Jean Alexander
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Jean Alexander (born February 24, 1926 in Liverpool, Lancashire) is an English television actress. She is best known to British television viewers as Hilda Ogden on the soap opera Coronation Street.
Although she always had aspirations to become an actress, she began her working life as a library assistant in Liverpool, but after five years the pull of the theatre became irresistible.
She began her acting career in 1949 at the Adelphi Guild Theatre in Macclesfield, and then toured in repertory companies in Oldham, Stockport and York. During this time she worked as an actress, wardrobe mistress and stage manager. She then moved to London where she made the 1951 film The Mob, in which she played Doris. Her television debut was in the hit television police series Z-Cars. She first appeared in Coronation Street in 1962 as landlady Mrs Webb.
Two years later, she returned to Coronation Street and this time she played the unforgettable Hilda Ogden. She started playing the role in May 1964, finally retiring in December 1987.
Her dialect speech incorporating phrases such as "nowt" or "eh, chuck" resonated with the programme's viewers. On the 40 Years on Coronation Street special, she recounted an incident years ago: while she was shopping, a fan asked if she was Hilda. She responded in her normal accent, "I beg your pardon?" Taken aback, the fan said, "Oh, don't you talk funny?"
In 1984, hundreds of fans sent her condolence cards upon the death of her on-screen husband, Stan (Bernard Youens). She was awarded the Royal Television Society Award in 1985 for her performance on Coronation Street. Laurence Olivier formed the Hilda Ogden Appreciation Society with prominent members. When she decided to leave the programme late in 1987, fans started "Save Hilda!" campaigns; the lines of communication had been muddied as many did not realize that she was leaving of her own accord.
In 1988, she started a recurring role as Auntie Wainwright on the BBC comedy series Last of the Summer Wine. She also earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress in a Television Series in 1988.
She also written an autobiography entitled The Other Side of the Street: The Autobiography of Jean Alexander.
She has also appeared on TV in The Phoenix and the Carpet, Barbara, Heartbeat and Where the Heart Is.
She has appeared in the films Scandal (1989) and Willie's War (1994).
She has never married and lives alone in Southport. In 2005, the UK TV Times poll voted her as "Greatest Soap Opera Star of All Time."
