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Barbara Ann Deeks

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Barbara Windsor

Active - 1954 - 2016  |   Born - Jun 8, 1937 in Shoreditch, London, England  |   Genres - Comedy, Drama, Crime

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Biography by AllMovie

British comic actress Barbara Windsor was celebrated less for her acting than for her blonde hair, piled atop her head like a high-rise beehive. She made her screen debut as a tiny, squealy voiced student in The Belles of St. Trinian's (1955), then performed variations of this character in such films as Too Hot to Handle (1960), Operation Snafu (1961), and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1963). From 1964 on, Windsor was a regular in the wacky Carry On series, comporting about in various stages of dishabille in Carry on Spying (1964), Carry on Doctor (1967), Carry on Camping (1969), Carry on Girls (1974), and other films of a similar aesthetic and intellectual bent. Barbara Windsor's films diminished in the early '80s, when it became unfashionable to be a dumb blonde.

Movie Highlights

Alice in Wonderland
The Belles of St. Trinian's
Not Now, Comrade
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Factsheet

  • Took the stage name Windsor, due to inspiration from the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
  • Came to prominence as a member of the Carry On team, appearing in nine Carry On films, starting with Carry On Spying in 1964.
  • Joined the cast of Eastenders in 1994, playing Peggy Mitchell. She retired from the role in 2009, but in 2016 she returned to the show for a finale run as the popular character.
  • Appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours.
  • Was given the Freedom of the City of London in August 2010 and in November of that year was honoured by the City of Westminster at a tree planting and plaque ceremony.
  • Awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of East London in 2014.
  • A Patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation.
  • Was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2016.
  • Has said she never wanted children after being rejected by her father after her parents' divorce.
  • In May 2018, her husband revealed that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2014.
  • In January 2019, her husband and some former co-stars from Eastenders announced that they would run the London Marathon in aid of a dementia campaign.
  • On her 82nd birthday in August 2019, she and her husband became ambassadors for the Alzheimer's Society and urged the public to write to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to let him know of the problems faced by many of those with the disease.