‘The one performer who got The Rolling Stones to be her backing band’ dies aged 79


Trailblazing British actress Cleo Sylvestre has died aged 79.

The star made history as the first black woman to play a leading role at the National Theater in London in 1969.

She died after spending three weeks in a London hospital, her family confirmed.

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Cleo Sylvestre in London, 1970. (Hulton Archive)

In a statement to the BBC, her agent shared, ”much-loved and admired by her peers, she will be remembered as a trail blazer and a true friend.

“She will be sorely missed by so many. We ask that you respect the privacy of her family at this difficult time.”

Her daughter Zoe also spoke out about the loss on social media, writing on X, Formerly Twitter“Our beloved, inspirational mum crossed over this morning.

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Cleo Sylvestre
The star received an MBE for her services to drama and charity. (X/Twitter)

“With thanks to the teams @NHSHomerton and #therlh who cared for her so brilliantly over the past three weeks. Rest in power mum, see you on the dancefloor.”

The actress was also mother to children Lucy and Rupert Palmer, who she shared her husband Ian Palmer, who she wed in 1977.

In the ’60s and ’70s, she built her career with roles in Doctor Who, Coronation Street, Grange Hill and Crossroads, where she became the first black actress to have a regular role on a British soap.

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Cleo Sylvestre and Brian Jones
She was ‘The one performer who got The Rolling Stones to be her backing band’. (X/Twitter)

She also made her West End debut in 1967 in Wise Childbefore snapping up a lead role in National Health just two years later.

Her most recent screen roles include those in Paddington and All creatures great and small,

She also began a career in music in 1964 with the help of The Rolling Stones manager and producer Andrew Loog Oldham, releasing her first single, To know him is to love himbecoming the one performer who “got The Rolling Stones to be her backing band”, as one grieving fan put it.

She was awarded an MBE for her services to drama and charity by Princess Anne in the 2023 New Years Honours.

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