Floella Benjamin
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The Right Honourable The Baroness Benjamin OBE DL |
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Benjamin in 2006
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Floella Karen Yunies Benjamin 23 September 1949 Pointe-à-Pierre, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Occupation | Presenter, actress, author, singer, businesswoman, politician |
Floella Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin, OBE, DL (born 23 September 1949) is a Trinidadian-British actress, author, television presenter, singer, businesswoman and politician. She is known as presenter of children's programmes such as Play School, Play Away and Fast Forward. On 28 June 2010, Lady Benjamin was introduced to the House of Lords as a Life Peer nominated by the Liberal Democrats with the title of Baroness Benjamin, of Beckenham in the County of Kent.
She was born Floella Karen Yunies Benjamin in Pointe-à-Pierre, Trinidad, one of six siblings, with two brothers and three sisters.
When her father, "a policeman and a talented jazz musician", decided to emigrate to Britain, the children were left in the care of family friends. In 1960 the children went to join him in Beckenham, Kent. She has discussed the racist experiences she had when arriving in Britain as an immigrant.
Having left school to work in a bank, she studied for A-levels at night school. After a spell as a stage actress in West End musicals, she began presenting children's television programmes in 1976, notably Play School for the BBC.
Benjamin has appeared in Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Black Mikado and The Husband-In-Law, as well as several pantomimes. On screen, she appeared in the 1975 horror film I Don't Want to Be Born and starred in the 1977 film Black Joy. Her television credits include Angels, Within These Walls, Crown Court, The Gentle Touch and Dixon of Dock Green. She appeared as Juniper in the first episode of Bergerac (1981).
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