STEPHANIE BEACHAM

Stephanie Beacham (born 28 February 1947) is an English actress, businesswoman and former model. In a career spanning almost six decades, she has a wide number of credits to her name on film, television, stage and radio in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Beacham began appearing on British television in 1967 and made her big screen debut in the 1970 film The Games following this with The Ballad of Tam-Lin (1970) with Ava Gardner, before starring opposite Marlon Brando in the 1971 film The Nightcomers. By the mid-1970s, Beacham had become widely known for her roles in multiple British horror films including Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972), And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973) and House of Mortal Sin (1975), and headlined her own daytime soap opera in Marked Personal (1973–1974), however after garnering acclaim with successful starring roles in the television series Tenko (1981–1982) and Connie (1985), it was Beacham's role as Sable Colby in the ABC series Dynasty (1985–1989) and its spin-off The Colbys (1985–1987) that would make her a household name on both sides of the Atlantic. Following the cancellation of Dynasty, Beacham starred as the title role in Sister Kate (1989–1990), Iris McKay in the American teen sitcom Beverly Hills, 90210 (1991–1994), Dr. Kristin Westphalen in Steven Spielberg's NBC science fiction series SeaQuest DSV (1993–1994), Countess Regina Bartholomew in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993) and Dorothea Grant in No Bananas (1996). Beacham's film roles consisted of Troop Beverly Hills (1989), The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1989), To Be the Best (1991) and Secrets (1992), Relative Values (2000), Love and Other Disasters (2006) and Wild Oats (2016). Beacham returned to the UK to play Phyl Oswyn in the ITV prison-based drama series Bad Girls (2003–2006), Martha Fraser in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street (2009, 2022), Lorraine in the Sky One sitcom Trollied (2012) and Maureen in the BBC sitcom Boomers (2014–2016), as well as venturing into reality television competing on Strictly Come Dancing (2007) and Celebrity Big Brother (2010). Beacham has appeared on stage on both the West End and Broadway, with roles including Mrs. Cheveley in An Ideal Husband (1996–2001), Elizabeth I in Elizabeth Rex (2002) and Maria Callas in Master Class (2010–2011). She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1990 for her role in Sister Kate, as well as several other nominations for playing Sable Colby in The Colbys and Dynasty. Early life Beacham, one of four siblings, was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, England, the daughter of Joan (née Wilkins), a housewife, and Alec, who was an insurance executive and later became the managing director of the Grosvenor estate.Beacham attended the Queen Elizabeth's Girls' Grammar School in Barnet. Aged 13, she hitch-hiked "all over Europe" with a group of friends. Initially aspiring to become a ballerina, Beacham's dreams were cut short when her instructors told her that she would be unable to continue due to her partial deafness. Leaving school aged 17 in 1964, Beacham travelled to Boulogne-Billancourt in Paris, France, to study mime with Étienne Decroux with the goal of teaching dance movement to deaf children. While in Paris, Beacham got a job as an au-pair girl to help finance her mime school fees. After returning to the UK, Beacham visited a boyfriend who was acting at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool. This sparked her interest in theatre and she became the wardrobe assistant before playing juvenile leads with the theatre. Beacham then attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. Philanthropy and activism In 2009, 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 the Parliamentary launch of the campaign in June 2006. Beacham is also a spokesperson for the American Speech–Language–Hearing Association, which supports those with communication disabilities, and is a member of the British Tinnitus Association, as well as being on the Board of Free Arts for Abused Children in Los Angeles which gives abused children access to the arts for therapeutic value. In 2017, Beacham appeared in a promotional film for Unison, voicing her support for their Pay Up Now campaign, encouraging the British government to give public service workers a pay increase. Business ventures In 2009, Beacham launched her own range of skincare and beauty products, Glow by Stephanie Beacham.The range proved to be a bestseller, selling fifty thousand units within a month of launching. In popular culture In 1987, synth-pop group Act released an extended version of their song "Snobbery and Decay", entitled "Snobbery & Decay (Extended, For Stephanie Beacham)".