Susan Hampshire, Lady Kulukundis, (born 12 May 1937) is an English actress known for her many television and film roles. A three-time
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
winner, she won for ''
The Forsyte Saga
''The Forsyte Saga'', first published under that title in 1922, is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by the English author John Galsworthy, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. They chronicle the vici ...
'' in 1970, ''
The First Churchills
''The First Churchills'' is a BBC serial from 1969 about the life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and his wife, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. It stars John Neville as the duke and Susan Hampshire as the duchess, was writt ...
'' in 1969, and for ''
Vanity Fair'' in 1973. Her other television credits include ''
The Pallisers
''The Pallisers'' is a 1974 BBC television adaptation of Anthony Trollope's Palliser novels. Set in Victorian era England with a backdrop of parliamentary life, Simon Raven's dramatisation covers six of Anthony Trollope's novels and follows the e ...
'' (1974), ''
The Grand The Grand may refer to:
Buildings Official names
* The Grand (Calgary), a theatre in Alberta, Canada
*The Grand (Ellsworth, Maine), an arts center in Maine, U.S.
* The Grand Doubletree, condominium and hotel skyscraper in Miami, U.S.
* The Grand C ...
'' (1997–98) and ''
Monarch of the Glen'' (2000–2005).
Early life
Susan Hampshire was born in
Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
, London, to George Kenneth Hampshire and his wife June (née Pavey) and is of Irish descent. The youngest of five children, she had three sisters and one brother. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a director of
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain.
It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926.
Its headquarters were at M ...
who was rarely at home, her parents having unofficially separated. As a child, she had some developmental difficulties, unable to spell her name until she was nine and unable to read well until she was 12. Her determined mother founded a small London school in 1928, The Hampshire (now Gems Hampshire School), where Susan was taught.
Her childhood ambition was to be a nurse, but she did not have the
O level
The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...
in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
it required, so she decided to become an actress. She was diagnosed as dyslexic at the age of 30.
Career
As an actress, Hampshire worked in the theatre before moving to film and television work. She took the title role in a dramatised version of ''
Little Black Sambo
''The Story of Little Black Sambo'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Scottish author Helen Bannerman and published by Grant Richards in October 1899. As one in a series of small-format books called The Dumpy Books for Children, ...
'' recorded by
HMV
Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom.
The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...
Junior Record Club in 1961 (words by
David Croft, music by
Cyril Ornadel
Cyril Ornadel (2 December 192422 June 2011) was a British conductor, songwriter and composer, chiefly in musical theatre. He worked regularly with David Croft, the television writer, director and producer, as well as Norman Newell and Hal Sh ...
) and sang on ''The Midday Show'' when
ITV Anglia
ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated ...
began broadcasting (as Anglia Television) in 1959. Her first starring role was in the film ''
During One Night
''During One Night'' also released as Night of Passion is a 1961 British drama film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Don Borisenko and Susan Hampshire.
It was Susan Hampshire's first film role.
It was Walton Studios' last production.
...
'' in 1960. She then took the leading role in a 1962
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. ...
...
''. Soon afterwards, she was taken up by
''. She would later appear opposite McGoohan again, in two episodes of ''
''. She co-starred with
''.
In 1966, she was introduced to American TV viewers in the pilot episode of ''
'' as a young passenger on the ''Titanic'' who befriends Dr Tony Newman. She later portrayed conservationist
''. In 1972, she played three different characters in ''
. She is known for her work on television, appearing in several popular television serials, including ''
who was not available for the show but had played the part of Andromeda in the first season of ''
'' (1961). Her most notable television role in the 1960s came in the
...