Sylvia May Laura Syms OBE (6 January 1934 – 27 January 2023) was an English actress, best known for her roles in the films Woman in a Dressing Gown (1957), Ice Cold in Alex (1958), No Trees in the Street (1959), Victim (1961), and The Tamarind Seed (1974). In 2006 she portrayed The Queen Mother in the Stephen Frears movie The Queen, about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the days leading up to Diana’s funeral.
Edwin Syms: Who Was Sylvia Syms’ Father?
Sylvia was born Sylvia May Laura Syms, on January 06, 1934, in Woolwich, London, England, to Daisy and Edwin Syms. Her father was a trade unionist and civil servant. Her family later moved to Well Hall, Eltham, where Sylvia grew up. There is not much information about her father.
Sylvia began her acting career in 1953 with Henrik Ibsen’s play, ‘A Doll’s House,’ staged at the ‘Lyric Theatre’ in Hammersmith, London. Two years later, she performed in Owen Holder’s play, ‘A Kind of Folly,’ at the ‘Duchess Theatre’ in London.