Age, Biography and Wiki

Liz Smith (Betty Gleadle) was born on 11 December, 1921 in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England, UK, is an Actress. Discover Liz Smith's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is She in this year and how She spends money? Also learn how She earned most of Liz Smith networth?

Popular As Betty Gleadle
Occupation actress
Age 95 years old
Zodiac Sign Sagittarius
Born 11 December 1921
Birthday 11 December
Birthplace Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England, UK
Date of death 24 December, 2016
Died Place Worthing, West Sussex, England, UK
Nationality United Kingdom

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 11 December. She is a member of famous Actress with the age 95 years old group.

Liz Smith Height, Weight & Measurements

At 95 years old, Liz Smith height is 5' 4" (1.63 m) .

Physical Status
Height 5' 4" (1.63 m)
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Who Is Liz Smith's Husband?

Her husband is Jack Thomas (1945 - 1959) ( divorced) ( 2 children)

Family
Parents Not Available
Husband Jack Thomas (1945 - 1959) ( divorced) ( 2 children)
Sibling Not Available
Children Not Available

Liz Smith Net Worth

Her net worth has been growing significantly in 2022-2023. So, how much is Liz Smith worth at the age of 95 years old? Liz Smith’s income source is mostly from being a successful Actress. She is from United Kingdom. We have estimated Liz Smith's net worth , money, salary, income, and assets.

Bleak Moments (1971)£10 a day (over 3 days)

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Timeline

2013

Her final television appearance was in October 2013, at the age of 91, in the second and third episodes of the first series of The Tunnel (2013).

2009

She was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2009 Queen's New Year Honours List for her services to Drama.

2008

She appeared in the BBC's Lark Rise to Candleford, finally announcing her retirement in 2008 at the age of 87. It was a belief in her own talent that drove Liz Smith on when her life was at a low ebb. "All I wanted was a chance," she told the BBC. "It was wonderful when it did happen.

2006

She took the part again in 2006 in a special edition in which Nana died. Typically, she attributed her success to Caroline Aherne's scripts rather than her own talent. "They were great roles," she later remembered. "I was so lucky that things did come my way then. " Unlike some actors, she watched recordings of her own performances looking for ways in which she could improve her acting.

In 2006 she published her autobiography Our Betty and moved into a retirement home in north London but continued acting.

2005

She continued to appear in feature films, playing Grandma Georgina in Tim Burton's 2005 version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and she was the voice of Mrs Mulch in Wallace & Gromit -The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

1996

The character was famous for her idiosyncratic recipes such as parsnip brownies and lard and fish paste pancakes, but was killed off in 1996. Two years later Liz Smith starred as Nana in The Royle Family, a sitcom that ran for nearly four years.

1994

Liz Smith found fame as an actress at an age when most people are considering retirement. It was a long road to eventual stardom, during which she struggled to raise a family after a broken marriage. She became best known for her roles in The Vicar of Dibley (1994) and The Royle Family but her talents encompassed serious drama too. And while she made something of a name playing slightly dotty old ladies, the real Liz Smith was far removed from these on-screen personas. She was born Betty Gleadle in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire. Her early life was not happy. Her mother died in childbirth when she was just two years old and her father abandoned her when he remarried. "My father was a bit of a sod, really. He just went off with loads of women and then married one who said he had to cut off completely from his prior life and that meant me. " She started going to the local cinema with her grandfather when she was four and she quickly gained a fascination for acting. By the age of nine, she was appearing in local dramatic productions, often playing the part of elderly ladies. World War Two thwarted her plans and she joined the WRNS because, as she later told the BBC's Desert Island Discs, she loved the cut of the naval uniform. She continued appearing in plays and entertainments while serving in the Royal Navy. She met her future husband Jack Thomas while she was stationed in India and the couple married at the end of the war. Her grandmother had left her enough money to buy a house in London. Smith later remembered that she had picked it at random from a magazine and bought it without crossing the threshold. But what had been an idyllic marriage failed shortly after the family moved to Epping Forest in Essex and she was left to bring up her two children alone. With money tight, she worked in a number of jobs including delivering post and quality control in a plastic bag factory. But her love for acting remained and she began buying the theatrical magazine, The Stage, and sending her photograph to casting agents. Eventually she became part of a group studying method acting under a teacher who had come to the UK from America. She performed at the Gate Theatre in west London and spent many years in repertory, as well as spells as an entertainer in Butlins holiday camps.

In 1994 she became a household name with her portrayal of Letitia Cropley in the series The Vicar of Dibley (1994).

1990

She was still much in demand at the beginning of the 1990s, appearing in the sitcom 2point4 Children and in the series Lovejoy and Bottom.

1988

She twice played roles intended for Beryl Reid - Apartment Zero (1988) and High Spirits (1988).

1984

In 1984 she received a Bafta for Best Supporting Actress when she played Maggie Smith's mother in the film A Private Function. Two years later she appeared as Patricia Hodge's alcoholic mother in the BBC drama The Life and Loves Of A She Devil. It was a part, she said, that she really enjoyed as it gave her the chance to wear more glamorous outfits than her usual roles required. And she was able to dress up again for her next film appearance, this time in the role of Grace in Peter Greenaway's film The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover.

1977

Played the same role of "Peg Sliderskew" in two different adaptations of "Nicholas Nickleby", in 1977 and 2001.

1976

She was cast as Madame Balls in the 1976 film The Pink Panther Strikes Again, but her scenes were left on the cutting-room floor. However, she did appear in the role six years later in The Curse of the Pink Panther.

1970

In 1970, she was selling toys in London's Regent Street when she got a call from the director Mike Leigh to play the downtrodden mother in his film Bleak Moments. Leigh cast her again in Hard Labour, part of the BBC's Play for Today series, a role that allowed her to shine. She received critical acclaim as the middle-aged housewife who endures a life of domestic drudgery, constantly at the beck and call of her demanding husband and daughter. It was the breakthrough she had sought for years and, as she later recalled: "I never went back to grotty jobs again. " She was seldom off the screen over the next 20 years, with appearances in a number of TV programmes including Last of the Summer Wine, The Sweeney, The Duchess of Duke Street and The Gentle Touch.

1901

Daughter of Wilfred Gleadle (born 7 May 1901, died 19 September 1973) and Nellie Gleadle (born Nellie Foster, died 1924).