Alison Steadman
- Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
The acclaimed Alison Steadman was born in 1946 in Liverpool, the daughter
of George Percival Steadman and Marjorie Evans. Educated at Childwall
Valley High School, she studied at the East-15 Acting School from
1966-1969, then toiled as a secretary at the Liverpool Probation
Service before deciding on a full-time acting career. She made her
professional stage debut in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" at the
Theatre Royal in 1968, where she also played Ophelia in "Hamlet."
Following repertory experience she met playwright Mike Leigh and appeared
in his plays "The Jaws of Death" and "Wholesome Glory," the latter
making her London debut in 1973. She won the London Evening Standard
Theatre Award in 1977 playing the lead role in "Abigail's Party" and
appeared in a definitive TV version of the play directed by her husband
that same year. Over the years Alison came to be known for her quirky
roles and such dazzling stage work in "The Rise and Fall of Little
Voice" (winning an Olivier Award in 1992), The Memory of Water (1999),
Joe Orton's "Entertaining Mr. Sloane" (2001) and "The Woman Who Cooked
Her Husband" (2002), playing a wronged wife who does the unthinkable,
only served to prove the extent of her versatility.
Although her film
appearances have been spotty, she greatly enhanced the few she has done
in support, including A Private Function (1984), Coming Through (1988), Clockwise (1986), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), and Shirley Valentine (1989),
not to mention her director-husband's critically lauded pictures
Life Is Sweet (1990), for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award,
Secrets & Lies (1996), and Topsy-Turvy (1999). She and Leigh divorced in 2001. Alison has also
entertained in many classy TV costumers, including The Singing Detective (1986), as the
mother of Michael Gambon, and Pride and Prejudice (1995).
of George Percival Steadman and Marjorie Evans. Educated at Childwall
Valley High School, she studied at the East-15 Acting School from
1966-1969, then toiled as a secretary at the Liverpool Probation
Service before deciding on a full-time acting career. She made her
professional stage debut in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" at the
Theatre Royal in 1968, where she also played Ophelia in "Hamlet."
Following repertory experience she met playwright Mike Leigh and appeared
in his plays "The Jaws of Death" and "Wholesome Glory," the latter
making her London debut in 1973. She won the London Evening Standard
Theatre Award in 1977 playing the lead role in "Abigail's Party" and
appeared in a definitive TV version of the play directed by her husband
that same year. Over the years Alison came to be known for her quirky
roles and such dazzling stage work in "The Rise and Fall of Little
Voice" (winning an Olivier Award in 1992), The Memory of Water (1999),
Joe Orton's "Entertaining Mr. Sloane" (2001) and "The Woman Who Cooked
Her Husband" (2002), playing a wronged wife who does the unthinkable,
only served to prove the extent of her versatility.
Although her film
appearances have been spotty, she greatly enhanced the few she has done
in support, including A Private Function (1984), Coming Through (1988), Clockwise (1986), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), and Shirley Valentine (1989),
not to mention her director-husband's critically lauded pictures
Life Is Sweet (1990), for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award,
Secrets & Lies (1996), and Topsy-Turvy (1999). She and Leigh divorced in 2001. Alison has also
entertained in many classy TV costumers, including The Singing Detective (1986), as the
mother of Michael Gambon, and Pride and Prejudice (1995).