Sue Cleaver | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 September 1963 Barnet, Hertfordshire, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Known for | Coronation Street (1994, 2000–2025) dinnerladies (1999–2000) I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2022) |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Kate Harbour (half-sister) |
Susan Owen, (born 2 September 1963), known professionally as Sue Cleaver, is an English actress. She is best known for portraying the role of Eileen Grimshaw on the ITV soap opera Coronation Street , which she played from 2000 to 2025. In 2024 Cleaver became a panellist on Loose Women . [1] [2] [3]
Cleaver was born on 2 September 1963 in Barnet, Hertfordshire. [4] She is adopted; however, she reconnected with her birth mother when she was in her twenties and discovered she had two half-sisters, one of who is the actress Kate Harbour. [5]
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. [6]
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 , appearing in four episodes from 1999 until 2000. [7] [8] She appeared as PC Sylvia Holland in This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper , a 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 comes out as gay. [9]
Cleaver covered for Denise Robertson as the agony aunt on the ITV daytime programme This Morning until Robertson's death in 2016. Cleaver also completed three years of training to become a psychotherapist. [10] [11]
In 2022, Cleaver was a contestant on the twenty-second series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. She placed 9th after sixteen days in the jungle. [12]
In 2023, Cleaver made a guest appearance on the ITV show Loose Women , [13] and then became a regular panellist.
In 2024, Cleaver published her first book, A Work In Progress, [14] through Bloomsbury.
Cleaver was married to James Quinn between 1993 and 2003; the marriage produced one child. [4] She later married Brian Owen, a lighting technician, after meeting him on the set of Coronation Street.
In March 2010, Cleaver was arrested for drink-driving and was banned from driving for seventeen months and ordered to pay a £1,000 fine. [15]
Cleaver is patron of the charities Prevent Breast Cancer and When You Wish Upon a Star. [16]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | A Touch of Frost | Patten's Receptionist | Episode: "Nothing to Hide" |
| 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 |
| Reckless: The Movie | Waitress | Television film | |
| The Cops | Duty Sgt. Standish | Series regular | |
| 1999 | Casualty | Sue | Episode: "Mother's Day" |
| Children's Ward | Mrs. Gartside | Episodes 11.4-8 | |
| 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 |
| 2000–2025 | Coronation Street | Eileen Grimshaw | 2230+ episodes |
| 2000 | City Central | Val | Episode: "Nutcase" |
| The Man Who Cried | Red Cross Woman | Film role | |
| 2022 | I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! | Herself | Eliminated (9th place) on 21 November |
| 2010, 2015, 2023–present | Loose Women | Guest panellist (2010, 2015, 2023) Regular panellist (2024–) |
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The British Soap Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | [17] |
| 12th National Television Awards | Most Popular Actress | Nominated | [18] | |
| 2007 | TV Now Awards | Favourite Female Soap Star | Won | [19] |
| TVQuick & TVChoice Awards | Best Soap Actress | Won | [20] | |
| The British Soap Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | [21] | |
| Best On-Screen Partnership (shared with Ryan Thomas) | Nominated | [21] | ||
| 13th National Television Awards | Most Popular Actress | Nominated | [22] | |
| 2008 | Digital Spy Soap Awards | Nominated | [23] |