TEESSIDE GREATS
36 OF TEESSIDE’ S GREATEST WOMEN BEYOND THE BUSINESS WORLD
To mark the eighth annual Tees Businesswomen Awards, Tees Business director Dave Allan compiled this list of 36 of the greatest ever Teesside women – with each table at this year’ s event named in tribute to one of them.
Dame Pat Barker
Writer & novelist Born in Thornaby, Booker Prize winner Pat is best known for her Regeneration Trilogy and a series of books set during the Trojan War.
Thelma Barlow
Actress Middlesbrough-born Thelma is best known for her roles in ITV’ s Coronation Street and the BBC1 sitcom dinnerladies. She was part of the Coronation Street cast for 26 years.
Gertrude Bell CBE
Political officer, writer and archaeologist Redcar-raised Gertrude Bell( 1868- 1926) was the first woman to graduate from Oxford with a first class honours degree in Modern History. She played a major role in establishing the modern state of Iraq after World War I.
Mary Butterwick OBE
Hospice founder The founder of Stockton’ s Butterwick Hospice Care, Mary Butterwick( 1924- 2015) sold her family home so she could create a hospice capable of giving others the kind of dignified death that had been denied to her husband, John.
Liz Carling
Actress Middlesbrough-born Liz is best known for her roles in TV’ s Boon, Goodnight Sweetheart, Barbara( 1999-2003) and Casualty( 2003-07), while she also played Brian Clough’ s wife Barbara in the film, The Damned United.
Maud Chadburn CBE
Surgeon One of the earliest women to pursue a career as a surgeon, Middlesbrough-born Maud Chadburn( 1868-1957) co-founded the South London Hospital for Women and Children on Clapham Common in 1912.
Caroline Dale
Cellist Born in Middlesbrough, Caroline plays principal cello for the English Chamber Orchestra and London Metropolitan Orchestra. She has performed with Peter Gabriel, Oasis, Simply Red, Sinéad O’ Connor and U2.
Preeti Desai
Actress In 2006 Middlesbrough-born Preeti was the first woman of Indian heritage to be crowned Miss Great Britain. She then acted in Bollywood films before moving to Los Angeles, where she has appeared in several TV series.
Monica Dolan
Actress Middlesbrough-born Monica’ s credits include Appropriate Adult( for which she won a BAFA), All About Eve in 2019, as Seaton Carew’ s Anne Darwin in The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe and the acclaimed Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Florence Easton
Soprano Born in South Bank, Florence Easton( 1882-1955) was a dramatic soprano in the early 20th century, appearing in more than 100 roles.
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson
Paralympian & life peer Adopted Teessider Tanni won 16 Paralympic medals and the London Marathon six times. She sits as a cross-bencher in the House of Lords.
Marion Coates Hansen
Suffragette Marion( 1870-1947) was a women’ s suffrage campaigner, an early member of the militant Women’ s Social and Political Union( WSPU) and a founding member of the Women’ s Freedom League in 1907. She became one of Middlesbrough’ s first female councillors.
Sister Mary Jacques
Pioneering nurse Sister Mary Jacques established the first cottage hospital on Teesside following an explosion at a local ironworks in 1859, when two men died due to the nearest suitable hospital being in Newcastle. Her nursing techniques were said to have influenced Florence Nightingale.
Ann Jellicoe OBE
Playwright and theatre director Middlesbrough-born Ann was best known for her play, The Knack, which was later adapted into a film version that won the Palme d’ Or at Cannes.
Anna Kennedy OBE
Neurodiversity campaigner Middlesbrough-born disability and neurodiversity campaigner Anna has worked to provide improved education and support for children and adults on the autism spectrum. She has helped establish two schools, a college and a respite home.
128 | Tees Business