BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Oct 26, CMC – Prime Minister Mia Mottley has led the tributes to broadcaster and actress, Peta Alleyne, who has died at the age of 65. The cause of death has not been disclosed.
“Some voices become part of the sound of home. Peta Alleyne’s was one of them. She held up a mirror to Barbadian life, with all our familiar habits and contradictions. We recognised our neighbours and, sometimes a little uncomfortably, ourselves. Her wit and attention to detail captured the little things that make us who we are,” Mottley wrote in a statement posted on her Facebook page.
“As Barbados approaches 60 and five, we mourn another voice that helped shape our culture and tell our stories. My thoughts and prayers are with her son, Ade, her family, and her CBC and Laff-it-Off families.”
Alleyne began her broadcasting career at what was then Barbados Rediffusion and went on to become known for her work with the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the popular comedy production Laff It Off.
Her career spanned radio, television and theatre, with performances in productions including, the NCF’s radio drama “How Hard the Times”, which explored life in Barbados in 1937 through storytelling and music.
The president of the Barbados Film and Television Association, Jamal Slocombe, said some people help shape a nation in ways that are not always recognised in the moment, but become clearer with time.
Slocombe said that through their work, their kindness, and the lives they touch, they leave something behind that continues long after they are gone.
“Peta Alleyne was one such person. Her passing is a profound loss to Barbados and our cultural community.”
Slocombe described her as “a distinguished actress, television and radio broadcaster, producer, and cultural practitioner” who made a lasting contribution to Barbadian national life. “She was a quiet gem whose work helped shape our broadcasting and performing arts, and whose contribution deserves to be remembered as an important part of our cultural history.
“Beyond her professional achievements, Peta was a genuinely kind and generous person. Even when faced with challenges of her own, she remained hopeful and continued to encourage others. She understood something we can all learn from: the value of a life is found not only in what we achieve for ourselves, but also in what we do for others,” said Socombe, adding that the death is also personal.
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