Date of Birth

17 June 1920, Hereford, England, UK

Date of Death

13 October 1996, London, England, UK

Beryl Reid was the daughter of Scottish parents and grew up in industrial Manchester, England. She left home at the age of 16 to go and work in a shop. She lasted 6 weeks. She applied for and was accepted in a revue in the Summer season in Bridlington. She had no formal training but joined the National Theater in London as a comedy actress. Her first big success came in the BBC radio show "Educating Archie" (a ventriloquist - on the radio). She played the naughty schoolgirl, Monica, and later, the Brummie Marlene. Her film roles were few and far between, but always well received. She transferred her Tony award winning performance of the lesbian radio star to the screen in The Killing of Sister George (1968). But she was best known and loved for her (slightly tipsy) older ladies such as in "The Beiderbecke Tapes" (1987) and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (1979).

She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of British Empire) in 1986 for her services to drama Queen Elizabeth II for services to entertainment.

She was awarded a Lifetime British Comedy award in 1991

She was dyslexic and always found it hard to learn scripts

In her later years she lived in the eccentric Honeypot Cottage (made of circular rooms) on the banks of the Thames in Berkshire, with her collection of stray cats.

Won Broadway's 1967 Tony Award as Best Actress (Dramatic) for "The Killing of Sister George," a role she recreated in the film version of the same name, The Killing of Sister George (1968).

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