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Award-Winning Actress Joan Plowright Dies at 95

CultureCelebs
By Craig Garrett
January 17, 2025 | 9:40 a.m. CST
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Image via IMDb / Touchstone Pictures

Joan Plowright, the celebrated British actor and wife of acting legend Laurence Olivier, has died at the age of 95.

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Her family announced on Friday that Plowright passed away the day before at Denville Hall, a retirement home for actors in southern England, with her loved ones by her side.

“She enjoyed a long and illustrious career across theatre, film, and TV over seven decades until blindness made her retire,” the family said, per ABC News. “We are so proud of all Joan did and who she was as a loving and deeply inclusive human being.”

Plowright was an outstanding talent in a generation of great British actors, including Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Eileen Atkins, and Maggie Smith. She won a Tony Award and received nominations for both an Oscar and an Emmy. In 2004, Queen Elizabeth II recognized her contributions to the arts by naming her a Dame.

From the 1950s to the 1980s, Plowright showcased her versatility on stage, performing in works by Chekhov, Shakespeare, Ionesco, and Shaw. She excelled in memorable roles like “Major Barbara” and “Saint Joan” and collaborated with leading playwrights such as John Osborne and Shelagh Delaney, alongside peers like Albert Finney and Anthony Hopkins.
Plowright’s deep admiration in London was clear as theaters across the West End announced they would dim their lights for two minutes at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in her honor.

Born in Brigg, Lincolnshire, England, Plowright was introduced to theater at a young age through her mother’s amateur drama group, according to The New York Times. She attended summer drama sessions during school vacations and later studied at the Laban Art of Movement Studio in Manchester. Plowright went on to earn a scholarship to the Old Vic Theatre’s drama school in London.

Joan Plowright Made Her Screen Debut Alongside Gregory Peck

After making her London stage debut in 1954, Plowright joined the Royal Court Theatre in 1956. She gained recognition for her performances in dramas by the “Angry Young Men,” such as John Osborne, who revolutionized British theater.

Plowright made her feature film debut in 1956 with an uncredited role in John Huston’s epic adaptation of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, starring Gregory Peck as the relentless Captain Ahab.

A year later, she appeared alongside her future husband, Laurence Olivier, in the original London production of John Osborne’s The Entertainer. Portraying Olivier’s daughter on stage, the pair later reunited for the 1960 film adaptation of the play.

Plowright and Olivier married in Connecticut in 1961 after both had ended previous marriages. At the time, they were starring on Broadway, with Plowright earning a Tony for her role in “A Taste of Honey.”

Joan Plowright Enjoys a Film Career Surge in the 1990s

Olivier passed away in 1989 at the age of 82. Plowright experienced a major career revival at 60, taking on roles that appealed to both niche and mainstream audiences.

She appeared in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1996 adaptation of Jane Eyre and the Merchant-Ivory film Surviving Picasso. That same year, she starred as the nanny in Disney’s live-action 101 Dalmatians with Glenn Close. She also co-starred with Walter Matthau in the film version of Dennis the Menace and had a small role in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1993 action satire Last Action Hero.

In 1993, Plowright won two Golden Globes in the same year: one for supporting actress in the TV movie Stalin and another for supporting actress in the film Enchanted April. The latter also earned her the only Academy Award nomination of her career.

Plowright is survived by her three children, Tamsin, Richard, and Julie-Kate, who are all actors, as well as several grandchildren.