms and her husband adopted a son, Benjamin Mark. In October 1962 she gave birth to a daughter, Beatie Edney who is also an actress. Syms and her husband divorced in 1989 when she discovered he had a mistress for several years and that they shared a two-year-old daughter. She was the aunt of musicians Nick and Alex Webb. Her sister Joan married Norman Webb, the Cambridge-educated statistician who invented the Television Audience Measurement system, and was later a chief executive of Gallup. Syms was a longtime supporter of the Stars Foundation for Cerebral Palsy, serving on its board as an officer for 16 years until 2020, with singer Vera Lynn. In the last year of her life, Syms lived at Denville Hall, a retirement home for actors in London. She died there on 27 January 2023, three weeks after her 89th birthday.

Legacy

In the words of ''Filmink'' magazine:

I don’t think any actress in English speaking cinema of this era had such a variety of love interests as Sylvia Syms. It helped that she was beautiful, of course ... that she could act: it's hard to think of a bad Sylvia Syms performance – sometimes she was miscast, but never bad. She always brought a level of intelligence to her roles along with a sense of fun. And she was highly adept playing "smouldering hot lava of emotion and sensuality under an outwardly straight-laced and sensible facade" that made her – and this is meant with nothing but the greatest respect to the recently departed – sexy as hell.

Filmography

Source:

Film

* 1955 ''The Driving Seat'' as Sylvia Bayton * 1956 '' My Teenage Daughter'' as Janet Carr * 1957 '' The Birthday Present'' as Jean Scott
'' Woman in a Dressing Gown'' as Georgie
'' No Time for Tears'' as Nurse Margaret Collier * 1958 ''

'' as Anne Wyndham
'' Ice Cold in Alex'' as Sister Diana Murdoch
'' Bachelor of Hearts'' as Ann Wainwright * 1959 '' No Trees in the Street'' as Hetty
'' Ferry to Hong Kong'' as Liz Ferrers
'' Expresso Bongo'' as Maisie King * 1960 '' Conspiracy of Hearts'' as Sister Mitya
'' The World of Suzie Wong'' as Kay O'Neill * 1961 '' Amazons of Rome'' as Clelia
'' Flame in the Streets'' as Kathie Palmer
'' Victim'' as Laura Farr * 1962 '' The Quare Fellow'' as Kathleen * 1963 '' The Punch and Judy Man'' as Delia Pinner
'' The World Ten Times Over'' as Billa * 1964 '' East of Sudan'' as Miss Woodville * 1965 '' Operation Crossbow'' as Flight Officer Constance Babington-Smith
'' The Big Job'' as Myrtle Robbins * 1966 '' Bat Out of Hell'' as Diana Stewart * 1967 '' Danger Route'' as Barbara Canning * 1968 '' Hostile Witness'' as Sheila Larkin
'' The Fiction Makers'' as Amos Klein * 1969 '' Run Wild, Run Free'' as Mrs. Ransome
'' The Desperados'' as Laura * 1971 '' Some of My Best Friends Are...'' as Sadie * 1972 '' Asylum'' as Ruth * 1974 '' The Tamarind Seed'' as Margaret Stephenson * 1978 '' Give Us Tomorrow'' as Wendy Hammond * 1980 '' There Goes the Bride'' as Ursula Westerby * 1986 '' Absolute Beginners'' as Cynthia Eve * 1988 '' A Chorus of Disapproval'' as Rebecca Huntley-Pike * 1989 '' Shirley Valentine'' as Headmistress * 1992 '' Shining Through'' as Linda's Mother * 1993 '' Dirty Weekend'' as Mrs. Crosby * 1994 '' Staggered'' as Margaret * 1997 '' The House of Angelo'' as Mrs. Harvey-Brown * 1998 '' Food of Love'' as Alice Angelo * 2002 '' Deep Down'' as Vera * 2003 '' What a Girl Wants'' as Princess Charlotte
'' I'll Sleep When I'm Dead'' as Mrs. Bartz * 2004 ''Mavis and the Mermaid'' as Gioga * 2006 '' The Queen'' as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother * 2008 '' Is Anybody There?'' as Lilian * 2009 '' Bunny and the Bull'' as Hotelier * 2012 '' Booked Out'' as Mrs. Nicholls
'' Run for Your Wife'' as Hospital Patient * 2018 '' Together'' as Rosemary

Television

* 1955 '' Life with the Lyons'' (13 July 1955) *1955 '' The Romantic Young Lady'' * 1962 '' It's a Square World'' (11 August 1962) * 1964 '' The Saint'' (" The Noble Sportsman") as Lady Anne Yearley * 1964 '' The Saint'' (" Jeannine") as Jeannine Roger * 1965 '' Danger Man'' (" It's Up to the Lady") as Paula Glover * 1965 '' The Human Jungle'' (" Success Machine") as Margo * 1965 '' The Baron'' (" Farewell to Yesterday") as Cathy Dorne * 1966 ''Bat out of Hell'' as Diana * 1968 '' The Saint'' (" The Fiction Makers") as Amos Klein * 1968 '' The Saint'' (S6, E1, "The Best Laid Schemes") as Arlene * 1969 '' Strange Report'' * 1971 '' Paul Temple'' * 1972 '' The Adventurer'' * 1972–1974 ''My Good Woman'' * 1982 '' Nancy Astor'' as Nanaire Langhorne * 1982 '' It's Your Move'' (TV Short) as The Wife * 1985 '' Miss Marple: A Murder is Announced'' as Mrs Easterbrook * 1989 ''

'' ('' Ghost Light'') as Mrs. Pritchard * 1991 '' Thatcher: The Final Days'' as

* 1991 '' Countdown'' – guest in Dictionary Corner * 1993 ''

Mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinat ...

'' as Springtime * 1993–1995 '' Peak Practice'' as Isabel de Gines * 1995 '' The Glass Virgin'' as Lady Constance * 1998 '' Heartbeat'' ("Where There's a Will") as Peggy Tatton * 1998 ''Neville's Island'' as Mrs. Champness * 2000–2003 '' At Home with the Braithwaites'' as Marion Riley * 2002 '' Doctor Zhivago'' as Madame Fleury * 2005 '' The Poseidon Adventure'' as Belle Rosen * 2006 '' Dalziel and Pascoe'' episode: " The Cave Woman" as Maisie Barron * 2007, 2009, 2010 ''

'' as Olive Woodhouse * 2008 '' New Tricks'' (" Communal Living") as Beatrice * 2009 '' Blue Murder'' * 2009 '' Agatha Christie's Marple'' ("

Murder Is Easy ''Murder Is Easy'' is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1939, and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in September the same year under the title ''Easy to Kill''. Christie ...

") as Lavinia Enid Pinkerton * 2010 '' Doctors'' * 2011 '' Case Histories'' * 2011 '' Rev.'' as Joan * 2014 ''

Playhouse Presents ''Playhouse Presents'' is an anthology series of self-contained TV plays, made by British broadcaster Sky Arts. The series started airing on 12 April 2012, on Sky Arts. Each episode is written by a different writer and stars a different cast. The ...

'' as Alice * 2019 '' Gentleman Jack'' as Mrs. Rawson

Theatre

*1953 ''The Apple Cart'' – with

*1966 ''Peter Pan'' *1970 ''

'' – Beatrice *1984 ''The Vortex'' *1985 ''Entertaining Mr Sloane'' – with Adam Ant *1988 ''Better in My Dreams'' – director *1991 ''Anthony and Cleopatra'' *1991 ''The Price'' – director *1992 ''The House of the Stairs'' *1993 ''For Services Rendered''

References

External links

* *
Sylvia Syms
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, ...

* *
Parliament & the Sixties- Sylvia Syms- 1962 – UK Parliament Living Heritage
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Syms, Sylvia 1934 births 2023 deaths Actors from the Royal Borough of Greenwich Actresses from London Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English film actresses English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Woolwich 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses