Trivia

Won the 1989 Logie Award in the Most Outstanding Actress category for her role as Matron Maggie Sloan in À coeur ouvert (1981).

She grew up in Wales, and trained as an actor at the Oldham Repertory Theatre.

She started using Sydney (her middle name) as a stage name after she was told that "Joan King" sounded too similar to "joking". Sydney was a family name dating back to the 1800s when her merchant seaman forebears visited Sydney, Australia and loved it.