Only now has it been revealed: Teddie Beverley, the last surviving member of the legendary British vocal trio The Beverley Sisters, has died at the age of 99. Together with her sisters Joy and Babs, she was among the brightest stars of the British stage in the 1950s and 1960s.
Their hits, including I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Little Drummer Boy, and Little Donkey, entered the UK charts and became part of the festive musical memory of several generations. The Beverley Sisters were regarded as one of the most successful and highest-paid vocal acts in Europe for more than two decades.
The sisters were not simply performers — they became the image of an entire era. They dressed alike, spoke almost in unison, and, as they once joked, could finish one another’s sentences. Their famous Rolls-Royce with the registration number BEV 3 only underlined the star status of women who were recognised in the street without any posters.
Teddie, whose real name was Hazel Pamela Chinery, was born on May 5, 1927, in Bethnal Green, London. She was the twin sister of Babs, while their elder sister Joy had been born exactly three years earlier. Their parents were also connected to the stage, so music effectively became the family’s language long before fame arrived.
After the outbreak of war, the future stars were evacuated to Northamptonshire. Before stepping onto the major stage, they worked as typists, and their first notable opportunity came through an Ovaltine advertising campaign, where they performed as the Bonnie Babies. Later, television, recording contracts, and live performances turned them into national favourites.
In 1951, the sisters signed with Columbia Records, opening the way to even greater popularity. Their television show Three Little Girls In View, later renamed Those Beverley Sisters, cemented their status as household names across Britain.
Despite the glitter of fame, Teddie repeatedly admitted that public life was difficult for her. She described the career as exhausting, recalled the constant attention from strangers, and said she would not wish that level of celebrity on anyone. Her daughter Sasha described her mother as extraordinarily beautiful and elegant, but also shy and intensely private.
Joy Beverley died in 2015 at the age of 91, while Babs died in 2018, also aged 91. Teddie’s passing closes the final chapter in the story of a trio that was recognised by Guinness World Records in 2002 as the longest-lasting vocal group with an unchanged line-up. In 2006, the sisters were awarded MBEs.
With Teddie Beverley, Britain loses not merely a performer, but the last living voice of a musical legend that once made the nation sing in harmony.