Joan Plowright, Oscar-nominated actress, has died aged 95

Dame Joan Plowright, the award-winning actress and widow of Laurence Olivier, has died. Her family confirmed that she died peacefully at Denville Hall, a retirement community for theater professionals. She was 95 years old.

In a statement to the BBCher family said, “It is with great sadness that the family of Dame Joan Plowright, Lady Olivier, inform you that she passed away peacefully on 16 January 2025 surrounded by her family at Denville Hall aged 95. She enjoyed a long and illustrious career spanning seven decades in theatre, film and television until blindness forced her to retire.She loved her last 10 years in Sussex with constant visits from friends and family, filled with much laughter and good memories. She survived her many challenges with Plowright and bravely determined to make the best of them. Rest in Peace, Joan…”

Plowright was born in Lincolnshire, England in 1929, and began his career as a stage actor training at the Old Vic Theater School. She appeared in the Old Vic Theater company and was directed by the legendary Orson Welles. Later she joined the royal court production of The entertainer opposite Olivier. The role not only helped launch her film career as the pair starred in the film adaptation, but it also sparked a romance between the two actors. Both divorced their respective spouses and began a relationship that would last until Olivier’s death in 1989.

Shortly after The entertainer film for which Plowright won a Tony Award A taste of honeywhere she starred alongside Angela Lansbury. She went on to star in numerous stage and film productions, gaining special recognition in 1993 for the HBO film Stalin (where she was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe) and the film Enchanted April (for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar). She won the Globe for both performances; at the time, she was only the second actor to ever win two acting awards in the same year, and she remains one of only four performers to do so.

In his later career, Plowright appeared on screen in films such as 101 dals, Jane Eyre, Tea with Mussolini, Bringing the house downand The Spiderwick Chronicles. She recently reflected on her life and career in the 2018 documentary Tea with the ladies alongside Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins and the late Maggie Smith. Plowright officially retired from acting in 2014 due to macular degeneration.

Sore The Guardianthe Society of London Theater announced that playhouses across London’s West End will dim their lights for two minutes at 7pm on Tuesday in memory of the prolific actor. The organisation’s co-CEO, Hannah Essex, said: “Dame Joan Plowright was an iconic and deeply respected figure in the world of theater who left an indelible mark on the industry she shaped with her talent and dedication.”