Carmen Munroe

Carmen Esme Munroe, OBE (born 12 November 1932) is a British actress who was born in Berbice, British Guiana (now Guyana), and has been a resident of the UK since the early 1950s. Munroe made her West End stage debut in 1962 and has played an instrumental role in the development of black British theatre and representation on small screen. She has had high-profile roles on stage and television, perhaps best known from the British TV sitcom Desmond's as Shirley, wife of the eponymous barber played by Norman Beaton.

Quotes

• I noticed that black girls never had names in movies. They were just "girl" I remember one instruction read "Enter girl, not very black."
  • From an interview, as cited in "Enter black girl", The Guardian (3 September 1987), p. 14
  • Munroe typed film scripts in the 1950s and 1960s when unable to gain acting roles.

• [On limited opportunities for African Caribbean actresses in the UK] If you want to know how many black women are being employed, go to the BBC canteen.
  • As cited in "'Sexism' revolt by actresses", Evening Standard (25 February 1992), p. 5