Cleo Sylvestre
Biography
Cleopatra Mary Palmer (née Sylvestre; 19 April 1945 – 20 September 2024), known professionally as Cleo Sylvestre, was a British actress. She was the first black woman ever to play a leading role at the National Theatre in London, and the first woman to record with The Rolling Stones. Sylvestre was brought up in Euston, north London, by her mother, Laureen Sylvestre (née Goodare), a cabaret artist at the Shim Sham Club in Wardour Street, who was born in Yorkshire in 1911. Laureen was of mixed English and African' heritage, and married Owen Oscar Sylvestre, from Trinidad, in 1944. Owen was a Flight Sergeant in the Air Force and had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal; he and Laureen divorced in 1955. Sylvestre always understood Owen to be her father; her daughter Zoë discovered many years later - whilst working in Sierra Leone - that her biological father was Ben Lewis, a lawyer from Sierra Leone whom the family called Uncle Ben, and that she had 15 half-siblings. Aged eight, she made her film debut in Johnny on the Run. Sylvestre was educated at Camden School for Girls and also attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. In 1964 she released a single, "To Know Him Is to Love Him", under the name "Cleo", produced by Andrew Loog Oldham and backed by The Rolling Stones. After Brian Jones left the Rolling Stones in 1969, she agreed to rehearse with his new band but abandoned music to concentrate on her theatre and television work. Her West End debut was at Wyndham's Theatre in Wise Child (1967) by Simon Gray, in which she starred alongside Sir Alec Guinness and was nominated most promising new actress. She was the first black actress in a leading role at the National Theatre in The National Health (1969) by Peter Nichols. She did several seasons with the Young Vic Company, including Molière's Les Fourberies de Scapin on Broadway and a tour of Mexico. She subsequently worked in many regional theatres, including the Theatre Royal, Lincoln, the Theatre Royal, Brighton, the Theatre Royal, York, the Derby Playhouse and the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry. She played Phaedre at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2007 and Rosa Parks, Josephine Baker and Wangari Maathai in Alison Mead's A Century of Women at Leicester Square Theatre (2011). She appeared with Antony Sher in his play ID (2003) at the Almeida Theatre, toured with English Touring Theatre in Far from the Madding Crowd (2008) and with Northern Broadsides in its 2010 production of Medea. She also appeared with Michael Sheen in Under Milk Wood (2021) at the Royal National Theatre. Children's theatre work includes seasons at the Unicorn Theatre and the London Bubble Theatre Company. Her television appearances include: Ken Loach's Up the Junction (1965), Doctor Who (1965), Cathy Come Home (1966) and Poor Cow (1967), as well as appearances in the original Till Death Us Do Part, Z-Cars, Callan, Doctors, New Tricks, The Armando Iannucci Shows, Chambers, The Bill, Who Do You Do and A Bird in the Hand, a Tube Tales episode directed by Jude Law. After a brief appearance as a factory worker in soap opera Coronation Street in 1966, she became the first ever regular black British female character on British TV, in the original series of Crossroads, playing Meg Richardson's adopted daughter Melanie from 1970 to 1972.
Known For & Full Filmography44 Titles
Drama Series - 1960, 16 episodes • as Cilla Christie
The residents of Coronation Street are ordinary, working-class people, and the show follows them through regular social and family interactions at home, in the workplace, and in their local pub, the Rovers Return Inn. Britain's longest-running soap.
Drama Series - 1963, 16 episodes • as Concubine (uncredited)
The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.
Drama Series - 1996, 16 episodes • as 1st Neighbour
A team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.
Drama Series - 1979, 16 episodes • as Ward Sister
Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.
Drama Series - 2020, 16 episodes • as Anne Chapman
The heartwarming and humorous adventures of a young country vet in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1930s. A remake of the 1978 series.
Drama Series - 1964, 16 episodes • as Marge, in the Factory
An anthology series of television plays which aired on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured.
Drama Series - 1964, 16 episodes • as Inmate: at Holm Lea
An anthology series of television plays which aired on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured.
Drama Series - 1964, 16 episodes • as Stephanie Ward
An anthology series of television plays which aired on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured.
Drama Series - 1964, 16 episodes • as Rachel
An anthology series of television plays which aired on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured.
Drama Series - 1978, 16 episodes • as Mrs. Dunlop
Children's drama series following the lives of students and teachers at Grange Hill comprehensive school.
Drama Series - 2004, 16 episodes • as Milly
New Tricks is a British comedy-drama that follows the work of the fictional Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad of the Metropolitan Police Service. Originally led by Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman, it is made up of retired police officers who have been recruited to reinvestigate unsolved crimes.
Movie - 2014, 2h 15m • as Marjorie Clyde
A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven.
Drama Series - 1965, 16 episodes • as Traffic Warden
Public Eye is a British television drama broadcast from 1965 to 1975 on ITV1. Produced by ABC Television for three series, and Thames Television for a further four, the programme follows the investigations and cases handled by the unglamourous enquiry agent Frank Marker.
Drama Series - 1968, 16 episodes • as Vicky Hammond
The Expert is a British television series produced by the BBC between 1968 and 1976. The series starred Marius Goring as Dr. John Hardy, a pathologist working for the Home Office and was essentially a police procedural drama, with Hardy bringing his forensic knowledge to solve various cases. The Expert was created and produced by Gerard Glaister. The series was also one of the first BBC dramas to be made in colour, and throughout its four series had numerous high quality guest appearances by actors such as John Carson, Peter Copley, Rachel Kempson, Peter Vaughan, Clive Swift, Geoffrey Palmer, Peter Barkworth, Jean Marsh, Ray Brooks, George Sewell, Anthony Valentine, Bernard Lee, Lee Montague, Geoffrey Bayldon, Mike Pratt, Edward Fox, André Morell, Brian Blessed, Nigel Stock, Philip Madoc and Warren Clarke.
Drama Series - 1965, 16 episodes • as Gert
The Troubleshooters is a British television series made by the BBC between 1965 and 1972, created by John Elliot. During its run, the series made the transition from black and white to colour transmissions. The series was based around an international oil company – the "Mogul" of the title. The first series was mostly concerned with the internal politics within the Mogul organisation, with episodes revolving around industrial espionage, internal fraud and negligence almost leading to an accident on a North Sea oil rig.
Drama Series - 1965, 16 episodes • as Karima
The Troubleshooters is a British television series made by the BBC between 1965 and 1972, created by John Elliot. During its run, the series made the transition from black and white to colour transmissions. The series was based around an international oil company – the "Mogul" of the title. The first series was mostly concerned with the internal politics within the Mogul organisation, with episodes revolving around industrial espionage, internal fraud and negligence almost leading to an accident on a North Sea oil rig.
Drama Series - 1966, 16 episodes • as Nurse
This English follows the East End working-class Garnett family, headed by patriarch Alf, a reactionary working-class man who wields racist and anti-Socialist views. His long-suffering wife Else manages to keep things in control... for the most part. Their progressive daughter Rita lives with them, as does her Irish husband Mike, who, with an array of liberal worldviews, often quarrels with his father-in-law. It inspired the American show "All In The Family" and several other international variations on the same theme.
Drama Series - 2023, 16 episodes • as Layla
Lisa, after witnessing a cataclysmic event on Platform 7 of a railway station, finds her own fragmented memory jogged to reveal a connection between her own life and that of the event she has just witnessed.
Drama Series - 1987, 16 episodes • as Mother Superior
Rockliffe's Babies is a British television police procedural devised by Richard O'Keefe, and starring Ian Hogg as maverick Detective Sergeant Alan Rockliffe, who is assigned to train seven young recruits to the CID, all fresh out of uniform. Under his irascible guidance, it is hoped that they will blossom into full-blown detectives. But Rockliffe is human – so human that he makes more mistakes than the 'Babies' he's supposed to be training. A follow-up series, Rockliffe's Folly, follows Rockliffe through his relocation to Wessex, dealing with rural crimes as part of a new team of investigators. The seven episode third series proved to be the last, with many citing a change in the programme's formula for the heavy ratings decline. Many viewers stated that the success of the two Babies series came not from Rockliffe himself, but from the popular ensemble cast.
Drama Series - 1969, 16 episodes • as Margaret
Adam Strange, a retired Home Office criminologist, solves bizarre cases – which have been marked "Open File" by various government departments – with the help of Hamlyn Gynt, Evelyn and Professor Marks. He employs the latest techniques in forensic investigation, which he undertakes in his own laboratory in his flat in Warwick Crescent in the Maida Vale/Little Venice area of Paddington.
Drama Series - 2013, 16 episodes • as Ilse Lawson
Lives are torn apart and relationships fractured forever when a young child goes missing. Five years later, DCI Maggie Brand leads a new investigation and puts at risk her own happy family life.
Drama Series - 1977, 16 episodes • as Sister
You're Only Young Twice is a British sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV. Created and written by Michael Ashton and Pam Valentine, the programme ran for four series from 1977 to 1981, with a total of 31 episodes. At the Paradise Lodge retirement home, Flora Petty and her sidekick Cissie Lupin attempt to thwart the long-suffering staff, led by Miss Milton. The duo are occasionally assisted by former theatrical artiste Dolly Love and the haughty Mildred Fanshaw.
Movie - 1999, 2h 15m • as Woman (segment "A Bird In The Hand")
Nine short stories based on the true experiences of London Underground passengers: "Mr. Cool" (Amy Jenkins, dir.); "Horny" (Stephen Hopkins); "Grasshopper" (Menhaj Huda); "My Father the Liar" (Bob Hoskins); "Bone" (Ewan McGregor); "Mouth" (Armando Iannucci); "A Bird in the Hand" (Jude Law); "Rosebud" (Gaby Dellal); "Steal Away" (Charles McDougall)
Drama Series - 1993, 16 episodes • as Mrs Williams
Following a freak accident, Godfrey Spry develops a 30-second attention span, causing him to take ad slogans literally and leading to chaotic behaviour.
Drama Series - 2017, 16 episodes • as Connie
In London, a city of millions, teenager Ash is lost. He wants to be the big man, but reality doesn’t quite deliver. A chance encounter leads him to make a dangerous decision, starting a chain reaction that plays out across these five connected short films.
Movie - 2019, 2h 15m • as Vertisse
Orphaned in Africa as a child, Lilly escapes to England as a refugee, fleeing civil war in Ethiopia. Lost in this cold new world, Lilly embraces the immigrant community in London, attempting to reunite people with their scattered families. But as her friend Amina discovers, Lilly's mission isn't purely selfless: a passionate lost love affair is revealed.
Movie - 1987, 2h 15m • as Mother
Sammy and Rosie are an unconventional middle-class London married couple. They live in the midst of inner-city chaos, surround themselves with intellectual street people, and sleep with everybody - except each other! Things become interesting when Sammy's father, Rafi, who is a former Indian government minister, comes to London for a visit. Sammy, Rosie, and Rafi try to find meaning through their lives and loves.
Movie - 1970, 2h 15m • as Dressmaker
A woman deals with an unhappy marriage, the death of her lover, and her son's involvement in a crime.
Movie - 1969, 2h 15m • as Millie Jackson
A film about four women who have been in prison.
Movie - 1972, 2h 15m • as Bus Conductress
Alf and his family have been moved from their East End home into a high-rise council estate. Alf is not only having trouble coping with his new 'home', but also with the long commute to work, the long walk to the corner pub, his long-suffering wife Else, rebellious daughter Rita, and her philandering, constantly unemployed husband Mike.
Movie - 1965, 2h 15m • as In the factory
The lives and loves of three young working class women, set in the pubs, terraced houses and factories of Battersea, South London.
Movie - 2018, 2h 15m • as Cora
Filmed live at London’s Bridge Theatre during its limited run. The Beth, an old fashioned cradle-to-grave hospital serving a town in Yorkshire, is threatened with closure as part of an efficiency drive. A documentary crew, eager to capture its fight for survival, follows the daily struggle to find beds on the Dusty Springfield Geriatric Ward, and the triumphs of the old people’s choir.
Movie - 1969, 2h 15m • as Carlien
A traumatized and troubled teenager is sent to an all-girls detention home where she strikes up an unlikely friendship with a fellow inmate.
Movie - 2022, 2h 15m • as Caroline
Late in his life, a grumpy old timer finds himself lost on a lake accompanied by a young girl, who questions him about a name.
Drama Series - 1987, 16 episodes • as Verity
A twin brother and sister separated at birth. Two halves forming the Yin and Yang. Two telepathic minds. An ancient clock tower. A mystery to keep the mind alert.
Movie - 1968, 2h 15m • as Stephanie Ward
When an elderly woman is hospitalised, the truth behind her illegal adoption of 14 children is revealed.
Movie - 2010, 2h 15m • as Maryann / Mrs Hurst
Having inherited her father’s farm, a spirited and feisty young woman – Bathsheba Everdene, finds herself playing mistress in a man’s world. She is pursued by three would-be lovers: the constant shepherd, Gabriel Oak; the obsessive landowner, William Boldwood and the reckless Sergeant Troy. But are any of them a match for the wilful Bathsheba? Based upon one of Hardy’s most popular and enduring novels, Far from the Madding Crowd takes us on a theatrical journey through Hardy country, following a passionate young girl propelled into womanhood by her experiences of love and loss.
Movie - 1953, 2h 15m • as Susie
A Polish boy runs away from his unkind foster mother in Edinburgh and finds a new home in a lakeside village for orphans of all nations, after encountering trouble through his innocent implication in a robbery.
Movie - 1988, 2h 15m • as Cynthia
When he was a little boy, Dillon's rock musician father and hippie mother died in a traffic accident. Now in his twenties, Dillon wants nothing more than a normal, responsible life, working in an office and taking care of the grandmother who raised him. But his grandmother has other ideas, and Dillon finds himself lured into an alternate lifestyle of art, pleasure and rebellion.
Movie - 1988, 2h 15m • as Sister
The true story of Catherine Dunbar's struggle with anorexia, that began when she was 15.
Movie - 1992, 2h 15m • as Self
A two part documentary that details the contribution of black and Asian people to television history from the birth of television in 1936 to 1992. Interviewees include: Pearl Connor, Thomas Baptiste, Lenny Henry, Norman Beaton, Horace Ové, Carmen Munroe, and Stuart Hall.
Movie - 2021, 2h 15m • as Mae Rose Cottage / Mrs Pugh
A community is sleeping. If you listen closely, you can hear their dreams. The retired sea captain yearning for his lost love. The landlady living in terror of her guests. A father who can no longer access his memories. A son in search of redemption. As they awake to boiled eggs and the postman, the residents of a small Welsh village juggle old secrets and new realities.
Movie - 2024, 2h 15m • as Older Bambi
In a near-future story of nostalgic obsession, two ageing beauty queens approach a device called Nostalg.AI to revisit their past romance in an LGBTQ drama that takes a dark turn.
Movie - 1993, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
Memory mixes with desire as a museum attendant is caught up in sado-masochistic fantasies inspired by a 19th century painting of slaves in chains called Scene on the coast of Africa. The man remembers his past as a singer and delivers Dido's lament from Purcell's opera.