Dame Joan Plowright,a British acting titan whose partnership with herlate husbandSir Laurence Olivierturned the British theatre scene into one of the finest in the world, has died at the age of 95,her family has sadly confirmed. In a statement on Friday, her family announced that Plowright passed away the previous day at Denville Hall, a retirement home for actors in southern England surrounded by loved ones.
“She enjoyed a long and illustrious career across theatre, film and TV over seven decades until blindness made her retire. We are so proud of all Joan did and who she was as a loving and deeply inclusive human being.”
Plowright, who was part of that legendary group of British actors that also included the likes ofJudi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, andMaggie Smith, was an acclaimed performer theatre, film, and television. She was the winner of two Golden Globes, a Tony Award, and, in 2004, she received a Damehood fromQueen Elizabeth IIfor her contributions to the British arts circuit.
What Was Joan Plowright’s Life Like?
Plowright was born in Brigg, Lincolnshire, in 1929, and she fell in love with the theatre from a young age thanks to the work her mother did in an am-dram group. She joined the Royal Court Theatre in 1956, performing in works by the Angry Young Men, such asJohn Osborne’sThe Entertainer, in which she co-starred alongside Olivier, both in the play and itssubsequent film adaptation, which kicked off the beginning of a personal and professional partnership that would define her life, which began with their 1961 marriage and saw the pair revitalize the theatre scene in a post-war Britain still struggling to find its place in the world.
After Olivier died 1989, Plowright experienced a career resurgence in her 60s, taking on roles in family films like101 Dalmatians(1996) as Nanny, andDennis the Menace(1993), where she played the wife of averygrumpyWalter Matthau, and the classicSurviving Picasso. She won twoGolden Globe awardsin the same night in 1993, the first for her role inEnchanted Apriland then forStalin, which also got her an Oscar nomination and, though she was forced to stop acting after losing her eyesight, Plowright remained the steadfast protector of Olivier’s legacy, curating his letters and defending his memory to his critics.
On Tuesday, in a wonderful touch, theatres across London’s West End will dim their theatres in a mark of respect for Plowright’s life and her career. She is survived by her three children, Tamsin, Richard, and Julie-Kate, and her grandchildren. The thoughts of all at Collider are with her family.
