Famous Faces from Sheffield

The steel city of Sheffield is one the eight largest regional cities in England as well as being the third largest English district by population. With such a large population, it’s no surprise that a few famous faces have either been born or grew up in the South Yorkshire city.

We start with the Hollywood actor, Sean Bean. Born in Handsworth to Rita and Brian Bean in 1959, he has since starred in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, James Bond’s GoldenEye and the fantasy series of Game of Thrones. It is a well know joke in popular culture that Sean Bean dies a lot during his movies and TV shows.

 

Putting Sheffield on the map during Britpop movement of the nineties, Jarvis Cocker is next on our list. Born in 1963, he grew up to be the front man of Pulp who delivered the highly successful ‘’His ‘n’ Hers’’ and ‘’Different Class’’ albums. He is currently pursuing a solo career as well as presenting Jarvis Cocker’s Sunday Service on BBC Radio 6.

Travelling the world in 80 Days our next Sheffield star is Michael Palin. Born in Broomhill during 1943, Palin was a part of the highly successful comedy group Monty Python, whose influence on comedy has been compared to The Beatles’ influence on music.  As well being a highly successful comedian in recent years he has been well known for his travel documentaries including ‘’Around the World in 80 Days’’ and ‘’Pole to Pole’’.

Another famous face from Sheffield is Helen Sharman. Sharman is a star of the sky, being the first Brit to ever enter space. Born in 1963, the British chemist visited the Mir space station in the Project Juno mission after initially responding to a radio advertisement asking for applications to be the first British astronaut.

Judy Parfitt is one of the most gifted actresses of British theatre, film & television and is next on our list of famous Sheffield personalities. Born in 1935, Judy has starred in Girl with a Pearl Earring, Dolores Claiborne and most recently the popular television show Call the Midwife.

A rocker whose band, Arctic Monkeys, has been the voice of the Steel City of Sheffield in recent years. Born in 1986, Alex Turner has grown up to be one of the biggest names in rock music after being gifted his first guitar for Christmas in 2001 by his parents. The band itself is purely a Sheffield- born collective with members, Jamie Cook, Matt Helders and Nick O’Malley also being born in the South Yorkshire city.

Our next famous Sheffield-born face had a golden summer in 2012 winning the heptathlon at the London Olympics. Born in 1986, Jessica Ennis-Hill became the face of British women’s athletics after winning Gold at European, Outdoor and Indoor World Championships. Her parents initially gave her first experience in athletics with a Start:Track event at Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield.

Gordon Banks, the acrobatic keeper who made a stunning save against one of the greatest players ever, Pele. Born in Sheffield in 1937, he had an illustrious career as goalkeeper for various teams including Chesterfield, Leicester City and Stoke City. During his career he played each and every game of the winning 1966 England team’s World Cup campaign.

Have we left any famous faces from Sheffield out? Let us know - http://www.srsb.org.uk/