Joyce Redman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Joyce Olivia Redman (1915-12-07)7 December 1915 Gosforth,Northumberland, England |
| Died | 9 May 2012(2012-05-09) (aged 96) |
| Resting place | Faversham Cemetery,Faversham, Kent, England |
| Education | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1938–2001 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Joyce Olivia Redman (7 December 1915[1] – 9 May 2012) was an Anglo-Irish actress.[2][3][4] She received twoOscar nominations forBest Supporting Actress for her performances in the 1963 filmTom Jones and the 1965 filmOthello.
Joyce Redman was born in Northumberland[5] and grew up in County Mayo, Ireland.[4][6] She was born into anAnglo-Irish family, and educated by a private governess in Ireland, along with her three sisters. She trained in acting at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, graduating in 1936.[7]
Redman’s early stage career in the 1940s included acclaimed performances inShadow and Substance,Claudia, andLady Precious Stream. She toured internationally, performing at theComédie-Française in Paris and achieving notable success in New York in 1949 playingAnne Boleyn oppositeRex Harrison asHenry VIII inMaxwell Anderson's playAnne of the Thousand Days. In 1955, she joinedStratford-upon-Avon's Shakespeare Memorial Theatre to play Helena inAll's Well That Ends Well and Mistress Ford inThe Merry Wives of Windsor.[8] Later television work included the 1974 BBC serialNotorious Woman, in which she portrayed Sophie Dupin, the mother ofGeorge Sand.
Although primarily a stage actress, Redman appeared in a select number of films, earning critical recognition and international fame. She receivedAcademy Award nominations for her roles inTom Jones (1963) as the sexually provocative Mrs. Waters and inOthello (1965) as the outspokenEmilia, acting alongsideMaggie Smith andLaurence Olivier.[6][8][3] Her performance inOthello also garnered aGolden Globe nomination.[9] In 1968, Redman starred in the birth-control comedyPrudence and the Pill, directed byRonald Neame and featuringDeborah Kerr andDavid Niven. Her character became pregnant after her daughter substituted some contraceptive pills with aspirin, inadvertently undermining her mother’s intended "liberation".[6]
Redman was admired for her ability to move seamlessly between comedy and tragedy, with stage roles ranging from Cordelia inKing Lear to Dol Common inThe Alchemist, and Elizabeth Proctor inThe Crucible to Mrs Frail inLove for Love. She appeared in television dramas includingTales of the Unexpected andThe Ruth Rendell Mysteries, concluding her screen career as an elderlyQueen Victoria inVictoria & Albert (2001).
In 1949, Redman married Charles Wynne Roberts, a former British Army captain who later worked as a television executive. The couple had three children, including Crispin Redman, who pursued a career in acting. Redman and Roberts remained married until his death. Their three children and five grandchildren survive her.[6] Her son Crispin Redman is an actor. Her son-in-law is the investment manager and media personalityJustin Urquhart Stewart.[4]
Redman maintained a connection to her native County Mayo. In 1949, she purchasedBartragh Island, which had been in her family for several generations, and retained ownership for several decades before selling it in 1984. She spent her later years living in Kent, England. Redman died in Pembury,Kent, England, on 9 May 2012 at age 96 from pneumonia.[1]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Spellbound | The Maid | |
| 1942 | One of Our Aircraft Is Missing | Jet van Dieren | |
| 1963 | Tom Jones | Jenny Jones / Mrs. Waters | Nominated —Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1965 | Othello | Emilia | Nominated —Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated —Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture |
| 1968 | Prudence and the Pill | Grace Hardcastle | |
| 1978 | Les Misérables | Magliore | TV movie |
| 1980 | The Party | Mrs. Linda Knox/ wife | Tales of the Unexpected; Series 3, Ep. 9/ TV series |
| 1985 | A Different Kind of Love | Mrs. Prior |
