Gillian Taylforth's Bio: Age, Height, Movies, Partner, Net Worth

Gillian Taylforth’s Bio: Age, Height, Movies, Partner, Net Worth

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Profile Summary

Name: Gillian Taylforth
Year of Birth: 1955
Birthplace: England, UK
Age: 65
Nationality: British
Ethnicity: White

Gillian Taylforth is an English actress who rose to fame for playing Kathy Beale on the BBC soap opera “EastEnders.”

She is also well-known for Jackie Pascoe-Webb on ITV’s television series “Footballers’ Wives.”

Gillian Taylforth age

Gillian Taylforth was born August 14, 1955, to Marge and Ronnie in Islington, London, England.

She is the sister of actress Kim Taylforth. Growing up, Gillian attended William Tyndale Junior School and was later enrolled into Barnsbury Secondary School for Girls.

After high school, she got accepted into Kingsway College of Further Education, where she studied before moving to the Anna Scher Theatre School in London, where she learned acting.

Gillian Taylforth movies and t.v shows

Gillian began acting in the 1970s. While pursuing roles, she worked as a secretary to support herself financially.

Her earlier television appearances include minor roles in the likes of BBC comedy Hi-se-Hi!, Play for Today, Minder, Sink, or Swim.

In 1980, she was cast as Sherry in the gangster film “The Long Good Friday.”

However, Gillian’s big-screen debut didn’t happen until 1985, when she landed a role on the BBC soap opera “EastEnders.”

Her role as Kathy Beale brought her public recognition, as her character was one of the longest-running characters to feature in the soap.

Gillian played the role of Kathy Beale until 1998 when she opted to leave; however, she made a return in 1999 and left in 2000.

After leaving the “EastEnders,” she landed Jackie Pascoe-Webb in ITV’s television drama “Footballers’ Wives.”

She appeared in all five series of the theater and gained prominence from it, and she was the only cast who acted in all series without taking a break.

In 2001, Gillian was cast in Lily Savage’s “Blankety Blank.”

In 2005, there were rumors of Gillian returning to “EastEnders” to continue her role as Kathy Beale.

However, this rumor died down after her screen character was killed off in a car crash in South Africa.

The actress later revealed that she was upset over the incident and thought it was a mistake to kill off her character.

However, in November 2014, Gillian appeared in EastEnders, reprising the role of Kathy for children in Need special.

An official comeback later followed this in 2015. According to the storyline, she had not died but faked her death in South Africa.

Aside from acting, Gillian was also a recurring panelist on ITV’s chat show “Loose Women.”

She was also well known for her recurring role in the ITV’s police drama ” The Bill,” where she played Sergeant Nikki Wright from 2006 to 2008.

In 2010, she took over the tour of “Mum’s The Word” from Nolan and was later a housemate on the eleventh series of “Celebrity Big Brother,” unfortunately, she was the fourth person to be evicted, after spending fifteen days in the house.

In 2013, Gillian became a cast of the British soap opera ” Hollyoaks” as Sandy Roscoe.

However, after playing the role for a year, she left the soap opera to spend more time with her family.

Aside from acting, she has also participated in the “Strictly Come Dancing” series.

Gillian appeared in the sixth series in 2008. However, she was voted off in the second week.

Gillian Taylforth’s husband

In 1988, Gillian began a relationship with Geoff Knights.

The couple later moved in together and had their first child, a daughter, Jessica Knights, in 1992, and after a son Harrison Knights, In 1999.

Gillian’s relationship with Knight lasted until 2009 when they got separated.

Subsequently, she began a relationship with Dave Fairbairn and almost had a wedding in December 2020; however, she called the wedding off and is yet to share her reasons with the public.

Controversy

In 1994, Gillian and Geoff were involved in a high-profile court case.

The actress had sued “The Sun newspaper” for libel after running a story claiming she and her partner Geoff performed sexual acts on a slip road on the A1 in their Range Rover.

According to the actress, she was only massaging her partner’s stomach after he suffered from an acute attack of pancreatitis.