Sue Cleaver
{{short description|English actress (born 1963)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sue Cleaver
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|9|2|df=y}}
| birth_place = Barnet, Hertfordshire, England
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1993–present
| known_for = Coronation Street (1994, 2000–2025)
dinnerladies (1998–2000)
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2022)
| spouse = {{ubl
| {{marriage|James Quinn|1993|2003|end=divorced}}
| Brian Owen
}}
| relatives = Kate Harbour (half-sister)
| children = 1
}}
Susan Cleaver (born 2 September 1963) is an English actress. She is best known for portraying the role of Eileen Grimshaw on the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, which she played from 2000 to 2025. In 2024 Cleaver became a panellist on Loose Women.{{Cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2019/09/13/coronation-streets-sue-cleaver-reveals-almost-died-battle-sepsis-10736732/|title=Coronation Street's Sue Cleaver reveals she almost died after battle with sepsis|date=2019-09-13|website=Metro|language=en|access-date=2020-04-13}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/showbiz-news/corries-sue-cleaver-celebrates-three-16656463|title=How Corrie legend Sue Cleaver has changed in 19 years on the soap|last=Fitzpatrick|first=Katie|date=2019-07-27|website=men|access-date=2020-04-13}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.entertainmentdaily.co.uk/soaps/coronation-street-fans-discover-sue-cleaver-starred-in-soap-before-being-cast-as-eileen/|title=Coronation Street fans discover Sue Cleaver starred in soap BEFORE being cast as Eileen|date=2020-01-15|website=Entertainment Daily UK|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-04-13}}
Early and personal life
Cleaver was born on 2 September 1963 in [https://www.hertsad.co.uk/news/national/uk-today/24606222.corries-sue-cleaver-shares-found-birth-mum/ Barnet], Hertfordshire.{{cite web |title=How old is I'm A Celebrity's Sue Cleaver and who is her husband? |url=https://www.heart.co.uk/showbiz/celebrities/how-old-sue-cleaver-husband-coronation-street/ |website=Heart |access-date=14 November 2022 |date=6 November 2022 |archive-date=14 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114144517/https://amp.heart.co.uk/showbiz/celebrities/how-old-sue-cleaver-husband-coronation-street/ |url-status=dead}} She is adopted; however, she reconnected with her birth mother when she was in her twenties, and discovered her two half-sisters, actresses Emma and Kate Harbour.{{cite web |title=I'm a Celebrity's Sue Cleaver tells campmates she's adopted and reveals "incredible" birth mother story |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a41942431/im-a-celebrity-sue-cleaver-adopted/ |website=Digital Spy |access-date=14 November 2022 |date=12 November 2022}}
Cleaver was married to James Quinn between 1993 and 2003; they have a son together, Elliot, born in 1998. She later married Brian Owen, a lighting technician, after meeting him on the set of Coronation Street.
In March 2010, Cleaver was arrested for drink-driving and as a result was banned from driving for seventeen months and ordered to pay a £1,000 fine.{{cite web |title=Coronation Street star Sue Cleaver banned from driving |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8619753.stm |website=BBC News |access-date=14 November 2022 |date=14 April 2010}}
Career
She studied at the Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre, and her first television appearance was a small part in an episode of A Touch of Frost. She went on to star in the acclaimed drama series Band of Gold before landing a role in the film Girls' Night alongside Julie Walters and Brenda Blethyn.{{cite web |title=Who is Sue Cleaver? I'm a Celebrity campmate and Coronation Street star |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/who-is-sue-cleaver-im-a-celebrity-campmate-coronation-street-b1037304.html?amp |website=Evening Standard |date=3 November 2022 |access-date=14 November 2022}}
In 1998, she played Duty Sgt. Standish in the first series of The Cops, and also played Glenda, a woman delivering baked goods in Victoria Wood's BBC comedy series dinnerladies on a recurring basis between 1999 and 2000.{{Cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/wbcx/dinnerladies--s2-e1-catering/|title=dinnerladies - S2 - Episode 1: Catering|website=Radio Times|language=en|access-date=2020-04-13}}{{Cite book|last=Brandwood|first=Neil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Og3vlpeSddQC&q=sue+cleaver+dinnerladies&pg=PA249|title=Victoria Wood: The Biography|date=2011-03-31|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-0-7535-4657-4|language=en}} She appeared as PC Sylvia Holland in This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, a miniseries, in 2000. She also had a small part in the Johnny Depp and Cate Blanchett film The Man Who Cried. It was after filming that role in 2000 that she was cast as Eileen Grimshaw on Coronation Street. Cleaver won praise for her portrayal of Eileen, the mother of a son, Todd, who struggles with his sexuality and comes out as gay.{{cite web |title=Eileen Grimshaw |url=https://www.itv.com/coronationstreet/tags/eileen-grimshaw |website=ITV |access-date=14 November 2022}}
Cleaver covered for Denise Robertson as the agony aunt on the ITV daytime programme This Morning until Robertson's death in 2016. Cleaver also completed three years of training to become a psychotherapist.{{cite web |title=Corrie's Sue Cleaver set to become a psychotherapist |url=https://www.itv.com/goodmorningbritain/articles/corries-sue-cleaver-set-to-become-a-psychotherapist |website=ITV |access-date=14 November 2022 |date=20 September 2016}}{{cite web |title=Coronation Street's Sue Cleaver training to be a psychotherapist |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/coronation-street/a637794/coronation-streets-sue-cleaver-training-to-be-a-psychotherapist/ |website=Digital Spy |access-date=14 November 2022 |date=25 March 2015}}
In 2022, Cleaver was a contestant on the twenty-second series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. She placed 9th after sixteen days in the jungle.{{cite web |title=Meet Sue Cleaver: I'm a Celebrity 2022 contestant and actress |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/reality-tv/sue-cleaver-im-a-celebrity-2022-contestant |website=Radio Times |access-date=14 November 2022}}
In 2023, Cleaver made a guest appearance on the ITV show Loose Women,{{cite web |title=Coronation Street's Sue Cleaver Details Recent Health Issues As She Blasts Scam Weight Loss Ad |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/coronation-street-sue-cleaver-blasts-weight-loss-scam-advert-shares-health-issues_uk_64f0989de4b0e2c4bd6b7397 |website=HuffPost UK |access-date=3 September 2023 |language=en |date=31 August 2023}} and then became a regular panellist.
In 2024, Cleaver wrote and published her first book, A Work In Progress,{{Cite web |title= |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/work-in-progress-9781526678706/}} through Bloomsbury.
Charity
Cleaver is patron of the charities [https://preventbreastcancer.org.uk/sue-cleaver/ Prevent Breast Cancer] and When You Wish Upon a Star.{{cite web|url=http://www.whenyouwishuponastar.org.uk/press.html |title=Press | When You Wish Upon A Star | Dream Making For Sick Children |publisher=When You Wish Upon A Star |access-date=2011-11-19}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="2" | 1994
| Patten's Receptionist | Episode: "Nothing to Hide" |
| Coronation Street
| Sister Treece | 1 episode |
| 1995
| Jan | 2 episodes |
| 1996
| King Girl | Sam Miller | Television film |
| rowspan="3" | 1998
| Rita | Film role |
| Reckless: The Movie
| Waitress | Television film |
| The Cops
| Duty Sgt. Standish | Series regular |
| rowspan="3" | 1999
| Casualty | Sue | Episode: "Mother's Day" |
| Children's Ward
| Mrs. Gartside | Episodes 11.4-8 |
| Peak Practice
| Julie Watkins | Episode: "The First Stone" |
| 1999–2000
| Glenda | Recurring; 4 episodes |
| 2000
| This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper | Sylvia Holland | 2 episodes |
| 2000–2025
| 2230+ episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| Val | Episode: "Nutcase" |
| The Man Who Cried
| Red Cross Woman | Film role |
| 2022
| I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! | rowspan="2" | Herself | Eliminated (9th place) on 21 November |
| 2010, 2015, 2023–present
| Guest panellist (2010, 2015, 2023) |
Awards and nominations
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0165905|name=Sue Cleaver}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20170725010329/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bbc1e5dc5 Sue Cleaver] at the British Film Institute
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleaver, Sue}}
Category:Alumni of the Manchester School of Theatre
Category:English television actresses
Category:English stage actresses
Category:English soap opera actresses
Category:Actresses from Hertfordshire
Category:Actresses from Manchester
Category:20th-century English actresses
Category:21st-century English actresses