Sylvia Syms | |
---|---|
![]() Syms as Sister Diana Murdoch in Ice Cold in Alex, c. 1958 | |
Born | Sylvia May Laura Syms[1] 6 January 1934 |
Died | 27 January 2023 Northwood, London, England | (aged 89)
Education | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1955–2019 |
Spouse |
Alan Edney
(m. 1956; div. 1989) |
Children | 2, including Beatie |
Relatives | Nick Webb (nephew) Alex Webb (nephew) |
Website | http://www.sylviasyms.co.uk |
Sylvia May Laura Syms[2] OBE (6 January 1934 – 27 January 2023) was an English stage and screen actress. Her best-known film roles include My Teenage Daughter (1956), Woman in a Dressing Gown (1957), for which she was nominated for a BAFTA Award, Ice Cold in Alex (1958), No Trees in the Street (1959), Victim (1961), and The Tamarind Seed (1974).
Known as the "Grand Dame of British Cinema", Syms was a major player in films from the mid-1950s until mid-1960s, usually in stiff-upper-lip English pictures, as opposed to kitchen sink realism dramas, before becoming more of a supporting actress in both film and television roles. On television, she was known for her recurring role as dressmaker Olive Woodhouse on the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She was also a notable theatre player.[3]
Syms portrayed Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in the 2006 biopic The Queen.
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