Alison Steadman Alison Steadman Alison Steadman, (born 26 August 1946) is an English actor. She won the 1991 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress for the Mike Leigh film "Life is Sweet", and the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for her role as Mari in the original production of "The Rise and Fall of Little Voice". In a 2007 Channel 4 poll, the "50 Greatest Actors" voted for by other actors, she was ranked No. 42. Steadman made her professional stage debut in 1968 and went on to establish her career in Mike Leigh's 1970s TV plays "Nuts
Sunshine (1973 film) film "retained her spirit, and many of the words from her tapes." Some critics also viewed Helton's story as having inspired a second made-for-TV movie, "Message To My Daughter" starring Bonnie Bedelia and Martin Sheen, which was first aired on December 12, 1973 on ABC. In "Message", the dying mother of a baby girl makes tape recordings of advice which her daughter receives many years after the mother's death. However, the film's writer and director denied that "Message" was inspired by Helton, and said that the script was written before "Sunshine". Parts of the film were shot on location in