Actress. Born Sian Blake, she will best be remembered for playing soul singer Frankie Pierre on the long-running BBC soap, ‘EastEnders’ between 1996 and ’97. She discovered she had a talent for acting at primary school and appeared in local plays before studying for three years at Guilford School of Acting. After college she landed a role in a Christmas special of ‘Casualty’. In 1997, she auditioned for a small role as a nurse on ‘EastEnders’ but was asked to audition for another role as a soul singer. She performed for the show’s producers and won the part, playing the role for 56 episodes. Among other television shows she appeared in were ‘The Bill’, ‘The Last Detective’, ‘Whose Baby is it Anyway’, ‘Doctors’ and ‘Skins’. She had roles in the films ‘The Death of Klinghoffer’ (2003) and ‘Siberia’ (1998). Her theatre work included productions of ‘Joe Guy’, ‘The Walworth Farce’, ‘After Mrs. Rochester’ ‘Love’s Labours Lost’, ‘The Three Birds’ and ‘Twelfth Night’. She also directed several plays, including ‘Oxford Street’ and ‘The Burial at the Almeida’. Her last credited work was voice acting in the video game ‘Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward’ in 2015. Blake and her two young sons, Zachary, 8, and Amon, 4, had not been seen since Dec. 13 and were officially reported missing three days later. Their bodies were discovered buried in  the garden of their home. A police spokesperson said they had died from severe head and neck injuries. (bio by: Louis M.)