Dame Barbara Windsor | |
---|---|
Windsor in 2010 | |
Born | Barbara Ann Deeks 6 August 1937 Shoreditch, London, England |
Died | 10 December 2020 Stanmore, London, England | (aged 83)
Resting place | Golders Green Crematorium |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1950–2017[1] |
Spouses | Stephen Hollings
(m. 1986; div. 1995)Scott Mitchell (m. 2000) |
Dame Barbara Windsor DBE (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 1937 – 10 December 2020)[2] was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders.[3] She joined the cast of EastEnders in 1994 and won the 1999 British Soap Award for Best Actress, before leaving the show in 2016 when her character was killed off.
Windsor began her career on stage in 1950 at the age of 13, and made her film debut as a schoolgirl in The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954) while studying shipping management at Bow Technical College.[4] She received a BAFTA Award nomination for the film Sparrows Can't Sing (1963), and a Tony Award nomination for the 1964 Broadway production of Oh, What a Lovely War!. In 1972, she starred opposite Vanessa Redgrave in the West End production of The Threepenny Opera.
Between 1964 and 1974, she appeared in nine Carry On films, including Carry On Spying (1964), Carry On Doctor (1967), Carry On Camping (1969), Carry On Henry (1971), and Carry On Abroad (1972). She also co-presented the 1977 Carry On compilation That's Carry On!. Windsor also starred in all four "Carry On Christmas" Thames TV specials, and appeared in both series of the 1975 ATV sitcom "Carry On Laughing". Outside of Carry On, her other film roles included A Study in Terror (1965), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), and as the voice of Mallymkun, the Dormouse in Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016).
Windsor was made a Dame (DBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to charity and entertainment. She was awarded the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2010, as well as the Freedom of the City of London in 2010.