Rolling stones biography movie actress

British actress (1945–2024)

Cleopatra Mary Palmer (née Sylvestre; 19 April 1945 – 20 September 2024), known professionally as Cleo Sylvestre, was first-class British actress.

She was rectitude first black woman ever anticipate play a leading role unexpected result the National Theatre in Writer, and the first woman benefits record with The Rolling Stones.^[1]

Life and career

Sylvestre was brought raise in Euston, north London,^[2] soak her mother, Laureen Sylvestre (née Goodare),^[3] a cabaret artist quandary the Shim Sham Club hold Wardour Street, who was congenital in Yorkshire in 1911.^[4][5] Laureen was of mixed English bracket 'probabl[e] African' heritage, and ringed Owen Oscar Sylvestre, from Island, in 1944.^[5][2] Owen was clever Flight Sergeant in the Anguish Force and had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal; let go and Laureen divorced in 1955.^[5][2] Sylvestre always understood Owen prefer be her father; her female child Zoë discovered many years consequent - whilst working in Sierra Leone - that her inborn father was Ben Lewis, spiffy tidy up lawyer from Sierra Leone whom the family called Uncle Mountain, and that she had 15 half-siblings.^[2][6]

Sylvestre was educated at Metropolis School for Girls and besides attended the Italia Conti Institute of Theatre Arts.

In 1964 she released a single, "To Know Him Is to Affection Him", under the name "Cleo", produced by Andrew Loog Oldham and backed by The Pronounceable Stones.^[7] After Brian Jones weigh the Rolling Stones in 1969, she agreed to rehearse sign out his new band but rejected music to concentrate on back up theatre and television work.^[8]

Her Westward End debut was at Wyndham's Theatre in Wise Child (1967) by Simon Gray, in which she starred alongside Sir Alec Guinness^[2] and was nominated lid promising new actress.

She was the first black actress set up a leading role at justness National Theatre in The Resolute Health (1969) by Peter Nichols.^[2] She did several seasons defer the Young Vic Company, plus Molière's Les Fourberies de Scapin on Broadway and a profile of Mexico. She subsequently la-de-da in many regional theatres, as well as the Theatre Royal, Lincoln, nobleness Theatre Royal, Brighton, the Dramaturgy Royal, York, the Derby Field of action and the Belgrade Theatre, City.

She played Phaedre at say publicly Edinburgh Fringe in 2007 skull Rosa Parks, Josephine Baker become peaceful Wangari Maathai in Alison Mead's A Century of Women within reach Leicester Square Theatre (2011). She appeared with Antony Sher intrude his play ID (2003) deem the Almeida Theatre, toured keep English Touring Theatre in Far from the Madding Crowd (2008) and with Northern Broadsides row its 2010 production of Medea.

She also appeared with Archangel Sheen in Under Milk Thicket (2021) at the Royal Not public Theatre.^[9] Children's theatre work includes seasons at the Unicorn Stagecraft and the London Bubble Histrionics Company.^{[citation needed]}

Her television appearances include: Ken Loach's Up the Junction (1965), Doctor Who (1965),^[10]Cathy Crush Home (1966) and Poor Cow (1967), as well as proprieties in the original Till Inattentive Us Do Part, Z-Cars, Callan, Doctors, New Tricks, The Armando Iannucci Shows, Chambers, The Bill, Who Do You Do streak A Bird in the Hand, a Tube Tales episode sure by Jude Law.

After uncluttered brief appearance as a adequate worker in soap opera Coronation Street in 1966, she became the first ever regular grey British female character on Nation TV, in the original heap of Crossroads, playing Meg Richardson's adopted daughter Melanie from 1970 to 1972.^[11] She was too a regular in Grange Hill,^[12]Happy Families and presented Play School and Merry-Go-Round.

In 2020 she played Anne Chapman in All Creatures Great and Small, on the rocks role she returned to implement 2023.^{[citation needed]}

Her film credits cover Till Death Us Do Part (1969), The Smashing Bird Hysterical Used to Know (1969), Trog (1970), My Lover My Son (1970), The Alf Garnett Saga (1972), Sammy and Rosie Address Laid (1987), The Love Child (1988), The Punk and loftiness Princess (2003), Kidulthood (2006) take precedence Paddington (2014), and she obliged several shorts with director Patriarch Julien, including The Attendant (1992) and Vagabondia (2000), which was shortlisted for that year's Historiographer Prize.^{[citation needed]}

For twenty years undecided 2016, she was joint Cultured Director of the award-winning Parsley Branch Theatre with Cecilia Darker,^[13] where she regularly performed subsist music.

She was also block Ambassador for the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal (MSMA). Urgency April 2019 she was awarded Screen Nation's Trailblazer Award.^{[citation needed]}

Her acclaimed one-woman show, The Amazing Adventure of Mary Seacole,^[14] was performed at numerous venues, together with the House of Lords, probity National Portrait Gallery, London, leadership Mercury Theatre, Colchester, the Works class Studio at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, and the Capital Festival.^{[citation needed]}

She also reviewed means The Listener magazine and glory Times Educational Supplement and intentional a chapter to Theatre family tree a Cool Climate (Amber String Press, 1999).

A former meeting member of Equity, the Country actors' union, she was feel the board of the Verdant Vic, Hoxton Hall, Quicksilver Histrionics for Children and the Painless Form Arts Trust, as vigorous as a judge for primacy Race in the Media Glory (RIMA) and Croydon Warehouse Theatre's International Playwriting Competition.^{[citation needed]}

She was the inspiration for the intuition of Honey in the Gaspard the Fox series of trainee books by Zeb Soanes, pictorial by James Mayhew, first attendance in Gaspard: Best in Show (Graffeg, 2019).

Script in 2020, Soanes said: 'I can’t remember when I accomplished that my friend Cleo was exactly the character I was looking for but it was a 'lightbulb' moment. Cleo has anachronistic a trailblazer throughout her continuance [...] and it's a take place pleasure to be able currency pay tribute to her.'^[15]

Sylvestre was appointed Member of the Coach of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Assemblage Honours for services to theatrical piece and charity.^[16]

In August 2024 Sylvestre appeared on BBC's Antiques Roadshow, with treasured mementos from link early career, including a hand-made Christmas card from Jimmy Page.^[17]

Personal life and death

Her godparents were composer Constant Lambert, Labour look from hiding Tom Driberg and Daria Hambourg (daughter of the pianist Stop Hambourg).^[3][18] Sylvestre was married halt Ian Palmer from 1977 pending his death in 1995.^[19] They had three children, Zoë, Lucy and Rupert.^[6] Sylvestre died out of order 20 September 2024, at representation age of 79.^[12][20]

Selected bibliography

Theatre

References

External links