Susan Margery Jeaffreson Lloyd was born on August 7, 1939, in Suffolk, England, to a medical doctor. Raised in Birmingham, she was trained in ballet and began studying at the Sadler's Wells School at the age of 11. Due to her height, which was 5'8", she was not suited for a ballet career, so she instead pursued a career in dance as a chorus girl and showgirl, even belonging to Lionel Blair's dance company at one point.
After a few modeling assignments, including appearing on the cover of Vogue magazine, Lloyd transitioned to acting, earning ornamental bit parts in films such as Go to Blazes and Nothing But the Best. She broke into television with early Brit TV series like "The Sentimental Agent," "Gideon C.I.D.," "The Saint," and "The Avengers," where she played the role of a sexy foil or tough-looking temptress.
Lloyd's early success in television led to her own brief British secret agent series, The Baron, where she played the role of "Cordelia Winfield" opposite American star Steve Forrest. She also appeared in films like The Ipcress File, where she played a stylish love interest to agent Harry Palmer, and in the parody No. 1 of the Secret Service, where she made fun of the spy genre.
On stage, Lloyd made her West End debut in 1971 with a short-lived stage version of "The Avengers," playing the role of Hannah Wild, the partner of John Steed. She continued to alternate between glamorous film and TV assignments for most of her career, finding only a few worthy roles among the tantalizing ones usually given.
Lloyd's career began to decline after a couple of Joan Collins' cult vehicles, The Stud and The Bitch. She did have a recurring role in the popular 1980's TV series Crossroads, playing the wife of Ronald Allen. Their storyline was dropped from the series in 1985, and they were both spotted later on film in the comedy caper Eat the Rich.
Lloyd married Allen in March 1991, after he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. He died a few months later, making tabloid news as Allen had been long involved with actor Brian Hankins, also of Crossroads fame.
In later years, Lloyd focused on painting, which she began in the mid-1970s. She made a nostalgic appearance in the TV movie Bullet to Beijing, which starred Michael Caine as (retired) private eye Harry Palmer, and wrote her own biography "It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time" in 1998.
