1. Sylvia Ann Ibbetson, known professionally as Elizabeth Dawn or Liz Dawn, was a British actress, best known for her role as Vera Duckworth in the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street.
19 Facts About Liz Dawn
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Liz Dawn played the character of Vera for 34 years.
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Liz Dawn was appointed an MBE in the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours.
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Liz Dawn grew up on the city's Halton Moor estate and began her performing career as a nightclub singer.
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Liz Dawn had a recurring role as a factory worker until her husband, Jack, first appeared in 1979.
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Liz Dawn made several appearances in the Granada Television daytime series Crown Court.
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Liz Dawn was the subject of a This is Your Life episode in 1989, when she was surprised by Michael Aspel on the set of Coronation Street.
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Bill Tarmey, who played on screen husband Jack Duckworth, continued to be a part of the cast of Coronation Street and Liz Dawn stated that the hardest thing about leaving Corrie was saying good-bye to Tarmey, with whom she was best friends.
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Liz Dawn appeared as Vera's spirit, who had come to take Jack on his final journey and the pair enjoyed one final dance together.
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Liz Dawn came out of retirement in December 2015 to make a one-off guest appearance in the soap Emmerdale as the character Mrs Winterbottom.
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Liz Dawn won the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement at the 2008 ceremony for her decades-long portrayal of her fictional character Vera Duckworth.
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At the age of 18, Liz Dawn married Walter Bradley in Leeds in 1957 and the couple had a son, Graham, but the marriage collapsed when she turned 21.
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Liz Dawn married electrician Donald Ibbetson in 1965, with whom she had three daughters, Dawn, Ann and Julie.
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In March 2004, Liz Dawn was diagnosed with emphysema.
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Liz Dawn attributed the illness to her own smoking habit and performing in smoke-filled clubs.
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In May 2009, Liz Dawn agreed to become the "Celebrity Ambassador" of the British Lung Foundation.
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In September 2017 Liz Dawn was admitted to hospital in Manchester with severe breathing problems.
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Liz Dawn, who had stopped smoking in 2002, had previously said her emphysema had taken such a toll on her that she had nearly collapsed during her appointment as an MBE at Buckingham Palace in 2000.
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Liz Dawn died on 25 September 2017, at her home in Whitefield, Greater Manchester, after a long battle with COPD.