Stephanie Beacham

Stephanie Beacham was born on 28th February 1947, so she is in her late sixties now. If you are not sure who this sexy grandmother is, she is an English television, radio, film and theatre actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role in the NBC sitcom Sister Kate. She is known for her television roles in the BBC drama Tenko, the ITV drama Connie, and for playing Sable Colby in the ABC soap operas The Colbys and Dynasty in the 1980s. More recently her television roles have included Phyllida Oswyn in the ITV drama Bad Girls, Martha Fraser in the ITV soap Coronation Street and store manager Lorraine in the Sky 1 sitcom Trollied.

Beacham in her modelling days

Stephanie Beacham started her working life as a model before deciding to make acting her career. After many appearances in British television shows such as The Saint and Jason King, Beacham made her big screen debut in the 1970 film The Games and her first major film role was opposite Marlon Brando in 1971’s The Nightcomers directed by Michael Winner. The film was a flop, though Beacham received a great deal of attention for appearing nude in her love scenes with Brando, showing off her lovely figure.

In the 1970s and 1980s she appeared in a number of films including cast as Jessica Van Helsing in Hammer’s Dracula AD 1972 alongside Peter Cushing. From 1981–82, Beacham featured on the BBC series Tenko, about a group of women prisoners of war held captive by the Japanese after their invasion of Singapore in 1942. Following this, she continued working in theatre and television before landing the lead role in the ITV drama series Connie. Her roles in Tenko and Connie helped to springboard her into one of her most well-remembered roles as the devious matriarch Sable Colby in The Colbys, a spin-off series of the opulent primetime soap Dynasty starring Joan Collins. Its popularity led to Playboy uncovering a forgotten nude pictorial Beacham did in 1972 which was published in the Playboy Magazine February 1987 issue.

Stephanie Beacham in Playboy

After the series finished, Beacham had the lead role in the children’s fantasy film The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, playing an evil governess. She then returned to Britain in 1990 to play Mrs. Peacock in an ITV game show version of the board game Cluedo. Reuniting with Dynasty producer Aaron Spelling, she also had a recurring guest role in the popular teen drama Beverly Hills 90210, playing Iris McKay, the estranged mother of Luke Perry’s character. In fact, throughout her career, Beacham has appeared in no less than six different television series produced by Aaron Spelling, these being Dynasty, The Colbys, The Love Boat, Beverly Hills 90210, Burke’s Law, and Charmed.

In 2003, Beacham returned to the UK to take a role in the ITV prison drama Bad Girls, where she played inmate Phyllida “Phyl” Oswyn for four years. In 2007 she took part in the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing with professional partner Vincent Simone. She then joined the cast of ITV’s Coronation Street portraying Martha Fraser, a love interest for Ken Barlow (played by William Roache). In 2010, Beacham appeared in Channel 4’s final series of Celebrity Big Brother as a housemate; she was the only female to make it to the final and finished in 5th place. In October 2011, Beacham released her autobiography Many Lives in which she discusses her life and career.

A more mature Beacham

Something that not many people know is that Beacham attended a Catholic girls’ school in her youth and that she is partially deaf, having been born with no hearing in her right ear and 80% hearing in her left ear. Beacham has been 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.

Beacham was married to fellow actor John McEnery between 1973 and 1978. They had two children together and she now has a grandson who calls her “Glamma” instead of Granny. In recent years, Beacham has appeared in Christmas pantomime, and she has said her grandson was the main reason for her taking part in pantomime. Yes, she sure is a glamorous granny.