Floella Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin

Floella Benjamin, 2006

Floella Karen Yunies Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin OBE DL (born September 23, 1949 in Pointe-à-Pierre , Trinidad ) is a British actress , author , television presenter , businesswoman , politician ( Liberal Democrats ) and life peeress .

life and career

Family and theater

Benjamin was born as Floella Benjamiyn ( maiden name) on the island of Trinidad as one of six children. She had three brothers and two sisters. Her father, originally a police officer and an avid musician, left with his wife Trinidad and came to the UK , where, as previously, as jazz - saxophonist worked. He settled in Beckenham , South London. The six children initially remained in the care of family friends in Trinidad. In 1960 Floella Benjamin came to Great Britain with her siblings. She attended Rosemead Preparatory School . She left school early and worked for a bank for two years. For the A-levels , she attended evening school . In 1973 she applied for an advertisement seeking singers and dancers for a touring production of the musical Hair . During this production she also met her future husband Keith Taylor, who worked as a stage manager .

She subsequently appeared on stage in London's West End in the musicals Hair , Jesus Christ Superstar , in the musical comedy The Black Mikado based on motifs by Gilbert & Sullivan (Cambridge Theater, London 1975 as Pitti-Sing; with Michael Denison as partner ) and in the comedy The Husband in Law (with Kenneth Williams as partner). She also performed as a pantomime .

Movie and TV

In the movie she played in 1975 in the horror film The Devil in it ( I Do not Want to Be Born ) a nurse; in the comedy film Black Joy (1977) she was seen in the role of Miriam.

She made her television debut in 1974 in an episode of the television series Love Thy Neighbor . Her breakthrough as a serious actress came in the prison series Within These Walls , in which she played the imprisoned prostitute Barbara in a total of six episodes. On television, she had episode and guest roles in the television series Crown Court (1974), in the sitcom The Mixed Blessing (1978), in the television series Angels (1978-1979) and in the crime series Dixon of Dock Green (1975) and The Gentle Touch (1980). She played the role of Juniper in the first episode of the television series Bergerac in 1981 .

In 2007, 2008 and 2009 she appeared in the Doctor Who spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures as Professor Rivers from the Pharos Institute in the episodes The Lost Boy , Day of the Clown and The Eternity Trap . She spoke three "making of" documentaries on the Doctor Who DVD box set, The Black Guardian Trilogy . In 2007 she played a minor role in the British comedy Run, Fatboy, Run .

Presenter, producer and writer

In 1976 she began to act as a presenter of children's series. She is known as the presenter of children's programs such as Play School , Play Away and Fast Forward . She hosted the Play School program for over fourteen years until the early 1990s .

In 1987 she founded the film production company Floella Benjamin Productions with her husband Keith Taylor . She's the chief executive there . Your function as director has been suspended since December 7, 2011.

Benjamin is the author of numerous children's books . Her twentieth book, the autobiography Coming To England , was published in 1997. This life story, written for a younger audience, presented in detail Benjamin's own experiences with racism and discrimination as a “colored” girl and as a child of immigrants from the Caribbean . Her autobiography was also made into a film in 2003 by the BBC under the title Coming to England ; Benjamin had a cameo as a teacher in it.

Membership in the House of Lords

In the Dissolution Honors List 2010 on May 28, 2010 her nomination as Life Peer for the Liberal Democrats was announced. With letters patent dated June 26, 2010, she was accordingly ennobled as Baroness Benjamin , of Beckenham in the County of Kent . On June 28, 2010 it was officially introduced to the House of Lords with the help of Navnit Dholakia, Baron Dholakia and Rosalind Scott, Baroness Scott of Needham Market . She gave her inaugural address on October 5, 2010.

On the website of the House of Lords, she lists children, adolescents and young people, media, culture and art, sport, education, cultural diversity and equality as topics of political interest. She names all Caribbean countries as states of interest, as well as France , Ghana , South Korea , South Africa and the USA .

She is regularly present on meeting days.

Educational and charitable interests

Benjamin's interest in the education sector also led to membership in the 4Rs Commission established by the Liberal Democrats to review primary education in the UK. She is Vice-President of the UK charity National Children's Home ( NCH ​​Action for Children , formerly Action for Children ) and Barnardo's , a children's and youth charity. She was in the Hall of Fame for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). She organizes the London Marathon to raise funds for Barnardo's and the Sickle Cell Society . Benjamin is also the cultural ambassador for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

In the animated series Mama Mirabelles Tierkino , which was broadcast on the BBC's CBeebies TV channel, she voiced the mother elephant Mama Michelle.

In July 2007, she spoke about what she believed to be the low standard of children's television .

Honors and offices

Benjamin was named Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2001 in recognition of your service to the broadcasting industry. At that time, she was chairman ( chairman ) of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). She received the Children's BAFTA Special Award in 2004. She was Chairman of the Women of the Year Lunch and Millennium Commissioner for five years . She is President of the Elizabeth 'R' Commonwealth Broadcasting Fund and Governor of the National Film and Television School . She has been the governor of Dulwich College since 2001 , where her mother worked and where her son attended. Benjamin is Vice-President of the Royal Commonwealth Society . From 2003 to 2006 Benjamin was a member of Ofcom's content board .

In 2006 she received an Honorary Graduate from the University of Exeter and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters (Exoniensis) (D.Litt). Benjamin became Chancellor of the University of Exeter on June 8, 2006, succeeding Robert Alexander, Baron Alexander of Weedon . In 2008 she was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London .

She is Chair of Governors of the Isle of Sheppey Academy and a member of the Supervisory Board ( Board ) of the Olympic Diversity & Inclusion Committee . She is also a member of the trustee of Sparks , a charity organization specifically dedicated to medical research into children's diseases.

family

She is married to Keith Taylor and has two daughters.

Publications

• FLOELLA'S FUN BOOK , Methuen Publishing Ltd, 1984, ISBN 978-0-416-46110-7
• Why the Agouti Has No Tail and Other Stories , Hutchinson, 1984, ISBN 978-0-09-156800-9
• Floella's Favorite Folk Tales , Red Fox, 1986, ISBN 978-0-09-947660-3
• Fall about with Flo , Arrow Books Ltd, 1998, ISBN 978-0-09-937500-5
• Floella's Funniest Jokes , Beaver Bks., 1985, ISBN 978-0-09-943120-6
• Caribbean Cookery , Random House UK, 1986, ISBN 978-0-7126-9474-2
• Floella's Fabulous Bright Ideas Book , Methuen Publishing Ltd, 1986, ISBN 978-0-416-52880-0
• Floella's Cardboard Box Book , Methuen Chi.Bks. 1987, ISBN 978-0-416-04442-3
• Floella's Floor Board Book , Beehive Books, London, 1986, ISBN 978-1-85155-038-8
• How will we go? (Flo & Aston's Books), Andre Deutsch Ltd, 1987, ISBN 978-0-233-98063-8
• How Do You Eat It? (Flo & Aston's Books), Andre Deutsch Ltd, 1988, ISBN 978-0-233-98065-2
• Snotty and the Rod of Power , Heinemann Young Books, 1987, ISBN 978-0-434-93045-6
• Exploring Caribbean Food in Britain , Mantra Lingua, ISBN 978-0-947679-89-7
• For Goodness Sake: A Guide to Knowing Right from Wrong , Harpercollins / STL, 1994, ISBN 978-0-551-02799-2
• Skip Across the Ocean: Nursery Rhymes from Around the World , Frances Lincoln, 1988, ISBN 978-1-84507-788-4
• Coming To England , Puffin, 1997, ISBN 978-0-14-038081-1
• Arms of Britannia , Walker Books, 2010, ISBN 978-1-4063-0146-5
• My Two Grannies , Frances Lincoln, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84780-034-3 (with Margaret Chamberlain )
• My Two Grandads , Frances Lincoln Ltd, 2011, ISBN 978-1-84780-060-2
• Sea of ​​Tears , Frances Lincoln Childrens Books, 2011, ISBN 978-1-84780-058-9

Web links

Commons : Floella Benjamin  - Collection of Images

• Floella Benjamin in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Floella Benjamin - Official Website
• The Baroness Benjamin, OBE, DL - Biography at Debretts
• Benjamin, Floella (1953-) - biography of the British Film Institute
• Floella Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin - Official website of the House of Lords
• Floella Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin at theyworkforyou
• Floella Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin at The Public Whip

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Appointments ( Memento of the original from January 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Excerpt from Floella Benjamin's official website, accessed May 5, 2012  
2. ^ GRO Register of Marriages: SEP 1980 14 0207 LAMBETH - Keith D. Taylor = Floella KY Benjamin
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Benjamin, Floella (1953-) Vita (Official website of the British Film Institute )
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Biography - Floella Benjamin Vita (Historical Geographies of September 3, 2011)
5. ↑ Dissolution Honors: John Prescott made a peer article on BBC News on May 28, 2010
6. ^ The London Gazette : No. 59476, p. 59476 , HMSO, July 1, 2010.
7. ↑ Introduction: Baroness Benjamin Excerpt from the minutes of the House of Lords meeting at theyworkforyou , accessed on May 5, 2012
8. ↑ House of Lords: Members 'expenses Members' expenses on the House of Lords website , accessed May 5, 2012
9. ↑ Liberal England Excerpt from the blog Liberalengland.blogspot , accessed on May 5, 2012
10. ↑ From tot to toddler to tearaway, CBeebies celebrates its fifth birthday article on BBC Home on March 19, 2007
11. ↑ Floella raises banner to save children's TV in: The Daily Telegraph, July 26, 2007; last accessed on May 13, 2012