Carolyn Steyn
Carolyn Steyn (1960-). Actress and radio announcer.
Also known as Carolyn Barkhuizen and for a while as Carolyn Barkhuizen Steyn.
Contents
Biography
Born in Johannesburg, as Carolyn Barkhuizen, studied at Jeppe Girls' High in 1977. Married and later divorced Douw Steyn. They remarried in February 2013.
Training
She graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand with a BA (Hons) in Dramatic Art in 1981. She moved to the United States for 10 years, where she studied at the Beverly Hills Playhouse under acting guru, Milton Katselas along with fellow students, Kate Hudson, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeffrey Tambor, Tony Danza, Doris Roberts amongst others.
Career
She appeared in numerous plays in Los Angeles under her married name of Carolyn Steyn, notably in Harold Pinter's Betrayal, Private Lives, and Shadowlands. She also appeared on the television series Melrose Place, The Larry Sanders Show, and Babylon 5.
After living in London for 5 years, Carolyn returned to South Africa to take on roles in TV shows (e.g. Generations) and co-host a Radio Today show Whispers with Carolyn Steyn and Michael de Pinna.
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
While at Wits she performed in The Playboy of the Western World (as “Pegeen”), The Philanthropist (as “Celia”), The Merchant of Venice (as “Portia”).
She performed for PACT Drama for about 5 years, doing, inter alia I, Anastasia, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Hotel Paradiso (as Pervenche) and Hope for the Caterpillars (as the Narrator).
Other productions include Die Swerfjare van Poppie Nongena (as Carolyn Barkhuizen, 1984), We All Fall Down (as Carolyn Barkhuizen, 1988),.
She then joined the Radio 5 team, she became a familiar voice reading the news and co-hosting the weekend breakfast show with Martin Locke.
Sources
Limelight 1982/83.
PACT theatre programme, 1984.
Beeld, 13 February 2013.
http://www.1485.org.za/carolyncv.html
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