Joan Plowright, the acclaimed British actress who helped shape the U.K.’s post-WWII theater scene alongside her late husband, Laurence Olivier, has passed away at 95. Her family announced that she died on Thursday at Denville Hall, a retirement home for actors in southern England, surrounded by loved ones.
Plowright’s career spanned from the 1950s to the 1980s, during which she took on a wide range of roles—from Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull to Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, and from Eugene Ionesco’s The Chairs to George Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara and Saint Joan. She once said, “I’ve been very privileged to have such a life… the magic of a beginning of what is going to unfold in front of me,” speaking of her enduring love for the stage.
Her impact on London’s theater scene was evident when news broke of her passing. In her honor, theaters across the West End dimmed their lights for two minutes at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Born Joan Ann Plowright in Brigg, Lincolnshire, she was immersed in theater from a young age, with her mother running an amateur drama group. Plowright attended drama schools during her school vacations, then went on to study at the Laban Art of Movement Studio in Manchester. She later earned a scholarship to the prestigious drama school at the Old Vic Theatre in London.
Her family remembered her as a “loving and deeply inclusive human being,” adding that she had a “long and illustrious career” across theater, film, and TV until her retirement due to blindness. Plowright was part of a remarkable generation of British actors, including Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Vanessa Redgrave. Her accolades included a Tony Award, two Golden Globes, and Oscar and Emmy nominations, as well as being made a dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004.
Plowright’s career began in earnest with a stage debut in 1954, followed by her joining the Royal Court Theatre in 1956. She quickly became known for her performances in works by playwrights like John Osborne, who were revolutionizing British theater. As part of a new wave of British talent—alongside actors like Albert Finney, Alan Bates, and Anthony Hopkins—Plowright made her film debut in 1956 with a small role in Moby Dick, directed by John Huston.
She soon became a prominent figure in the West End, starring alongside Olivier in The Entertainer in 1957. The two would go on to marry in 1961, after both having ended previous marriages. Their relationship was famously loving, with Olivier writing her heartfelt letters. One of them expressed, “I sometimes feel such a peacefulness come over me when I think of you… a gentle tenderness and serenity.”
Olivier passed away in 1989, but Plowright enjoyed a career revival in her 60s, continuing to find success in both highbrow films and mainstream roles. She appeared in Franco Zeffirelli’s Jane Eyre (1996), the Merchant-Ivory film Surviving Picasso, and starred as the no-nonsense nanny in Disney’s live-action 101 Dalmatians (1996), alongside Glenn Close. Other notable roles included Dennis the Menace (1993) and Last Action Hero (1993).
Plowright leaves behind her three children—Tamsin, Richard, and Julie-Kate—all actors—along with several grandchildren.
