Leonie Forbes

Leonie Evadne Forbes (14 June 1937 – 25 October 2022) was a Jamaican actress, broadcaster and producer who was active in theatre, radio and television.

Biography Forbes born and grew up in Kingston, Jamaica. She attended Kingston Senior School before going on to Excelsior College and the Durham College of Commerce.

After leaving school, she worked as a typist at the University of the West Indies. Forbes later began working for playwright Barry Reckord, typing his scripts. She joined the new Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) in 1959 as a radio announcer, and later won a scholarship to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in England. Forbes spent six years at RADA studying radio, television, and stage techniques, at the same time working as a writer for BBC Caribbean and appearing in a number of television dramas – including Z-Cars, The Odd Man, Public Eye and Hugh and I. Her first appearance in professional theatre came in 1962, when she played in Lloyd Reckord's Busha Bluebeard. Forbes continued acting both during and after her time at the JBC. She appeared in many locally made plays and films, but also in overseas productions like Milk and Honey, The Orchid House, Soul Survivor, I Is A Long-Memoried Woman, What My Mother Told Me, Lord Have Mercy! and A Winter Tale. In 1980, Forbes was made an Officer of the Order of Distinction for her work.

Forbes died in Jamaica on 25 October 2022, aged 85.