AN actress who was hailed as Britain’s answer to Marilyn Monroe and who insured he breasts for £100,000 has passed away.

Norma Ann Sykes, who was known by the stage name Sabrina, died aged 80 last November – but her death has only just come to light.

She was born in Stockport in May 1936 and, despite having little talent when it came to singing and dancing, managed to climb to fame in Hollywood.

She grew up in a terraced house in Heaviley, Stockport, with her father Walter Skyes, a mechanical engineer, and her mother Annie, a seamstress.

Norma went on to become a glamour model and even enjoyed minor movie roles – but was still often labelled a “dumb blonde” in the less politically correct 1950s.

Reportedly, Norma was the first woman to show her cleavage on British television.

But, during the 1970s, Norma vanished from the limelight – living out her remaining years as a recluse in an unkempt home in north Hollywood.

Norma became paraplegic after a botched back operation, and it's now been reported that she died of respiratory failure last November.

As a child, Norma had been a strong swimmer and would often swim a mile at the local swimming baths.

Later in her childhood, Norma contracted rheumatic fever and polio and spent long stretches of time in hospital.

After one operation, it was feared she may need to have one of her legs amputated and she wore callipers and had scars for the rest of life.

She was prescribed certain exercises to help build up the strength in her muscles and would spend hours swimming and doing various bodybuilding exercises – it has been claimed that her “chest expansion” was a result of this regime.

When she was 12, Norma and her parents moved to Blackpool, where the family took over a boarding house.

Norma later moved to London, aged 16, and soon realised that her curvy figure, with a 41in bust and 18in waist, was a winning asset.

Her first nude photoshoot did not go as she had hoped, but Norma eventually hit the big time in 1955.

With her striking white-blonde hair and tight fitting clothes, Norma certainly made an impact and began a 16-week run on TV show Before Your Very Eyes.

During her appearances, Norma rarely uttered a word, instead choosing to pout and feign surprise as host Arthur Askey made jokes about her striking looks.

Arthur Askey's producer Bill Ward renamed Norma as Sabrina, after the 1954 film of the same name, starring Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, which was released in Britain as Sabrina Fair.

In his autobiography, Arthur wrote: “I hit on the idea of having a dumb blonde around the set.

“We held auditions for a suitable dumb-cluck and found one in Norma Sykes.

“She had a lovely face and figure, but could not act, sing, dance, or even walk properly.”

Despite the fact her apparent lack of talent, Norma’s popularity surged and she soon began receiving 1,000 letters from fans every week.

Her personal appearances would often descend into chaos and on one occasion, in Sheffield, around 4,000 people turned up to see her open a shop.

Norma’s fee for this must-see opening was £100 - the average weekly wage was £7.50 at the time.

She went on to star in a number of UK films, including Blue Murder St Trinian's, but only had minor roles on the big screen.

The blonde bombshell would frequently sell her stories to the press and reportedly insured her breasts for £100,000 with Lloyd's of London.

The life of Norma Ann Sykes

May 19, 1936: Nroma was born in Stockport, Cheshire

1950: The Sykes family moved to Blackpool and an operation on Norma's leg nearly led to it's amputatuon - she had scarring for the rest of her life

1955: Norma landed a role as Arthur Askey's show Before Yor Very Eyes on the BBC. She was renamed Sabrina

Late 1950s: She moved the the US where she enjoyed fame and became known as the "British Bosom Lady"

1967: She married Hollywood gynaecologist Harry Melsheimer

1977: The marriage dissolved

1990: Norma's mother Annie moved to Hollywood to look after her now paraplegic daughter

November 24 2016: Norma died - but news of her passing did not come to light thanks to her reclusive lifestyle

It is also claimed that she owned a Cadillac with the number plate “S41” - in tribute to her bra size.

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When she later moved to the US, Norma performed in a touring cabaret and found herself enjoying the company of legends such as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Elvis Presley.

In November 1967, she married Dr Harry Melsheimer, a wealthy Hollywood gynaecologist and settled in the US – where she became known as the “British Bosom Lady”.

However, the marriage was dissolved in 1977, and Sabrina moved from her home in the Woodland Hills area to a smaller home in north Hollywood where it is reported that she lived as a recluse.

Norma suffered with chronic back problems, for which she had several operations - one of which left her partially paralysed.

As the years went on Norma became shied away from the world and her mum even moved to Hollywood in 1990 to look after paraplegic Norma.

Sadly, Annie died five years later and the actress was then regularly visited by a small group of friends.

In later interviews it seemed that Norma may have regretted exploiting her bust for greater fame.

Speaking about her famous figure in 1973, she said: "It made me a sex symbol, which I’m not.

“And it made me a household name, like Tide, which I am – a clean girl from the sticks.

“But people seem to forget that I was, at one time, the junior breaststroke champion of Manchester.”

Norma died aged 80 on November 24 2016 – but had become such a recluse that her death wasn’t discovered until the beginning of this month.

It has been reported that her cause of death was respiratory failure.

Previously, we remembered the stars who've passed away in 2017 as well as those who died in 2016.

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