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 has played since 2000.[1][2][3]
Sue Cleaver | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1963-09-02) 2 September 1963 (age 59) Barnet, Hertfordshire, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Known for | Coronation Street (1994, 2000–present) dinnerladies (1998–2000) I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2022) |
| Spouse | James Quinn (m. 1993–2003) |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Kate Harbour (half-sister) |
Cleaver was born on 2 September 1963 in Barnet, Hertfordshire.[4] Cleaver 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, who was born in 1998, & who was 5 when they divorced.[4] Sue is married to lighting technician Brian Owen who she met on the Coronation Street set.
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]
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!.[13]
Cleaver is patron of the charity When You Wish Upon a Star.[14]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | A Touch of Frost | Patten's Receptionist | Episode: "Patten's Receptionist" |
| 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 | 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 | Contestant; series 22 |
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The British Soap Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | [15] |
| 2006 | 12th National Television Awards | Most Popular Actress | Nominated | [16] |
| 2007 | The British Soap Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | [17] |
| 2007 | The British Soap Awards | Best On-Screen Partnership (shared with Ryan Thomas) | Nominated | [17] |
| 2007 | 13th National Television Awards | Most Popular Actress | Nominated | [18] |
| 2008 | Digital Spy Soap Awards | Most Popular Actress | Nominated | [19] |