Joanne Campbell

For the American pop singer, see Jo Ann Campbell.
For the Canadian politician, see Joanne Campbell (politician).

Joanne Campbell
Born
Joanne Elizabeth Campbell

(1964-02-08)8 February 1964
Northampton, Northamptonshire, England
Died20 December 2002(2002-12-20) (aged 38)
London, England
OccupationActress
Years active1982–2002

Joanne Elizabeth Campbell (8 February 1964 – 20 December 2002) was a British actress and drama therapist best known for playing Liz in the 1980s sitcom Me and My Girl and Josephine Baker on stage in This Is My Dream.[1][2]

Career

Born Joanne Elizabeth Campbell on 8 February 1964 in Northampton, her Jamaican mother was Una (born Radghan) and her father, Hedley Campbell, came from Trinidad.[1][3] Campbell attended Northampton High School[4] before training in London at the Arts Educational School. [5] While she was still training she was chosen as the lead singer and dancer for a Cannon and Ball tour.[3] She then began her acting career at the Theatre Royal in Stratford East, in 1982, playing Jack in "Jack and the Beanstalk" and becoming the first black principal boy in British pantomime.[5]

After several other on stage acting roles, Campbell won her first lead role in 1987, playing Josephine Baker in This is my Dream. Later, she combined acting with teaching as one of the founding members of the BiBi Crew, the first British theatre company made up entirely of black actresses.[6] As one of the group of seven, she co-wrote and acted in several plays, whose aim was to share the black experience to a wide audience.[5]

As well as the above-mentioned comedies, her other television roles included parts in Dramarama, The Bill, London's Burning, and Birds of a Feather. Campbell also appeared in children's shows Bodger and Badger and Alphabet Castle. She also worked in radio in Mama I Want to Sing and The Cotton Club at the Aldwych Theatre, to mixed reviews.[5]

In the 1990s, in addition to becoming a member of the board of directors of the Theatre Royal Stratford East, Campbell became a drama therapist and worked mostly with children at the Priory Hospital in North London. Unfortunately, she was not able complete her training to become a child and adolescent psychiatrist.[5]

Death

Campbell died suddenly as a result of deep-vein thrombosis aged 38 in London in 2002. At the time of her death she was working on the new BBC children's show U Get Me.[1][2]

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1983 The All Electric Amusement Arcade Deshaun
1984 Dramarama Suki episode: "Que Sera" (11 June 1984)
1984 Me and My Girl Liz
1989 Bodger and Badger Mavis Series One and Cameo in Series 2
1990 Nuns on the Run Ward Nurse
1990 London's Burning Jenny Six episodes (7 October – 18 November 1990)
1992 Us Girls Beverley Pinnock
1993 Love Hurts Phoebe episode: "For a Few Dollars More" (26 February 1993)
1993 Birds of a Feather Jancis episode: "Find the Lady" (7 November 1993)
1993 Alphabet Castle Queen Bet/Various Roles
1994 The Bill Kate episode: "No Job for an Amateur" (18 January 1994)
1997 Frighteners Flick episode: "Jevan" (11 March 1997)

References

  1. ^ a b c Hedley, Philip; "Obituary: Joanne Campbell" Guardian.co.uk, 9 January 2003.
  2. ^ a b Bourne, Stephen; "Obituary — Joanne Campbell: Actress capable of dazzling stage performances", The Independent, 8 January 2003.
  3. ^ a b Bourne, Stephen (24 October 2024), "Campbell, Joanne Elizabeth (1964–2002), actress and singer", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000382572, ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8, retrieved 27 October 2024
  4. ^ Stephen, Bourne (8 January 2003). "Joanne Campbell - Actress capable of dazzling stage performances". The Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Lives in Brief". The Times. 17 January 2003. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  6. ^ Abram, Nicola, ed. (2020). "Theatre of Black Women". Black British Women's Theatre. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 23–84. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-51459-4_2. ISBN 978-3-030-51459-4. S2CID 226651462. Retrieved 28 October 2020. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)