Stephanie Beacham

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Stephanie Beacham

Born 28 February 1947 (1947-02-28) (age 61)
Barnet, London, United Kingdom
Spouse(s) John McEnery (1973–1978)

Stephanie Beacham (born 28 February 1947) is an English actress.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Beacham, one of four children, was born in Barnet, North London, England,[1] the daughter of Joan, a homemaker, and a father who was an insurance executive and the managing director of the Grosvenor estate.[2] She has a brother, Richard, and a sister, Diana.[3] Shortly after birth, she was diagnosed as being completely deaf in her right ear as her mother had contracted chicken pox during her pregnancy. She has about 75% of normal hearing capacity in her left ear. After leaving her girls state school, Queen Elizabeth's School for Girls, Beacham traveled to France and studied mime with Etienne St Creux before attending RADA. Her initial goal was to teach dance movement to deaf children. She began a career in modeling and then was cast for several parts in films.

[edit] Career

Despite many appearances in television shows such as The Saint and Jason King, she first came to prominence when she played Georgina Layton in the daytime soap Marked Personal. Beacham's first starring film role was opposite Marlon Brando in 1972's The Nightcomers directed by Michael Winner. The film was made during a lull in Brando's career and was a flop. Beacham received a great deal of attention for appearing nude in her love scenes with Brando. She was subsequently cast as Jessica Van Helsing in Hammer's Dracula A.D. 1972 alongside Peter Cushing.

Beacham's next role was as a repertory player with the Nottingham Playhouse, where she played several lead and feature roles, including the role of Nora in the Henrik Ibsen play A Doll's House. She again received attention and reinforcement to her "sex kitten" image when an Italian film that Beacham had made in 1973 was re-released in the UK in the late 1970s under the title Super Bitch. The producers of Beacham's film were capitalizing on the success of the film by Jackie Collins, The Bitch, which starred the author's elder sister, actress Joan Collins. The Italian film was therefore branded Super Bitch and marketed as a sequel. Other genre movies include And Now the Screaming Starts (1973), House of Mortal Sin (1974), Schizo (1976) and Inseminoid (1981). A number of roles in theater and episodic television followed during the late 1970s and 1980s. Beacham also had successful runs as a member of the ensemble of the BBC series Tenko, as well as the lead in the series Connie.

Her success in those shows led her to be cast in one of her most well-remembered roles, as the devious matriarch Sable Colby on the television series The Colbys. The Colbys was a spinoff series of the opulent nighttime soap Dynasty, and Beacham was cast opposite Charlton Heston as the tentpole couple of the show. However, The Colbys never experienced the success of its parent show, and was cancelled after two seasons. In 1988, Beacham was invited to reprise the role of Sable on Dynasty, but the show was nearing the end of its run and it too was cancelled the following year.

After the series, Beacham had the lead role in the children's fantasy film The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, playing an evil governess. In contrast to this, she was then cast in the series Sister Kate in an attempt to shed her sex kitten/rich bitch image, she took the lead role as a nun taking care of children in an orphanage. The series lasted for one season and was cancelled in 1990. She then returned to Britain to play Mrs. Peacock in an ITV game show version of the board game Cluedo (1990). Reuniting with Dynasty producer Aaron Spelling, she also had a recurring guest role in the popular teen drama Beverly Hills 90210, playing Iris McKay, the estranged mother of Luke Perry's character. In fact, throughout her career, Beacham has starred or guest-starred in no less than six different television series produced by Aaron Spelling, these being Dynasty, The Colbys, The Love Boat, Beverly Hills 90210, Burke's Law, and Charmed.

In 1993, Beacham signed on to play Dr. Kristin Westphalen in the NBC series seaQuest DSV produced by Steven Spielberg. Her character was the chief oceanographer and medical doctor for the seaQuest, a submarine commanded by Capt. Nathan Bridger (played by Roy Scheider) in the year 2018. After a rocky start, the show built an audience throughout its first season. However, by the end of season one, tensions between producers and writers led to a major overhaul of the show's premise. The network decided to move away from its scientific roots in favor of more sci-fi/fantasy-based stories. Several actors were let go, and Beacham declined to sign on for another season.

In 2003, Stephanie Beacham returned to England to play a supporting role in the popular prison drama Bad Girls. She played inmate Phyl Oswyn for four years, partnered with Amanda Barrie as the "Costa Cons", first appearing in series five, until the final series in 2006. She also appeared on the 2006 movie Love and Other Disasters.

She is currently touring as leading lady in the UK Tour of Noel Coward's Hay Fever and is about to start shooting on Little Birds, the debut feature by British film maker Steve Aaron Misiura."[4] She competed in the 2007 series of Strictly Come Dancing with professional partner, Vincent Simone, who had been partnered with Louisa Lytton in series four. Beacham allegedly injured her back during rehearsal for the competition, but refused to withdraw from the contest (though she was voted off in one of the earlier heats).

[edit] Personal life

Beacham was married to fellow actor John McEnery between 1973 and 1978. They had two children together, Phoebe and Chloe. She now has a grandson, Jude, who calls her "Glamma" instead of Granny - Beacham said this was the reason for her acting in a pantomime. She attended Queen Elizabeth Grammar School for Girls in High Barnet. She has a slightly older sister, Diana, a much older brother, Richard, who worked for the Colonial Development Corporation in Hill St., London and a sister, Jenny, who lives in Hove.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] References

  1. ^ Moroccan dynasty
  2. ^ Stephanie Beacham Biography (1947-)
  3. ^ Stephanie Beacham Biography - Yahoo! Movies
  4. ^ Little Birds - Home

[edit] External links