The Lady Olivier | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Plowright in 1958 | |
| Born | Joan Ann Plowright (1929-10-28)28 October 1929 Brigg, Lincolnshire, England |
| Died | 16 January 2025(2025-01-16) (aged 95) London, England |
| Alma mater | Old Vic Theatre School |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active |
|
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | David Plowright (brother) |
Joan Ann Olivier, Baroness Olivier[1] (née Plowright; 28 October 1929 – 16 January 2025), commonly known asDame Joan Plowright, was an English actress whose career spanned over six decades. She received several accolades including twoGolden Globe Awards, anOlivier Award, and aTony Award as well as nominations for anAcademy Award, twoBAFTA Awards, and aPrimetime Emmy Award. She was made aDame byQueen Elizabeth II in 2004.
Plowright studied at theOld Vic Theatre School[2] before acting onstage at theRoyal National Theatre where she met her husbandLaurence Olivier. She acted opposite him in theJohn Osborne playThe Entertainer on the West End in 1957 and on Broadway in 1958. She earned theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play for herA Taste of Honey (1961). She won theLaurence Olivier Award forFilumena (1978).
She made her film debut in an uncredited role inMoby Dick (1956). She later won theGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture and was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress forEnchanted April (1991). She was BAFTA-nominated for her roles inThe Entertainer (1960) andEquus (1977). She also acted in the filmsUncle Vanya (1963),Three Sisters (1970),Avalon (1990),Dennis the Menace (1993),A Place for Annie (1994),101 Dalmatians (1996),Jane Eyre (1996),Tea with Mussolini (1999),Bringing Down the House (2003) andMrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2005). She also voiced roles for the children's filmsDinosaur (2000) andCurious George (2006).
On television she was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and won theGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for her role in theHBO television filmStalin (1992). She retired from acting due tomacular degeneration in 2014. She made her final filmed appearance in the documentaryNothing Like a Dame (2018).
Plowright was born on 28 October 1929 inBrigg,Lincolnshire, the daughter of Daisy Margaret (née Burton) and William Ernest Plowright, who was a journalist and newspaper editor.[3] She attendedScunthorpe Grammar School[4] and then trained atThe Old Vic Theatre School.[5][6]
Plowright made her stage debut atCroydon in 1948[7] and her London debut in 1954. In 1956 she joined theEnglish Stage Company at theRoyal Court Theatre and was cast as Margery Pinchwife inThe Country Wife. She appeared withGeorge Devine in theEugène Ionesco playThe Chairs, and Shaw'sMajor Barbara andSaint Joan.
Plowright made her film debut in an uncredited role inMoby Dick (1956). In 1957, Plowright co-starred with SirLaurence Olivier in the original London production ofJohn Osborne'sThe Entertainer, taking over the role of Jean Rice fromDorothy Tutin when the play transferred from the Royal Court to thePalace Theatre. She continued to appear on stage and in films such asThe Entertainer (1960). In 1961, she received aTony Award for her role inA Taste of Honey onBroadway.
Through her marriage to Olivier, Plowright became closely associated with his work at theNational Theatre from 1963 onwards. She also acted in the filmsUncle Vanya (1963),Three Sisters (1970), andEquus (1977). In the 1990s, she began to appear more regularly in films, includingI Love You to Death (1990);Avalon (1990);Enchanted April (1992), for which she won aGolden Globe Award and anAcademy Award nomination;Dennis the Menace (1993), where she played Martha Wilson;A Place for Annie (1994);The Scarlet Letter (1995);Jane Eyre (1996);101 Dalmatians (1996), where she played the dog nanny;Dance with Me (1998); andTea With Mussolini (1999). Among her television roles, she won anotherGolden Globe Award and earned anEmmy Award nomination for theHBO filmStalin in 1992 as the Soviet dictator's mother-in-law. Her pair of 1992 performances (Enchanted April andStalin) marked only the second time an actress (afterSigourney Weaver, forperformances in 1988) won two Golden Globes in the same year; as of theJanuary 2023 presentation, onlyHelen Mirren (for performances in 2006) andKate Winslet (for performances in 2008) have duplicated this feat. In 1994, she was awarded theWomen in FilmCrystal Award.[8]
In 2003, Plowright performed in the stage productionAbsolutely! (Perhaps) in London. She was appointed honorary president of the English Stage Company in March 2009, succeedingJohn Mortimer who died in January 2009. She was previously vice-president of the company.[9] Her later films includedBringing Down the House (2003),Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2005), andThe Spiderwick Chronicles (2008), as well as voiced roles for the children's filmsDinosaur (2000) andCurious George (2006). She made her final filmed appearance in the British documentaryNothing Like a Dame (2018) with her actingDame friendsMaggie Smith,Judi Dench andEileen Atkins.[10]
Plowright was first married to the actor Roger Gage in September 1953. She later divorced him and in 1961 marriedLaurence Olivier shortly after the end of Olivier's twenty-year marriage to the actressVivien Leigh. Plowright and Olivier had three children together,[11] all three of whom have worked in the theatre.[12] The couple remained married until Olivier's death in 1989. Plowright's younger brother,David Plowright (1930–2006), was an executive atGranada Television.[6]
She published her memoirs,And That's Not All, in 2001.[13]
Plowright's vision declined steadily during the late 2000s and early 2010s due tomacular degeneration. In 2014, she officially announced her retirement from acting because she had become legally blind.[14]
Plowright died atDenville Hall inNorthwood, London, on 16 January 2025, aged 95.[2][15]
ThePlowright Theatre inScunthorpe is named in Plowright's honour.[16]
In her obituary,Variety described Plowright as "perhaps the greatest Anglophone actor of the 20th century".[17][12]
Plowright was appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the1970 New Year Honours[18] and was promoted toDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the2004 New Year Honours.[19]
She received anhonorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) from theUniversity of Hull in 2001.[20]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Moby Dick[6] | Starbuck's wife | Uncredited |
| 1957 | Time Without Pity[21] | Agnes Cole | |
| 1960 | The Entertainer[22] | Jean Rice | |
| 1963 | Uncle Vanya[23] | Sonya | |
| 1970 | Three Sisters[24] | Masha Kulighina | |
| 1977 | Equus[25] | Dora Strang | |
| 1982 | Britannia Hospital[26] | Phyllis Grimshaw | |
| Brimstone and Treacle[27] | Norma Bates | ||
| 1985 | Revolution[28] | Mrs. Daisy McConnahay | |
| 1988 | Drowning by Numbers[29] | Cissie Colpitts 1 | |
| The Dressmaker[29] | Nellie | ||
| 1990 | I Love You to Death[24] | Nadja | |
| Avalon[30] | Eva Krichinsky | ||
| 1991 | Enchanted April[6] | Mrs. Jane Fisher | |
| 1993 | Dennis the Menace[24] | Mrs. Martha Wilson | |
| Last Action Hero[24] | Teacher | ||
| 1994 | A Pin for the Butterfly[31] | Grandma | |
| Widows' Peak[32] | Mrs. Dawn Doyle-Counihan | ||
| 1995 | The Scarlet Letter[6] | Harriet Hibbons | |
| A Pyromaniac's Love Story[33] | Mrs. Wendy Linzer | ||
| Hotel Sorrento[34] | Marge Morrisey | ||
| 1996 | 101 Dalmatians[35] | Nanny | |
| Surviving Picasso[36] | Françoise's Grandmother | ||
| Mr. Wrong[37] | Mrs. Jessica Crawford | ||
| Jane Eyre[24] | Mrs. Maddie Fairfax | ||
| 1997 | The Assistant[38] | Mrs. Ida Bober | |
| 1998 | Dance with Me[39] | Bea Johnson | |
| 1999 | Tom's Midnight Garden[40] | Mrs. Ortensia Bartholomew | |
| Tea with Mussolini[6] | Mary Wallace | ||
| 2000 | Dinosaur[41] | Baylene | Voice |
| Back to the Secret Garden[42] | Martha Sowerby | ||
| 2002 | Global Heresy[43] | Lady Foxley | |
| Callas Forever[6] | Sarah Keller | ||
| 2003 | Bringing Down the House[24] | Virginia Arness | |
| I Am David[24] | Sophie | ||
| 2004 | George and the Dragon[44] | Mother Superior | |
| 2005 | Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont[6] | Mrs. Sarah Palfrey | |
| 2006 | Goose on the Loose[45] | Beatrice Fairfield | |
| Curious George[6] | Victoria Plushbottom | Voice | |
| 2008 | The Spiderwick Chronicles[46] | Aunt Lucinda Spiderwick | |
| 2009 | Knife Edge[6] | Marjorie | |
| 2018 | Nothing Like a Dame[6] | Herself | Documentary |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Sara Crewe[47] | Winnie | 4 episodes |
| 1954 | BBC Sunday-Night Theatre[47] | Adriana | 3 episodes |
| 1955 | Moby Dick—Rehearsed[48] | A Young Actress/Pip | Uncompleted and lost Orson Welles film |
| 1958 | Sword of Freedom[49] | Lisa Giocondo | Episode: "The Woman in the Picture" |
| 1959 | Theatre Night[citation needed] | Arlette Le Boeuf | Episode: Hook, Line, and Sinker |
| World Theatre[47] | Lady Teazle | Episode: The School for Scandal | |
| ITV Play of the Week[citation needed] | Winnie Verloc | Episode: The Secret Agent | |
| ITV Television Playhouse[citation needed] | Jane Maxwell | Episode: Odd Man In | |
| 1967 | NET Playhouse[50] | Sonya | Episode: Uncle Vanya |
| 1970 | ITV Playhouse[citation needed] | Lisa | Episode: "The Plastic People" |
| ITV Sunday Night Theatre[51] | Viola/Sebastian | Episode: "Twelfth Night" | |
| 1973 | The Merchant of Venice[52] | Portia | Film |
| 1978 | Saturday, Sunday, Monday[53] | Rosa | |
| Daphne Laureola[54] | Lady Pitts | ||
| 1980 | The Diary of Anne Frank[55] | Mrs Frank | US film |
| 1982 | All for Love[56] | Edith | Episode: "A Dedicated Man" |
| 1983 | Wagner[57] | Mrs Taylor | Episode: "1.2" |
| 1986 | The Importance of Being Earnest[24] | Lady Bracknell | Film |
| 1987 | Theatre Night[58] | Meg Bowles | Episode: "The Birthday Party" |
| 1989 | And a Nightingale Sang[59] | Mam | Film |
| 1990 | Sophie[60] | Sophie | |
| 1991 | The House of Bernarda Alba[61] | La Poncia | |
| 1992 | Stalin[24] | Olga | |
| Driving Miss Daisy[62] | Daisy Werthan | ||
| 1993 | Screen Two[63] | Mrs Monro | Episode: "The Clothes in the Wardrobe"; released in the US asThe Summer House |
| 1994 | The Return of the Native[64] | Mrs Yeobright | Film |
| A Place for Annie[65] | Dorothy | ||
| On Promised Land[66] | Mrs Appletree | ||
| 1998–1999 | Encore! Encore![67] | Marie Pinoni | 12 episodes |
| 1998 | Aldrich Ames: Traitor Within[68] | Jeanne Vertefeuille | Film |
| This Could Be the Last Time[69] | Rosemary | ||
| 2000 | Frankie & Hazel[70] | Phoebe Harkness | |
| 2001 | Bailey's Mistake[71] | Aunt Angie | |
| Scrooge and Marley[72] | Narrator |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | If Four Walls Told[29] | Hope (stage debut) | Croydon Repertory Theatre, England |
| 1954 | The Merry Gentlemen[73] | Allison | Bristol Old Vic, England |
| The Duenna[74] | Donna Clara | Westminster Theatre, London | |
| 1955 | Moby Dick[6] | Pip | Duke of York's Theatre, London |
| 1956 | The Crucible[29] | Mary Warren | Royal Court Theatre, London |
| Don Juan[75] | Baptista | Royal Court Theatre | |
| The Death of Satan[74] | Receptionist | Royal Court Theatre | |
| Cards of Identity[74] | Miss Tray | Royal Court Theatre | |
| The Good Woman of Setzuan[74] | Mrs. Shin | Royal Court Theatre | |
| 1957 | The Country Wife[29] | Margery Pinchwife | Royal Court Theatre Adelphi Theatre, London |
| The Making of Moo[76] | Elizabeth Compton | Royal Court Theatre | |
| The Entertainer[29] | Jean Rice | Palace Theatre, London | |
| 1958 | The Lesson[77] | The Student | Phoenix Theatre, Off-Broadway |
| The Chairs[77] | Old Woman | ||
| The Entertainer[77] | Jean Rice | Royale Theatre, Broadway | |
| Major Barbara[29] | Major Barbara | Royal Court Theatre | |
| Hook, Line and Sinker[78] | Arlette | Piccadilly Theatre, London | |
| 1959 | Roots[6] | Beatie Bryant | Belgrade Theatre, Coventry Royal Court Theatre Duke of York's Theatre |
| 1960 | Rhinoceros[29] | Daisy | Royal Court Theatre |
| A Taste of Honey[77] | Josephine | Booth Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1962 | The Chances[79] | Another Constatia | Chichester Festival Theatre, England |
| 1962–1963 | Uncle Vanya[24] | Sonya | Chichester Festival Theatre Old Vic Theatre, London |
| 1963 | Saint Joan[24] | Saint Joan | Old Vic Theatre |
| 1964 | Hobson's Choice[80] | Maggie Hobson | Old Vic Theatre |
| The Master Builder[6] | Hilda Wangel | Old Vic Theatre | |
| 1967–1968 | Much Ado About Nothing[29] | Beatrice | Old Vic Theatre |
| Three Sisters[6] | Masha | Old Vic Theatre | |
| Tartuffe[81] | Dorine | Old Vic Theatre | |
| 1968 | The Advertisement[82] | Teresa | Old Vic Theatre |
| Love's Labour's Lost[6] | Rosaline | Old Vic Theatre | |
| 1969 | Back to Methuselah, Part II[83] | Voice of Lilith | Old Vic Theatre |
| 1970 | The Merchant of Venice[6] | Portia | Cambridge Theatre, London Old Vic Theatre |
| 1971 | A Woman Killed with Kindness[6] | Mistress Anne Frankford | New Theatre, London |
| The Rules of the Game[84] | Silla | New Theatre | |
| 1972 | The Doctor's Dilemma[85] | Jennifer Dubedat | Chichester Festival Theatre |
| The Taming of the Shrew[86] | Katharina | Chichester Festival Theatre | |
| 1973 | Rosmersholm[87] | Rebecca West | Greenwich Theatre, London |
| 1973–1975 | Saturday, Sunday, Monday[6] | Rosa | Old Vic Theatre, London Queen's Theatre, London |
| 1974 | Eden End[88] | Stella Kirby | Old Vic Theatre |
| 1975 | The Seagull[6] | Irena Arkadina | Lyric Theatre, London |
| The Bed before Yesterday[6] | Alma | Lyric Theatre | |
| 1977 | Filumena[29] | Filumena Marturano | Lyric Theatre |
| 1980 | Filumena[77] | Filumena Marturano | St. James Theatre, Broadway |
| Enjoy[89] | Mam | Vaudeville Theatre, London | |
| 1981 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?[90] | Martha | Royal National Theatre, London |
| 1982 | Cavell[6] | Edith Cavell | Chichester Festival Theatre |
| 1983 | The Cherry Orchard[6] | Madame Ranevskaya | Haymarket Theatre, London |
| 1984 | The Way of the World[6] | Lady Wishfort | Chichester Festival Theatre Haymarket Theatre |
| 1985 | Mrs. Warren's Profession[91] | Mrs. Warren | Royal National Theatre |
| 1986–1987 | The House of Bernarda Alba[6] | La Poncia | Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, London Globe Theatre, London |
| 1990 | Time and the Conways[6] | Mrs. Conway | Old Vic Theatre |
Plowright was nominated for all theTriple Crown of Acting awards (Academy Award, Emmy Award, and Tony Award), winning the Tony Award in 1961. In 1993, she also became the second of only four actresses (as of 2024) to have won two Golden Globe Awards in the same year.
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