Elisabeth Sladen

Elisabeth Sladen
Sladen in 2003
Born
Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen

(1946-02-01)1 February 1946
Liverpool, England
Died19 April 2011(2011-04-19) (aged 65)
Southall, London, England[1]
Other namesElisabeth Miller
EducationAigburth Vale High School for Girls
Occupations
  • Actress
  • presenter
  • writer
Years active1965–2011
Television
Spouse
(m. 1968)
ChildrenSadie Miller

Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen[2] (1 February 1946[3] – 19 April 2011)[4] was an English actress. She became best known as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series Doctor Who, appearing as a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and reprising the role many times in subsequent decades, both on Doctor Who and its spin-offs, K-9 and Company (1981) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011).

Sladen was interested in ballet and theatre from childhood, and began to appear on stage in the mid-1960s, although she was more often a stage manager at this time. She moved to London in 1970 and won several television roles, with her acting in the police drama Z-Cars leading to her being recommended for the role in Doctor Who. After leaving the series, she had other roles on both television and radio before semi-retiring to bring up a family in the mid-1980s.

Sladen returned to the public eye in the 2000s with more Doctor Who related appearances, which culminated in taking a regular lead role in The Sarah Jane Adventures. In 2010, the show earned the Royal Television Society Award for Best Children's Drama. She also made regular guest appearances on the main television series and provided voice-over commentaries and interviews for its releases to DVD. She died of cancer on 19 April 2011.

  1. ^ "Elisabeth Sladen: Actress who came to fame as Dr Who's assistant and later had her own spin-off series". The Independent. London. 20 April 2011. Archived from the original on 24 April 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  2. ^ Sladen, Elisabeth; Jeff Hudson (November 2011). Elisabeth Sladen: the autobiography.
  3. ^ Sladen was born in 1946, though this was often erroneously reported as 1948.
  4. ^ The Sunday Times Magazine, 18 December 2011, page 64