Barbara Lee (4 November 1933/1938 – 6 April 1997), who used the stage name Barbara Yu Ling, was a Singapore-born actress of stage, screen, and television who was based in Britain from the 1950s.
One of the first
Singaporean Chinese actresses to gain attention in Europe,
she appeared in productions of ''Madame Butterfly'' and ''The World of Suzie Wong''.
Among the films she appeared in were ''
The Satanic Rites of Dracula
''The Satanic Rites of Dracula'' is a 1973 British horror film directed by Alan Gibson and produced by Hammer Film Productions. It is the eighth film in Hammer's ''Dracula'' series, and the seventh and final one to feature Christopher Lee as Drac ...
'' (1973),
''
Ping Pong
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
'' (1986),
and ''
Peggy Su!
''Peggy Su!'' is a 1998 film written by Anglo-Chinese playwright Kevin Wong, directed by Frances-Anne Solomon and starring Pamela Oei. His own experience and background being the son of Chinese immigrants working in the laundry business was us ...
'' (1997).
Biography
Lee was born in Singapore.
Her father was a schoolteacher, and her mother died young.
A protégée of
Malcolm MacDonald
Malcolm Ian Macdonald (born 7 January 1950) is an English former professional footballer, manager and media figure. Nicknamed 'Supermac', Macdonald was a quick, powerfully built prolific goalscorer. He played for Fulham, Luton Town, Newcastle U ...
, Britain's Commissioner-General to Southeast Asia, she worked as a teacher before moving to England in 1955 to study at London's
Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art
The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...
.
MacDonald introduced Lee to Dame
Sybil Thorndike
Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969.
Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her ...
, who aided Lee with her performing career.
Her sister Dorothy Lee, who joined her in England, later became the wife and collaborator of illustrator
Paul Goble.
Lee married British theatre producer
Ian Albery Ian Bronson Albery (born 21 September 1936) is an English theatre consultant, manager, and producer. He is a former chief executive of Sadler's Wells Theatre (1994-2002), and was in charge of the Donmar Warehouse from 1961 to 1989. in 1966; the couple had two sons before the marriage ended in divorce.
She died of cancer at her home in London on 6April 1997.
[Death certificate: Barbara Yu Ling Albery. Camden, London. Register A43A, Entry 128. ]General Register Office
General Register Office or General Registry Office (GRO) is the name given to the civil registry in the United Kingdom, many other Commonwealth nations and Ireland. The GRO is the government agency responsible for the recording of vital record ...
, 1997.
Acting career
Lee's first major acting role was the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'' as Suzuki, although the actors' singing was dubbed by professionals.
In 1958 she toured Italy in the supporting cast of ''Sayonara Butterfly'', a parody of ''Madame Butterfly'' written by
.
from 1959 to 1961.
''. She played a ballerina and girlfriend of the main character played by Hunter.
The film was never released and is now believed lost.