Elisabeth Sladen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elisabeth Sladen
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Sladen in 2003
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| Born |
Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen
1 February 1946 Liverpool, England
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| Died | 19 April 2011 (aged 65) Southall, London, England
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| Other names | Elisabeth Miller |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1965–2011 |
| Television |
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| Spouse(s) |
Brian Miller
(m. 1968) |
| Children | Sadie Miller |
Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen (born February 1, 1946 – died April 19, 2011) was a famous English actress. She was best known for playing Sarah Jane Smith in the British TV show Doctor Who. She was a regular character from 1973 to 1976, acting alongside Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. She played Sarah Jane many times after that, both in Doctor Who and its spin-off shows, K-9 and Company (1981) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011).
Elisabeth loved ballet and theatre from a young age. She started acting on stage in the mid-1960s, though she often worked as a stage manager too. In 1970, she moved to London and got several TV roles. Her acting in the police show Z-Cars helped her get the part in Doctor Who. After leaving Doctor Who, she acted in other TV and radio shows. In the mid-1980s, she took a break to raise her family.
In the 2000s, Elisabeth Sladen became famous again with more Doctor Who appearances. This led to her main role in The Sarah Jane Adventures. In 2010, this show won an award for Best Children's Drama. She also made guest appearances in the main Doctor Who series and provided voice-overs for DVDs. Elisabeth Sladen passed away from cancer on April 19, 2011.
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Early Life and Childhood Dreams
Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen was born on February 1, 1946, in Liverpool, England. She was the only child of Tom and Gladys Sladen. Her father, Tom, fought in the First World War and served in the Home Guard during the Second World War.
From a very young age, Elisabeth loved to perform. She started dance lessons when she was five. She even danced in a show with the Royal Ballet. She went to Aigburth Vale High School for Girls.
Elisabeth's Acting Journey
Starting Out in Theatre and TV
Elisabeth Sladen studied acting at the Elliott-Clarke Drama School. In 1965, she appeared as an extra in her first movie, Ferry Cross the Mersey. She then joined a theatre group called the Hillbark Players.
After drama school, Elisabeth worked at the Liverpool Playhouse theatre. She started as an assistant stage manager. Her first time on stage there was as a maid in a play called Twelfth Night. Later, she played a dead body in The Physicists. She was told off for laughing during this play because her future husband, Brian Miller, whispered funny things to her. Elisabeth was so good at being a stage manager that she didn't get many acting parts at first. She later started getting more roles on stage.
Elisabeth and Brian Miller moved to Manchester in 1966 and got married on June 8, 1968. She played many roles, including Desdemona in Othello, which was her first main role. She also got small parts on Radio Leeds and Granada Television. In 1970, she appeared in six episodes of the soap opera Coronation Street as a barmaid named Anita Reynolds.
In 1970, Elisabeth and Brian moved to London. Her first TV role in London was in a two-part story of Z-Cars. She also appeared in Doomwatch, Public Eye, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, and Special Branch.
Becoming Sarah Jane Smith
In 1973, the actress playing the Third Doctor's assistant, Jo Grant, was leaving Doctor Who. A producer from Z-Cars suggested Elisabeth Sladen for the role. Elisabeth went to the audition without knowing it was for the new companion. She was surprised by how carefully the producer, Barry Letts, and the Doctor, Jon Pertwee, chose the new actress. They both gave her a thumbs-up sign as she talked to them! The role of Sarah Jane Smith was first given to another actress, but Elisabeth Sladen was chosen instead.
She stayed on Doctor Who for three and a half seasons. She acted with Jon Pertwee and then with Tom Baker, who played the Fourth Doctor. Elisabeth played Sarah Jane Smith many times after leaving the show. In 1981, she was asked to return for a pilot episode of a spin-off show called K-9 and Company. This show was about Sarah Jane and K-9, the robot dog from Doctor Who. Even though many people watched it, the show wasn't made into a full series. Elisabeth played Sarah Jane again in the 20th anniversary special, The Five Doctors (1983).
She also played Sarah Jane in a special for Children in Need in 1993, and in a video called Downtime in 1995.
Elisabeth also played Sarah Jane in many audio plays. She recorded two for BBC Radio with Jon Pertwee and Nicholas Courtney. In 1997, she won an award for Best Actress in Cult TV. Later, a company called Big Finish Productions made two series of Sarah Jane Smith audio adventures. Her husband, Brian Miller, and her daughter, Sadie Miller, also appeared in some of these.
After Doctor Who became popular again in 2005, Elisabeth Sladen returned as Sarah Jane in an episode called "School Reunion" in 2006. She acted alongside David Tennant, who played the Tenth Doctor. Elisabeth said that Sarah Jane used to be a bit boring, always saying "Yes Doctor, no Doctor," but she liked how the character was written in the new series. She won another award for her guest appearance.
Because of how popular she was, Elisabeth then starred in The Sarah Jane Adventures. This was a Doctor Who spin-off show just about Sarah Jane. It was made by BBC Wales for CBBC. A special episode aired on New Year's Day 2007, and then the show had several seasons. In 2010, the show won a Royal Television Society award for Best Children's Drama. Elisabeth also read new audio stories for The Sarah Jane Adventures on CD.
Elisabeth returned to Doctor Who again in 2008 for the episodes "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End". Her very last appearance in Doctor Who was a short scene in "The End of Time", which was David Tennant's last episode as the Doctor.
Other Acting Roles
After her first time on Doctor Who ended in 1976, Elisabeth went back to Liverpool and acted in plays. She also worked as a presenter for a children's TV show called Stepping Stones. She had a main role in the ITV show Send in the Girls and a small part in the movie Silver Dream Racer in 1980.
In 1981, Doctor Who producer Barry Letts cast her in a BBC show called Gulliver in Lilliput. She played Lady Flimnap, and she said it was her favorite role. She also appeared in TV adverts and another show by Barry Letts, Alice in Wonderland, where she played the Dormouse.
After her daughter, Sadie Miller, was born in 1985, Elisabeth worked less to focus on her family. But she still made occasional TV appearances. In 1995, she played Dr Pat Hewland in four episodes of Peak Practice. In 1996, she appeared in a BBC schools program called Numbertime for many years. This was her last TV acting role until her return to Doctor Who in 2006. In 2008 and 2009, Elisabeth acted in a pantomime show of Peter Pan, playing Mrs. Darling and a mermaid.
Elisabeth's last public event was at the British Film Institute in October 2010. Her last public appearance was at the EA British Academy Children's Awards in November 2010.
Elisabeth's Autobiography
Elisabeth Sladen's book, Elisabeth Sladen: The Autobiography, was released after she passed away, on November 7, 2011. The book was launched at 'The Doctor Who Experience' with her husband, Brian Miller, her daughter, Sadie Miller, and Tom Baker. The BBC also released an audio version of the book. The famous Doctor Who actor David Tennant wrote the introduction for the book.
Family Life
Elisabeth Sladen married actor Brian Miller on June 8, 1968, in Liverpool. Their daughter, Sadie Miller, appeared with Elisabeth in a 1993 documentary about Doctor Who.
Her Passing and Tributes
Elisabeth Sladen was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February 2011 and passed away on April 19, 2011, at the age of 65. She had fought cancer before, in 1999. Her death was reported widely in the UK. The first episode of the sixth series of Doctor Who, "The Impossible Astronaut", was dedicated to her memory. A special show called My Sarah Jane: A Tribute to Elisabeth Sladen was also shown on CBBC. In 2012, the new Doctor Who companion, Jenna Coleman's character, was named Clara, which some fans thought was a tribute to Elisabeth, whose middle name was Clara.
The Doctor Who episode The Hand of Fear was also shown as a tribute. At the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards, Elisabeth was the last person shown in the video remembering those who had passed away that year. Singer-songwriter Talis Kimberley wrote a tribute song called "Goodnight, Sarah-Jane". Tom Baker, who played the Fourth Doctor, said he had "sweet memories of happy days with Lis Sladen, the lovely, witty, kind and so talented Lis Sladen".
A final tribute to Sarah Jane Smith was aired as the last episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures on April 19, 2020, called "Farewell, Sarah Jane".
See also
In Spanish: Elisabeth Sladen para niños
