Sylvia May Laura Syms, OBE (born 6 January 1934) is an English
actress, best known for her roles in the films Woman in a Dressing
Gown (1957), Ice Cold in Alex (1958), No Trees in the Street (1959),
Victim (1961), and The Tamarind Seed (1974). In 2006 she portrayed the
role of The Queen Mother in the Stephen Frears movie The Queen, about
the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the few days after that,
leading up to the funeral. She remains active in films, television and
theatre.Syms was born in Woolwich, London, England, the daughter of
Daisy (née Hale) and Edwin Syms, a trade unionist and civil servant.
She grew up in Well Hall, Eltham and was educated at The Royal Academy
of Dramatic Art in London, on whose council she later served. Her
daughter Beatie Edney is also an actress, and she is the aunt of
musicians Nick and Alex Webb.In her second film, My Teenage Daughter
(1954), she played Anna Neagle's troubled daughter. In 1958, she
starred in the film Ice Cold in Alex (alongside John Mills, Anthony
Quayle and Harry Andrews); that same year she appeared in the English
Civil War film, The Moonraker. In 1959 she played in Expresso Bongo
with Cliff Richard. She played opposite Dirk Bogarde in 1961 in the
film Victim, as the wife of a barrister who is a closet homosexual.
The film was thought to have broadened the debate which led to the
decriminalisation of homosexual acts in private. In 1962, she played
Tony Hancock's wife in The Punch and Judy Man. The film also featured
her nephew, Nick Webb. Other comedies followed, such as The Big Job
(1965) with Hancock's former co-star Sid James and Bat Out of Hell
(1967), but it was for drama that she won acclaim, including The
Tamarind Seed (1974) with Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif, for which she
was nominated for a British Film Academy award. My Good Woman in 1972
was a husband-and-wife television comedy series which ran until 1974
with Leslie Crowther. At the same time, she was one of two team
captains on the BBC's weekly Movie Quiz, hosted by Robin Ray. In 1975,
she was the head of the jury at the 25th Berlin International Film
Festival. In 1989, Syms appeared in the Doctor Who story "Ghost
Light".
actress, best known for her roles in the films Woman in a Dressing
Gown (1957), Ice Cold in Alex (1958), No Trees in the Street (1959),
Victim (1961), and The Tamarind Seed (1974). In 2006 she portrayed the
role of The Queen Mother in the Stephen Frears movie The Queen, about
the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the few days after that,
leading up to the funeral. She remains active in films, television and
theatre.Syms was born in Woolwich, London, England, the daughter of
Daisy (née Hale) and Edwin Syms, a trade unionist and civil servant.
She grew up in Well Hall, Eltham and was educated at The Royal Academy
of Dramatic Art in London, on whose council she later served. Her
daughter Beatie Edney is also an actress, and she is the aunt of
musicians Nick and Alex Webb.In her second film, My Teenage Daughter
(1954), she played Anna Neagle's troubled daughter. In 1958, she
starred in the film Ice Cold in Alex (alongside John Mills, Anthony
Quayle and Harry Andrews); that same year she appeared in the English
Civil War film, The Moonraker. In 1959 she played in Expresso Bongo
with Cliff Richard. She played opposite Dirk Bogarde in 1961 in the
film Victim, as the wife of a barrister who is a closet homosexual.
The film was thought to have broadened the debate which led to the
decriminalisation of homosexual acts in private. In 1962, she played
Tony Hancock's wife in The Punch and Judy Man. The film also featured
her nephew, Nick Webb. Other comedies followed, such as The Big Job
(1965) with Hancock's former co-star Sid James and Bat Out of Hell
(1967), but it was for drama that she won acclaim, including The
Tamarind Seed (1974) with Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif, for which she
was nominated for a British Film Academy award. My Good Woman in 1972
was a husband-and-wife television comedy series which ran until 1974
with Leslie Crowther. At the same time, she was one of two team
captains on the BBC's weekly Movie Quiz, hosted by Robin Ray. In 1975,
she was the head of the jury at the 25th Berlin International Film
Festival. In 1989, Syms appeared in the Doctor Who story "Ghost
Light".
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