Steadman was born in Liverpool, the youngest of three sisters born to Marjorie (née Evans) (1912–1996) and George Percival Steadman (1912–1991), who worked as a production controller for Plessey, … See more

Having left the East 15 Acting School in Loughton, Essex, Steadman worked in various regional repertory theatres, starting at Lincoln in 1968, where her first role was the schoolgirl Sandy in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. … See more

In 1972 director Mike Leigh drove to Liverpool to see Ted Whitehead's play The Foursome, which featured Steadman. He asked her to be in his film Hard Labour, during which, both said, they "got together". They marri… See more