Corinne Skinner-Carter (born 1931) is a Trinidadian actress, based in the United Kingdom. As Corinne Skinner, she began acting professionally in the 1950s. She has worked in black British film and television, and is possibly best known for her role as

Audrey Trueman The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 2000, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by Matthew Robinson, or his successor, John Yorke. The first character to be ...

in BBC's ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British 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 Ea ...

''.

Career

Born Corinne Skinner into a privileged Trinidadian family, she began her theatrical career almost immediately after school, dancing with the company of

Geoffrey Holder Geoffrey Lamont Holder (August 1, 1930 – October 5, 2014) was a Trinidadian-American actor, dancer, musician, and artist. He was a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet before his film career began in 1957 with an appearance in ' ...

(brother of dancer and artist

Boscoe Holder Boscoe Holder (16 July 1921 – 21 April 2007), born Arthur Aldwyn Holder in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago, was Trinidad and Tobago's leading contemporary painter, who also had a celebrated international career spanning six decades as a designer and ...

). As she recalled: "My grandmother was very upset because I had to go on the stage and she said, ‘nice girls do not go on the stage.’"Hazelann Williams
"Life And Legacy: Corinne Skinner Carter"
'' The Voice'', 6 November 2011. She went to the UK in 1955 to train as a teacher. Soon after arriving there she married her childhood sweetheart, the educationist Trevor Carter (1930–2008) at Christ Church, Hampstead, on New Year's Eve, 1955. While training, she supplemented her income by dancing and acting in film and television. She continued to perform while simultaneously working as a teacher for Islington London Borough Council in North London. Her first acting role was a small part in the all-black cast of the play ''The Green Pastures'', shown in the BBC '' Sunday Night Theatre'' in September 1958. She made an early uncredited appearance in the film ''Flame in the Streets'' in 1961, and throughout the 1960s she appeared as a dancer in ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

'' (1963), ''

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specifica ...

'' (1966) and '' Live and Let Die'' (1973). Other minor parts followed in TV shows such as '' Dixon of Dock Green'', ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'', ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' (1975) and '' Man About the House'', until the late 1970s, when she was cast as Hortense Bennett in the television drama series '' Empire Road'' (BBC, 1978–79), her breakthrough role. For the next 10 years, Skinner-Carter worked mainly on television, appearing in ''Jury'' (1983), ''South of the Border'' (BBC, 1988–90) and '' Happy Families'' (BBC, 1989–90). She also appeared in other television series, including ''

The Gentle Touch ''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police drama television series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a female police off ...

'' (LWT, 1980–84) and ''Black Silk'' (BBC, 1985). Her film performances include in Horace Ové's '' Pressure'' (1975 — the first full-length drama feature film by a Black director in Britain), in Menelik Shabazz's ''

Burning an Illusion ''Burning an Illusion'' is a 1981 British film written and directed by Menelik Shabazz, about a young British-born black woman's love life, mostly shot in London's Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove communities.Ade Solanke"Burning an Illusion (1981 ...

'' (1981) and in the short film ''Dreaming Rivers'' (1988). In the 1990s Skinner-Carter appeared in mainstream shows such as '' Rides'' (BBC, 1991–93), ''

Touch of Frost In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch (haptic perception), as well as temperature (thermoception), body position (proprioception), and pain. It is ...

'', ''

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...

'' and '' Grange Hill''. In 2000, she got her biggest role to date when she was cast in ''EastEnders'' for 32 episodes as Audrey Trueman. The role lasted until September 2001, when the character of Audrey was killed off. Following this, Skinner-Carter landed roles in ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'', '' Casualty'' and '' The Bill''. Skinner-Carter has also been associated with the

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean festival event that has taken place in London since 1966

, judging for the event in 1997. Her memoir, ''Why Not Me? From Trinidad to Albert Square Via Empire Road'' (written with Z. Nia Reynolds), was published in 2011. In June 2016 Skinner-Carter performed one of the monologues shown on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

in a series of eight 15-minute short stories entitled ''Snatches: Moments From 100 Years Of Women’s Lives'', as part of a season marking the anniversary of women's suffrage in the UK.Descant Deb
"Veteran Trini-Brit Actress Corinne Skinner-Carter Leads Diverse Voices in BBC 4's Hear Her Season"
''The British Black List'', 18 Jun, 2018.

References

External links