Alison Steadman Plessey, an electronics firm. Steadman was educated at Childwall Valley High School for Girls, a state grammar school in the Liverpool suburb of Childwall, followed by East 15 Acting School, to which she secured a place in the autumn of 1966 and where she met Mike Leigh during her second year. Having left the East 15 Acting School in Loughton, Essex, Steadman worked in various regional repertory theatres, starting at Lincoln in 1968, where her first role was that of the seductive schoolgirl Sandy in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie". She created the role of the monstrous Beverly in
Alison Steadman in May" (1976) and "Abigail's Party" (1977). She received BAFTA TV Award nominations for the 1986 BBC serial "The Singing Detective", and in 2001 for the ITV drama series "Fat Friends" (2000–05). Other television roles include "Pride and Prejudice" (1995), "Gavin & Stacey" (2007–10) and "Orphan Black" (2015–16). Her other film appearances include "A Private Function" (1984), "Clockwise" (1986), "Shirley Valentine" (1989), "Topsy Turvy" (1999) and "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" (2004). Steadman was born in Liverpool, the youngest of three sisters born to Marjorie (née Evans) and George Percival Steadman, who worked as a production controller for