# Sue Cleaver

Susan Cleaver (born 2 September 1963) is an English actress. She is best known for portraying the role of Eileen Grimshaw on the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, which she played from 2000 to 2025. In 2024 Cleaver became a panellist on Loose Women.

## Early and personal life

Cleaver was born on 2 September 1963 in Barnet, Hertfordshire. She is adopted; however, she reconnected with her birth mother when she was in her twenties, and discovered her two half-sisters, actresses Emma and Kate Harbour.
Cleaver was married to James Quinn between 1993 and 2003; they have a son together, Elliot, born in 1998. She later married Brian Owen, a lighting technician, after meeting him on the set of Coronation Street.
In March 2010, Cleaver was arrested for drink-driving and as a result was banned from driving for seventeen months and ordered to pay a £1,000 fine.

## Career

She studied at the Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre, and her first television appearance was a small part in an episode of A Touch of Frost. She went on to star in the acclaimed drama series Band of Gold before landing a role in the film Girls' Night alongside Julie Walters and Brenda Blethyn.
In 1998, she played Duty Sgt. Standish in the first series of The Cops, and also played Glenda, a woman delivering baked goods in Victoria Wood's BBC comedy series dinnerladies on a recurring basis between 1999 and 2000. She appeared as PC Sylvia Holland in This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, a miniseries, in 2000. She also had a small part in the Johnny Depp and Cate Blanchett film The Man Who Cried. It was after filming that role in 2000 that she was cast as Eileen Grimshaw on Coronation Street. Cleaver won praise for her portrayal of Eileen, the mother of a son, Todd, who struggles with his sexuality and comes out as gay.
Cleaver covered for Denise Robertson as the agony aunt on the ITV daytime programme This Morning until Robertson's death in 2016. Cleaver also completed three years of training to become a psychotherapist.
In 2022, Cleaver was a contestant on the twenty-second series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. She placed 9th after sixteen days in the jungle.
In 2023, Cleaver made a guest appearance on the ITV show Loose Women, and then became a regular panellist.
In 2024, Cleaver wrote and published her first book, A Work In Progress, through Bloomsbury.

## Charity

Cleaver is patron of the charities Prevent Breast Cancer and When You Wish Upon a Star.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1994 | A Touch of Frost | Patten's Receptionist | Episode: "Nothing to Hide" |
| 1994 | Coronation Street | Sister Treece | 1 episode |
| 1995 | Band of Gold | Jan | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | King Girl | Sam Miller | Television film |
| 1998 | Girls' Night | Rita | Film role |
| 1998 | Reckless: The Movie | Waitress | Television film |
| 1998 | The Cops | Duty Sgt. Standish | Series regular |
| 1999 | Casualty | Sue | Episode: "Mother's Day" |
| 1999 | Children's Ward | Mrs. Gartside | Episodes 11.4-8 |
| 1999 | Peak Practice | Julie Watkins | Episode: "The First Stone" |
| 1999–2000 | dinnerladies | Glenda | Recurring; 4 episodes |
| 2000 | This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper | Sylvia Holland | 2 episodes |
| 2000–2025 | Coronation Street | Eileen Grimshaw | 2230+ episodes |
| 2000 | City Central | Val | Episode: "Nutcase" |
| 2000 | The Man Who Cried | Red Cross Woman | Film role |
| 2022 | I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! | Herself | Eliminated (9th place) on 21 November |
| 2010, 2015, 2023–present | Loose Women | Herself | Guest panellist (2010, 2015, 2023) Regular panellist (2024–) |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Result |
| 2006 | The British Soap Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2006 | 12th National Television Awards | Most Popular Actress | Nominated |
| 2007 | TV Now Awards | Favourite Female Soap Star | Won |
| 2007 | TVQuick & TVChoice Awards | Best Soap Actress | Won |
| 2007 | The British Soap Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2007 | The British Soap Awards | Best On-Screen Partnership (shared with Ryan Thomas) | Nominated |
| 2007 | 13th National Television Awards | Most Popular Actress | Nominated |
| 2008 | Digital Spy Soap Awards | Most Popular Actress | Nominated |