Gemma Craven

Rita Gemma Craven (née Gabriel; born 1 June 1950) is an Irish actress. She is best known for her role as Joan Parker, the frigid wife of Arthur (Bob Hoskins), in the BBC TV drama Pennies From Heaven (1978). Biography Craven's family moved from Dublin to Britain in 1960, and she attended the same school as Helen Mirren, St Bernard's Convent High School for Girls in Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex. She appeared as Cinderella in the film The Slipper and the Rose (1976) opposite Richard Chamberlain. She was cast as an unknown, having been spotted by one of the producers while performing at the Bristol Old Vic in a production of The Threepenny Opera. The local press touted the event as her own "Cinderella" story. In London's West End, she starred opposite Tom Conti in the musical They're Playing Our Song for which she won a Laurence Olivier Award for her performance, the lead role in South Pacific, and in Noël Coward's Private Lives opposite Marc Sinden, Tony Anholt and Anholt's wife Tracey Childs which toured throughout 1991 and into 1992. She also played Josie in Boy George's Taboo and features on the OCR singing "Independent Woman".