Judy Cornwell : biography
Judy Valerie Cornwell (born 22 February 1940) is an English actress best known for her role as Daisy in the British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances.
Personal life
Cornwell married John Kelsall Parry on 18 December 1960, and they have a son, Edward.
Her grandmother was music hall singer Sarah Bonner.
Published works
Cornwell has published a number of books, including her autobiography Adventures of a Jelly Baby (ISBN 0-283-07001-3) that was published in 2005 which describes her childhood growing up in Britain during the war, and then in Australia where her family emigrated.
She has also published several novels, including Cow and Cow Parsley in 1985, Fishcakes at the Ritz in 1989, The Seventh Sunrise in 1994, and Fear and Favour in 1996.
Film roles
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
1959 | Friends and Neighbours | 4th Girl |
1967 | Two for the Road | Pat |
1967 | Jules Verne’s Rocket to the Moon | Lady Electra |
1968 | The Wild Racers | Pippy |
1970 | Brotherly Love | Rosie |
1970 | Wuthering Heights | Nelly Dean |
1970 | Every Home Should Have One | Liz Brown |
1971 | Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? | Clarine |
1985 | Santa Claus: The Movie | Anya |
1987 | Cry Freedom | Receptionist |
1995 | Persuasion | Mrs. Musgrove |
1999 | David Copperfield | Peggotty |
Biography
Cornwell’s father served in the RAF and she grew up in Britain, where she attended a convent school and Saint Michael Boarding school in Heacham, Norfolk, before moving to Australia, to which country her family emigrated. She has written about her childhood experiences in her autobiography Adventures of a Jelly Baby. She returned to Britain, and there became a professional dancer and comedienne in her teens, working her act between the nudes at the Windmill Theatre before becoming an actress. Her long career includes roles in radio’s The Navy Lark, the controversial play Oh! What A Lovely War, her own TV comedy series Moody and Pegg, and several seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Films and television
Cornwell’s film roles include Santa Claus: The Movie (as Mrs. Claus) and Mad Cows. On television she has appeared in Dixon of Dock Green, Cakes and Ale, Bergerac, Doctor Who (the episode Paradise Towers), several episodes of Farrington of the F.O., The Famous Five, The Bill, Heartbeat, Miss Marple and Midsomer Murders. She also appeared on radio as WREN Cornwell in The Navy Lark. Judy is also appearing in BBC soap opera EastEnders as Queenie Trott, the mean tyrant mother of lovable loser Heather Trott. In 1987, she appeared as the English spinster lady Rosemary Tuttle in the episode ‘Rumpole and the Official Secret’ from Season 4 of Rumpole of the Bailey. She is best known, however, for her portrayal of lovable working class housewife "Daisy" in the popular sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, which ran from 1990 to 1995.
Television roles
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
1974 | Moody and Pegg | Daphne Pegg |
1976 | Cakes and Ale | Rosie |
1980–81 | The Good Companions | |
1982 | Look and Read "Fairground" | Mrs Watson |
1983 | Jane Eyre | Mrs. Reed |
1985 | There Comes a Time, | Vanessa James |
1987 | Doctor Who "Paradise Towers" | Maddy |
1987 | Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries "Strong Poison" | Miss Booth |
1987 | Bergerac "The Memory Man" | Belle Young |
1990–95 | Keeping Up Appearances | Daisy |
1992 | Nice Town | Aunt Peggy |
1996 | Famous Five "Five on a Hike Together" | Mrs. Baker |
1997 | Midsomer Murders, "Death in Disguise" episode | May Cuttle |
1998 | The Life and Crimes of William Palmer | Mrs. Palmer |
1999 | Heartbeat | Isabelle Sheba Christie |
2007–08 | EastEnders | Queenie Trott |