Birds of a Feather legend Pauline Quirke quits acting after dementia diagnosis
21 January 2025, 10:35
Pauline Quirke steps away from the small screen as she reveals that she has dementia.
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Pauline Quirke has retired from acting after revealing that she has dementia.
The small screen star, best known for playing Sharon Theodopolopodous on Birds of a Feather, was diagnosed with the condition in 2021, but kept the matter private until now.
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"It is with a heavy heart that I announce my wife Pauline's decision to step back from all professional and commercial duties due to her diagnosis of dementia in 2021," said her husband Steve Sheen said in a statement.
"Pauline has been an inspiration through her work in the film and TV industry, her charity endeavours and as the founder of the very successful Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts (PQA).
"Her talent, dedication, and vision have touched countless lives."
He added: "Her acting career has now come to a close, but PQA, with its network of approximately 250 academies and over 15,000 students across the UK, remains robust and will continue to operate as normal in accordance with Pauline’s ideology."
Quirke played Sharon on Birds of a Feather for nine series and a number of specials from 1989 to 1998, and returned for the three-series revival on ITV in 2014, though she didn't return for the final special in 2020.
Prior to Birds of a Feather, Quirke had early roles in Dixon of Dock Green, Jenny Can't Work Any Faster and sketch show Pauline's Quirkes, and had a small role in David Lynch's 1980 classic The Elephant Man.
Her later TV credits included parts in Maisie Raine, David Copperfield, Down to Earth, Cold Blood, Missing, Skins, and Broadchurch, with her last major TV role being You, Me and the Apocalypse in 2015.
Pauline picked up a BAFTA nod for Best Actress for The Sculptress in 1977 and played Hazel Rhodes on Emmerdale between 2010 and 2012
She was named an MBE for services to the entertainment industry, young people, and charities in 2022.
