Queenie Ashton

Queenie Ashton
Queenie Ashton, photographed by Noel Rubie in about 1950.
Born
Ethel Muriel Ashton

(1903-11-11)11 November 1903
Died21 October 1999(1999-10-21) (aged 95)
Other namesEthel Muriel Cover
CitizenshipAustralian
Occupations
  • Actress (television and film)
  • stage performer
  • singer
  • dancer
  • radio personality
Years active1917-1992
Known forThe Lawsons (radio serial) Blue Hills (radio serial)
Spouses
  • Lionel Lawson (married 1931–1940)
  • Frederick John Cover (married 1946–1999)
Children2
AwardsMacquarie Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Ethel Muriel Ashton AM (11 November 1903  21 October 1999), known professionally as Queenie Ashton, was a singer, dancer, and character actress, born in England, who had a long career in Australia as a theatre performer and radio personality, best known for her radio and television soap opera roles, although she did also feature briefly in films.

Ashton alongside her contemporaries Grace Gibson, Amber Mae Cecil and Ethel Lang, has been described as a pioneer for females in radio. Her best known role was in the long-running Gwen Meredith radio serial Blue Hills, as Lee Gordon and later Grannie Emily Bishop a role she would later reprise for television, with the first Australian-produced soap opera Autumn Affair.