Eleanor Bron facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Eleanor Bron
Bron in 1968
Born	(1938-03-14) 14 March 1938 (age 87) Stanmore, Middlesex, England
Alma mater	Newnham College, Cambridge
Occupation	Actress, author
Years active	1959–present
Partner(s)	Cedric Price (died 2003)

Eleanor Bron was born on March 14, 1938. She is a talented English actress who has worked in theatre, movies, and television. She is also an author. Some of her famous movie roles include Ahme in the Beatles' film Help! (1965) and the doctor in Alfie (1966). She also appeared in popular TV shows like Yes Minister, Doctor Who, and Absolutely Fabulous.

Early Life and Education

Eleanor Bron was born in Stanmore, Middlesex, England. Her family was Jewish. Before she was born, her father, Sydney, changed their family name from Bronstein to Bron. He did this to help his new business, Bron's Orchestral Service. Her older brother, Gerry Bron, became a well-known record producer.

Eleanor went to the North London Collegiate School. After that, she studied Modern Languages at Newnham College, Cambridge. She once described her time at Newnham as "three years of unparalleled pampering and privilege."

Eleanor Bron's Acting Career

Starting Out in Comedy

Eleanor Bron began her acting journey in 1959. She joined the Cambridge Footlights comedy group for their show The Last Laugh. Peter Cook, another famous comedian, was also in this show. It was quite new for a woman to join the Footlights. Before Eleanor, only men were part of the group, and they would dress up as female characters.

Movie Roles and Famous Films

Eleanor Bron has been in many movies. One of her most famous roles was Ahme in the Beatles' film Help! in 1965. Her name even inspired Paul McCartney when he wrote the song "Eleanor Rigby".

She also played a doctor in the movie Alfie (1966), where she helped Michael Caine's character. In the film Bedazzled (1967), she played Margaret Spencer. She also appeared in Women in Love (1969) as Hermione Roddice.

Other films she appeared in include Two for the Road (1967) with Audrey Hepburn. She was also in A Touch of Love (1969) and later in movie versions of Black Beauty (1994) and A Little Princess (1995).

Television Appearances

Eleanor Bron has had a long career in television. Early on, she performed sketches with John Fortune on shows like Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life.

She also worked with writer Michael Frayn on BBC shows such as Beyond a Joke (1972). In the mid-1970s, she sometimes appeared with the famous comedy group Monty Python. She was part of The Secret Policeman's Ball concerts, which raised money for Amnesty International.

In 1982, she was in an episode of the BBC series Yes Minister called "Equal Opportunities". She played a senior government official. She also appeared in Rumpole of the Bailey in 1979, playing an actress accused of murder.

Eleanor Bron appeared twice in the original Doctor Who series. In City of Death (1979), she had a funny scene with John Cleese. They played art critics who thought the TARDIS was a piece of art. She also played the villain Kara in Revelation of the Daleks (1985). Later, she was in a Doctor Who audio story called Loups-Garoux (2001).

She often appeared in Jennifer Saunders' TV series Absolutely Fabulous. She played Patsy's mother in flashback scenes. In 1992, she was in an episode of Heartbeat. She also narrated an episode of Wild Discovery.

Stage Performances

Eleanor Bron has performed in many plays and musicals. In 1973, she was in the musical The Card in London's West End. She continued to perform in the The Secret Policeman's Ball benefit shows for Amnesty International throughout the 1980s. She worked with comedians like Peter Cook and Rowan Atkinson in these shows.

In 2005, she performed in the musical play Twopence to Cross the Mersey in Liverpool. She also played an abbess in the play In Extremis at Shakespeare's Globe in 2007. She was also in the play version of Pedro Almodóvar's film All About My Mother in 2007.

Eleanor Bron has also performed musical pieces. She gave the first performance of The Yellow Cake Revue (1980), which was a protest against uranium mining. She has also written new verses for Camille Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of the Animals.

Recent Work and Voice Roles

Since 1985, Eleanor Bron has been known as "the voice of BT". You can still hear her voice on many British telephone messages, like "The number you have dialled has not been recognised, please check and try again."

In 2001 and 2002, she was in the BBC radio comedy show The Right Time. She also appeared in The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in 2002. In 2001, she played the great-grandmother in the ITV series Gypsy Girl.

In 2010, Eleanor Bron appeared in TV advertisements for Age UK, a charity that helps older people. She gave her time for free. She also guest-starred in Foyle's War in 2010 and Midsomer Murders in 2012 and 2019.

In 2013, she was in a BBC One adaptation of the ghost story The Tractate Middoth. In 2014, she joined the cast of the radio soap The Archers, playing Carol Tregorran. In 2019, she read a book called Grandmothers on BBC Radio 4.

Personal Life

Eleanor Bron was the partner of architect Cedric Price for many years. He passed away in 2003. They did not have any children.

Filmography

Books Written by Eleanor Bron

Eleanor Bron is also an author. She has written several books, including:

• Life and Other Punctures (1978): This book is about her bicycle trips in France and Holland.
• Cedric Price Retriever: This book lists the contents of the bookshelves of her late partner, architect Cedric Price.

Cultural Mentions

The band Yo La Tengo mentions Eleanor Bron in their song "Tom Courtenay". The lyrics say: "...dreaming 'bout Eleanor Bron, in my room with the curtains drawn...".

See also

In Spanish: Eleanor Bron para niños