Featured on The Book Show on Sky Arts on 1 December 2011.

A rather different star-studded yet spiritual autobiography. From Hollywood to Corrie via Shakespeare and Celebrity Big Brother, Stephanie Beacham really has been there and done that. In this candid and witty memoir she writes about all of the things you would expect but also of her deep spiritual journey and her belief in reincarnation, it’s an inspiring and fascinating read.

Synopsis

Stephanie Beacham is one of the leading actors of her generation. In the course of a career which spans over 40 years, the RADA trained actress has treaded the boards of some of the most prestigious theatres in the world from the National Theatre to Broadway, made countless appearances on television in much loved series such as Tenko, Connie, Bad Girls and Coronation Street and starred in feature films alongside some of the greatest actors of their time such as Marlon Brando and Ava Gardner. But it was in her incarnation as the smouldering super-bitch Sable Colby in the long-running blockbuster soap of eighties Dynasty that Stephanie will perhaps be best remembered. It was a role that would bring the celebrated beauty both worldwide fame and awards and would earn her a fortune. But Stephanie's life has not always been glamour and glitz - for all the highs, she has had her low moments too as she reveals in this extraordinarily candid but heart-warming memoir. Born with just 40 per cent hearing the young Stephanie would have to overcome her deafness to face the world and make it in a profession where hearing meant everything. She would struggle as a young actress, would go through the pain and the heartache of a divorce, raise her children as a single-parent, as well as overcoming a health scare which nearly killed her in her mid-thirties. And it would be this near death experience that would send Stephanie on what she describes as a 'spiritual adventure' to arm her with both the tools and knowledge she believes she needed to propel her through the rest of her life.

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About the Author

Much loved actress Stephanie Beacham has had forty years of success in theatre, film and television. After her schooling in England Stephanie travelled to Paris to study mime with Etienne Decreux. Her initial goal was to teach dance movement to deaf children but she fell into a career in acting and won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. Beacham's first major film role was in Tam Lyn, co-starring with Ava Gardner and Ian McShane, followed by The Nightcomers with Marlon Brando, directed by Michael Winner. Over the course of her career she has worked with many of Hollywood's most famous actors and played roles in well-loved series such as Tenko, Connie, Bad Girls, Coronation Street, Dynasty and The Colbys. As a single parent Beacham raised two daughters, Phoebe and Chloe. Now a proud grandmother, she campaigns for the deaf, a cause close to her heart, having been born with just 40 per cent hearing. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation