Sylvia Syms

Sylvia May Laura Syms (born 6 January 1934) is an English actress, best known for her roles in the films '' Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957), '' Ice Cold in Alex'' (1958), '' No Trees in the Street'' (1959), '' Victim'' (1961), and '' The Tamarind Seed'' (1974). In 2006 she portrayed The Queen Mother in the Stephen Frears movie '' The Queen'', about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and days leading up to Diana's funeral. She remains active in films, television and theatre.

Personal life

Syms was born in Woolwich, London, England, the daughter of Daisy (''née'' Hale) and Edwin Syms, a trade unionist and civil servant. She grew up in Well Hall, Eltham"Well Hall" entry of ''London Gazetteer'' by Russ Willey, ( Chambers 2006) (online extrac

and was educated at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, on whose council she later served. Her daughter Beatie Edney is also an actress, and she is the aunt of musicians Nick and Alex Webb.

Career

In her second film, ''My Teenage Daughter'' (1956), she played Anna Neagle's troubled daughter. In 1958, she starred in the film '' Ice Cold in Alex'' (alongside John Mills, Anthony Quayle and Harry Andrews); that same year she appeared in the English Civil War film, '' The Moonraker''. In 1959 she played in '' Expresso Bongo'' with Cliff Richard. She played opposite Dirk Bogarde in 1961 in the film '' Victim'', as the wife of a barrister who is a closet homosexual. The film was thought to have broadened the debate which led to the decriminalisation of homosexual acts in private. In 1962, she played opposite to Patrick McGoohan as the wife of a condemned man in '' The Quare Fellow'' and in 1963 she played Tony Hancock's wife in '' The Punch and Judy Man''. The film also featured her nephew, Nick Webb. Other comedies followed, such as '' The Big Job'' (1965) with Hancock's former co-star Sid James and '' Bat Out of Hell'' (1967), but it was for drama that she won acclaim, including '' The Tamarind Seed'' (1974) with Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif, for which she was nominated for a British Film Academy award. ''My Good Woman'' in 1972 was a husband-and-wife television comedy series which ran until 1974 with Leslie Crowther. At the same time, she was one of two team captains on the BBC's weekly ''Movie Quiz'', hosted by Robin Ray. In 1975, she was the head of the jury at the 25th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1989, Syms appeared in the '' Doctor Who'' story " Ghost Light".

Shortly after the end of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's period of office in 1990, Syms portrayed her in '' Thatcher: The Final Days'' (1991), a Granada television film for ITV, which dramatises the events surrounding her removal from power. She later recreated the role on the stage. From 2000 to 2003, she played Marion Riley in the ITV comedy-drama series '' At Home with the Braithwaites'' and in 2002, she featured in the serial '' The Jury'' and contributed " Sonnet 142" to the compilation album '' When Love Speaks''. For Stephen Frears' '' The Queen'' (2006), she was cast in the role of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother with Dame Helen Mirren who, as her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, won an Oscar for her performance. She also appeared in '' The Poseidon Adventure'' (2005), an American TV film with a negligible connection to the 1972 feature film. She has also taken up producing and directing.

In 2009, she appeared in the film ''Is Anybody There?'' alongside Michael Caine and Anne-Marie Duff and in the ITV1 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 from 2007. Syms also appeared as another character in ''Casualty''s sister series '' Holby City'' in 2003. From 2007, Syms has had a recurring role in BBC One's '' EastEnders'', playing dressmaker Olive Woodhouse; her last appearance in the role was on 20 July 2010. In 2010, Syms took part in the BBC's ''The Young Ones'', a series in which six celebrities in their 70s and 80s attempted 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.

Filmography

* 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 '' The Moonraker'' 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
* 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
* 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 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

* 1964 '' The Saint'' (" The Noble Sportsman") as Lady Anne Yearley
* 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
* 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 (1982 film)'' (TV Short) as The Wife
* 1985 ''Miss Marple: A Murder is Announced'' as Mrs Easterbrook
* 1989 '' Doctor Who'' ('' Ghost Light'') as Mrs Pritchard
* 1991 '' Thatcher: The Final Days'' as Margaret Thatcher
* 1991 '' Countdown'' - guest in Dictionary Corner
* 1993 '' Mulberry'' 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
* 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 '' EastEnders'' as Olive Woodhouse
* 2008 '' New Tricks'' (" Communal Living") as Beatrice
* 2009 '' Blue Murder''
* 2009 '' Agatha Christie's Marple'' (" Murder Is Easy") as Lavinia Enid Pinkerton
* 2010 '' Doctors''
* 2011 '' Case Histories''
* 2011 ''Rev.'' as Joan
* 2014 '' Playhouse Presents'' as Alice
* 2019 '' Gentleman Jack'' as Mrs Rawson

References

External links

*
*
The Official Sylvia Syms Web SiteParliament & the Sixties- Sylvia Syms- 1962 - UK Parliament Living Heritage

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syms, Sylvia
1934 births
Living people
British film actresses
British soap opera actresses
British stage actresses
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People from Woolwich
Actresses from London
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art