Stephanie Beacham

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

Biography

Early life

Beacham, one of four children, was born in Barnet, North London, England,^[1] the daughter of Joan, a housewife, and a father who was an insurance executive and the managing director of the Grosvenor estate.^[2]

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' (Roman Catholic) church school, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Beacham travelled to Boulogne-Billancourt in Paris, France to study mime with Étienne Decroux, before attending Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.^[3]

Career

Beacham's initial goal was to teach dance movement to deaf children, but she began a career in modelling, and was then cast for several parts in films. During an interview, thinking Barnet sounded a bit boring, she told a reporter from the Darlington Echo she was born Casablanca, where her favourite Bogart/Bergman film was set.^[1]

After many appearances in television shows such as The Saint and Jason King, Beacham's first major film role was opposite Marlon Brando in 1971's The Nightcomers directed by Michael Winner. Beacham appeared nude in one scene, during the filming of which under the bed clothes Brando wore Y-fronts and wellington boots to ensure Winner didn't film anything lower than was necessary.^[4] She was subsequently cast as Jessica Van Helsing in Hammer's Dracula AD 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. In 1973, she played Georgina Layton in Thames Television's first daytime drama Marked Personnel. The same year, she made an Itialian film; Si può essere più bastardi dell'ispettore Cliff? The film was released in the US in 1977 as Mafia Junction and in the UK as Blue Movie Blackmail. It was later released on home video, now retitled Super Bitch as the producers of the film attempted to capitalise on the success of the Joan Collins film The Bitch. Other genre movies Beacham made included And Now the Screaming Starts (1973), House of Mortal Sin (1974), Schizo (1976) and Inseminoid (1981) - a film she admits taking for the fee.^[5]

Beacham featured as a member of the ensemble cast of the BBC series Tenko (1981-82), a critically acclaimed series which gave her the break through role to dominant leading lady parts.^[6] After playing the lead in the ITV series Connie (1985), Beacham went onto one of her most well-remembered roles as the devious matriarch Sable Colby on the television series The Colbys, for which she was paid a basic salary of £25,000 per week.^[7] A spin-off series of the opulent primetime soap Dynasty which had been the no.1 show in the US that year, Beacham was cast opposite Charlton Heston as the tentpole couple of the new show. However, The Colbys never experienced the success of its parent show, and was cancelled after only two seasons. In 1988, Beacham was invited to reprise the role of Sable on Dynasty, now playing opposite Joan Collins in a season-long "battle of the bitches" scenario, but the show was nearing the end of its run and it too was cancelled the following year.

After the series finished, Beacham landed the lead role in the children's fantasy film The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, playing an evil governess. She was then cast in the series Sister Kate, taking 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, Beachum 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. Beacham eventually appeared in at least six different television series produced by Spelling, including 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 sci-fi series seaQuest DSV, produced by Steven Spielberg. Her character was the chief oceanographer and medical doctor for the submarineseaQuest; she left the show after its first season. Throughout the 1990s, Beacham continued to make guest appearances on a television shows. In 1996 she starred in the BBC wartime drama No Bananas which was set during the years of World War II.

In 2003, Beacham returned to England to take a role in the popular ITV 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 in the 2006 movie Love and Other Disasters.

Beacham then returned to stage work and toured the UK as a lead in the Noel Coward play Hay Fever. She competed in the 2007 series of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing with professional partner Vincent Simone; she was the first female celebrity voted out of the show).

On 27 November 2008 it was announced that Beacham had joined the cast of ITV's Coronation Street.^[6][8] Her storyline was aired in Spring 2009, for which she was paid a six-figure sum.^[7]

Other work

Beacham was involved in launching the Sense-National Deafblind and Rubella Association Fill in the Gaps campaign, which aims to give the elderly the support they need to maintain a good quality of life. She also attended a parliamentary launch of the campaign in June 2006.

Personal life

Beacham was married to fellow actor John McEnery between 1973 and 1978. They had two children together, Phoebe and Chloe, whom she raised from toddlers on her own.^[1] She now has a grandson, Jude, who calls her "Glamma" instead of Granny. Beacham has said her grandson was the reason for her taking part in a pantomime production and thanks him very much for the opportunity he gave her.

Beacham is resident in a "Pepto-Bismol" (pink)-coloured home on Point Dume in Malibu, California,^[3][5] and has a homes in London and Morocco.^[1] In early 2009 she was diagnosed as having a benign basal cell carcinoma, which was successfully removed.^[9]

Beacham is currently writing her autobiography, a book delayed by her appearance in Coronation Street.^[7]

Filmography

• The Queen's Traitor (1967)
• UFO (1970)
• The Nightcomers (1971)
• Dracula AD 1972 (1972)
• And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973)
• Blue Movie Blackmail, aka Super Bitch (1973)
• House of Whipcord (1976)
• Schizo (1976)
• Inseminoid (1981)
• Tenko (1981 - 1982)
• Sorrell and Son (1984)
• Connie (1985)
• Dynasty (1985, 1988 - 1989)
• The Colbys (1985 - 1987)
• The Wolves Of Willougby Chase (1989)
• Troop Beverly Hills (1989)
• Sister Kate (1989 - 1990)
• Lucky Chances (1990)
• Beverly Hills, 90210 (occasional - 1991 - 1998)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation (1 episode - 1993)
• Cluedo (1990)
• Secrets (1992)
• seaQuest DSV (1993 - 1994)
• No Bananas (1996)
• Charmed (1 episode - 2000)
• Relative Values (2000)
• The Witches Hammer (2006)
• Love and Other Disasters (2006)
• Bad Girls (2003 - 2006)
• New Tricks (TV series) (1 episode - 2006)
• Coronation Street (2009)

References

External links

• Stephanie Beacham at the Internet Movie Database
• Official web site
• Stephanie Beacham at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)