Sue Cleaver
Born
Susan Cleaver

(1963-09-02) 2 September 1963 (age 60)
Barnet, Hertfordshire, England
OccupationActress
Years active1993–present
Known forCoronation Street (1994, 2000–present)
dinnerladies (1998–2000)
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2022)
Spouses
  • James Quinn
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1993; div. 2003)​
  • Brian Owen
Children1
RelativesKate Harbour (half-sister)

Susan Owen (née 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 has played since 2000.[1][2][3]

Early and personal life

Cleaver was born on 2 September 1963 in Barnet, Hertfordshire.[4] She is adopted, however later reconnected with her birth mother when she was in her twenties, and discovered her two half-sisters, actresses Emma and Kate Harbour.[5]

Cleaver was married to James Quinn between 1993 and 2003 and they have a son together, Elliot, born in 1998.[4] She later married Brian Owen, 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.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8][9] She appeared as PC Sylvia Holland in This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper 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 announces he is gay.[10]

Cleaver covered for Denise Robertson as the agony aunt on the ITV daytime programme This Morning until Robertson's death in 2016. Cleaver completed three years of training to become a psychotherapist after co-stars told her she was good at listening.[11][12]

In 2022, Cleaver was a contestant on the twenty-second series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, and came 9th. [13]

In 2023, Cleaver made a guest panel appearance on the ITV show Loose Women.[14]

Charity

Cleaver is patron of the charity When You Wish Upon a Star.[15]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1994 A Touch of Frost Patten's Receptionist Episode: "Nothing to Hide"
1994 Coronation Street Sister Treece 1 episode
1995 Band of Gold Jan 2 episodes
1996 King Girl Sam Miller Television film
1998 Girls' Night Rita Film role
1998 Reckless: The Movie Waitress Television film
1998 The Cops Duty Sgt. Standish Series regular
1999 Casualty Sue Episode: "Mother's Day"
1999 Children's Ward Mrs. Gartside Episodes 11.4-8
1999 Peak Practice Julie Watkins Episode: "The First Stone"
1999–2000 dinnerladies Glenda Recurring; 4 episodes
2000 This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper Sylvia Holland 2 episodes
2000–present Coronation Street Eileen Grimshaw Series regular
2000 City Central Val Episode: "Nutcase"
2000 The Man Who Cried Red Cross Woman Film role
2022 I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Herself Eliminated (9th place) on 21 November
2010, 2015, 2023, 2024–present Loose Women Herself Guest panellist (2010, 2015, 2023)
Regular panellist (2024–)

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2006 The British Soap Awards Best Actress Nominated [16]
2006 12th National Television Awards Most Popular Actress Nominated [17]
2007 TV Now Awards Favourite Female Soap Star Won [18]
2007 TVQuick & TVChoice Awards Best Soap Actress Won [19]
2007 The British Soap Awards Best Actress Nominated [20]
2007 The British Soap Awards Best On-Screen Partnership (shared with Ryan Thomas) Nominated [20]
2007 13th National Television Awards Most Popular Actress Nominated [21]
2008 Digital Spy Soap Awards Most Popular Actress Nominated [22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Coronation Street's Sue Cleaver reveals she almost died after battle with sepsis". Metro. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  2. ^ Fitzpatrick, Katie (27 July 2019). "How Corrie legend Sue Cleaver has changed in 19 years on the soap". men. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Coronation Street fans discover Sue Cleaver starred in soap BEFORE being cast as Eileen". Entertainment Daily UK. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b "How old is I'm A Celebrity's Sue Cleaver and who is her husband?". Heart. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  5. ^ "I'm a Celebrity's Sue Cleaver tells campmates she's adopted and reveals "incredible" birth mother story". Digital Spy. 12 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  6. ^ "Coronation Street star Sue Cleaver banned from driving". BBC News. 14 April 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Who is Sue Cleaver? I'm a Celebrity campmate and Coronation Street star". Evening Standard. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  8. ^ "dinnerladies - S2 - Episode 1: Catering". Radio Times. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  9. ^ Brandwood, Neil (31 March 2011). Victoria Wood: The Biography. Random House. ISBN 978-0-7535-4657-4.
  10. ^ "Eileen Grimshaw". ITV. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Corrie's Sue Cleaver set to become a psychotherapist". ITV. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Coronation Street's Sue Cleaver training to be a psychotherapist". Digital Spy. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Meet Sue Cleaver: I'm a Celebrity 2022 contestant and actress". Radio Times. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Coronation Street's Sue Cleaver Details Recent Health Issues As She Blasts Scam Weight Loss Ad". HuffPost UK. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Press | When You Wish Upon A Star | Dream Making For Sick Children". When You Wish Upon A Star. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  16. ^ "British Television Soap Awards". thecustard.tv. Archived from the original on 2 February 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  17. ^ "National Television Awards". thecustard.tv. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  18. ^ "Soap stars clean up at TV awards". Irish Independent. 23 April 2007. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  19. ^ "Awards haul for Coronation Street". BBC News. 4 September 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  20. ^ a b "The British Soap Awards 2007: The Winners". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 4 August 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  21. ^ "In full: National TV Awards 2007 winners". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  22. ^ Green, Kris (21 March 2008). "Digital Spy Soap Awards 2008: The Winners". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 January 2017.

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