Sharon D. Clarke facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sharon D. Clarke MBE
Clarke in 2022
Born	Sharon Delores Clarke Enfield, London, England
Occupation	Actress, singer
Years active	1986–present
Spouse(s)	Susie McKenna

Sharon Delores Clarke is a talented English actress and singer. She has won the prestigious Olivier Award three times. Many people know her from TV shows like the medical drama Holby City, where she played Lola Griffin, and Doctor Who, where she was Grace O'Brien. Sharon has also starred in many big West End musicals. She was the first person to play the Killer Queen in We Will Rock You and Oda Mae Brown in Ghost the Musical.

Sharon Clarke has had a very busy career on stage. She won her first Olivier Award in 2014 for her role in The Amen Corner. Her second Olivier Award was for Best Actress in a Musical in 2019. This was for her amazing performance as Caroline Thibodeaux in Caroline, or Change. She even played this role on Broadway in 2021, which earned her nominations for a Tony and a Grammy Award. In 2020, she won her third Olivier Award for her part in Death of a Salesman at London's Young Vic theatre.

Sharon Clarke's Acting Career

Television Roles

Sharon Clarke is well-known for her role as Dr. Lola Griffin in the BBC medical drama Holby City. She first appeared in the show in 2005 and left in 2008. She even came back for one episode in 2019.

She also played Gran'Ma Flossie in the CBBC show The Crust. Sharon has been in many other TV shows, including Waking the Dead, Soldier Soldier, and EastEnders. She also voiced Treetog in the CBeebies series Tree Fu Tom and "One Hundred" in Numberblocks.

In 2017, the BBC announced that Sharon Clarke would join Doctor Who. She played Grace O'Brien in the eleventh series. She appeared in episodes like "The Woman Who Fell To Earth" and "Arachnids in the UK". She also made short appearances in later Doctor Who episodes. In 2017, she voiced Fire Chief Cass McCready in an episode of Thunderbirds Are Go. In 2024, she played DCI Ellis in the TV series Ellis.

Besides acting, Sharon has also been a judge on the BBC talent show Last Choir Standing in 2008. She was also a guest on Ready Steady Cook, representing Holby City. She has performed on Children in Need with the cast of We Will Rock You.

Stage Performances

Sharon Clarke's first professional acting job was in a play called Southside in 1984. She then played Dolores Hope in O Babylon! The Musical in 1988.

She has performed in many famous West End shows. These include General Cartwright in Guys and Dolls (1996) and Joanne Jefferson in Rent (1998). She also played Miss Sherman in Fame (1999). From 2000 to 2002, she played Rafiki in The Lion King. In 2004, she was Matron Mama Morton in Chicago.

In 2000, Sharon played Glinda in The Wiz. She was the first actress to play the Killer Queen in the musical We Will Rock You. For this role, she was nominated for an Olivier Award.

In 2008, Sharon started performing in pantomime shows, like Mother Goose. She also starred in Once on This Island. She played Motormouth Maybelle in the musical Hairspray, which closed in 2010.

In 2011, Sharon took on the role of Oda Mae Brown in the musical version of the film Ghost. The show moved to the West End in June 2011. She was nominated for another Olivier Award for this role.

She won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 2014 Olivier Awards for her role in The Amen Corner. In 2015, she played the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet. In 2016, she received great reviews for her role as Ma Rainey in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Critics said she was "terrific" and had a "powerhouse delivery."

In 2017, she played Sonya in The Life and Caroline Thibodeaux in Caroline, or Change. She continued playing Caroline when the show moved to the West End in 2018. She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for this role in 2019. The show later went to Broadway in 2021, where Sharon made her Broadway debut and was highly praised.

In 2019, she played Linda Loman in Death of a Salesman. This play also moved to the West End and later to Broadway.

Music Career

Sharon Clarke has also had success as a singer. She was part of the FPI Project, singing on their hit song "Going Back to My Roots." She was also in the band Nomad, known for singles like "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" and "Just a Groove."

She was part of a female singing group called Six Chix. They competed to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000, coming in second place.

Sharon has recorded songs for musical cast albums like Once on This Island, We Will Rock You, and Ghost the Musical. She also sang the title song for Terry Pratchett's Only You Can Save Mankind album.

Personal Life

Sharon Clarke is married to Susie McKenna, who is a writer and director. They got married around 2008 on the stage of the Hackney Empire theatre.

Awards and Recognition

Sharon Clarke was given the title Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2017. This honor was for her contributions to drama.

She has won several major awards for her acting:

• Olivier Awards:

* Best Actress in a Supporting Role for The Amen Corner (2014) * Best Actress in a Musical for Caroline, or Change (2019) * Best Actress for Death of a Salesman (2020)

• Critics' Circle Theatre Award: Best Actress for Death of a Salesman (2019)
• Black British Theatre Awards: Best Female Actor in a Musical for Caroline, Or Change (2019)
• Theatre World Award: Outstanding Debut Performance for Caroline, Or Change (2022)

She has also been nominated for many other awards, including the Tony Award and Grammy Award for Caroline, or Change.

Film and TV Appearances

Film

Television

Video Games