Ellis star Sharon D Clarke’s life off-screen: from famous wife to reason for TV break

Sharon D Clarke leads the cast of Channel 5’s gripping new detective drama Ellis, which follows the determined DCI Ellis, as she investigates failing cases in various towns around the Peak District with the help of her sidekick DS Chet Harper (Andrew Gower).

The three-time Olivier Award winner actress is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Lola Griffin in the BBC’s long-running medical drama Holby City, as well as for her illustrious theatre career. But how much do you know about her life off-screen? Find out about her famous wife here…

Sharon’s upbringing 

Sharon was born in Enfield, London in 1996 to working-class Jamaican parents. Her mother was a seamstress while her father worked as a carpenter.

The Doctor Who star credits her mother for encouraging her to sing. “She was my first vocal coach,” Sharon told The Guardian. 

Sharon’s parents were childhood sweethearts and neighbours in Jamaica before leaving for Britain in the 1950s. “They weren’t on the Windrush, but they were part of the Windrush generation,” she told the Roundabout Theatre Company. “They made lives for themselves here and gave me a wonderful opportunity. I have been able to do what I love by being in London and being in the heart of theatre. It’s such an absolute blessing.”

Sharon’s famous wife

Since 2008, Sharon, 58, has been married to director and actor, Susie McKenna.

Susie, who is currently Associate Director at the Kiln, is known for writing and directing Hackney Empire’s first ‘in-house’ pantomime, Dick Whittington, back in 1998 and has helmed the theatre’s pantomime production every year since. 

In 2008, she was nominated for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an affiliate theatre after directing a production of Blues in the Night at the Kiln theatre, in which Sharon starred. 

As for her acting work, she’s perhaps best known for playing Jennyanydots in the London production of Cats, reprising the role for the 1998 film. She’s also made one-episode appearances in Doctors, Emmerdale and Casualty. 

Sharon and Suzie first met when the actress was cast as the Fairy Godmother in the 1999 production of Cinderella at the Hackney Empire, which Suzie wrote and directed.

Opening up about the early days of their romance, Sharon told The Times: “I fell in love with Suse watching the way she works.”

Speaking about her love of the theatre in 2020, the actress told The Guardian: “This beautiful theatre has given me the love of my life and a family who are my true peeps to this day. My mum, one of Susie’s staunchest fans, has a plaque on a table seat near the bar.”

Sharon’s break from TV

Before landing a role in Holby City, Sharon took a break from auditioning for small-screen roles and didn’t appear in a TV show from 1996 until 2003, when she made her debut as Lola Griffin. “I stopped auditioning for telly for a while because I didn’t want to play a nurse simply because I’m black,” she told RadioTimes.com.

“But Lola had authority. She was opinionated. Strong.”

She went on to add: “At one point I was in an episode with five black women of all different shades doing a scene on primetime TV and there wasn’t a man or a white person in sight. That was a first!”