Dame Joan Plowright, a celebrated star of stage and screen in the United Kingdom and the widow of Sir Laurence Olivier, has died at the age of 95. She had been blind and retired from acting for a decade. Her family said they were “so proud of all Joan did and who she was as a loving and deeply inclusive human being”. Plowright’s career, which spanned 60 years, included winning a Tony Award and a Society of West End Theatre Award, which was later renamed the Olivier Awards after her husband.
She became a leading lady in London’s West End in the 1950s and first appeared opposite Olivier in John Osborne’s “The Entertainer” at the Royal Court in 1957. A love affair blossomed and they were married in 1961 after starring on film together. She was one of the members of the National Theatre that Olivier founded in the early 1960s, which included Maggie Smith, Derek Jacobi and Michael Gambon. Plowright was known for her extraordinary performances in plays including “Uncle Vanya,” “Saint Joan,” and “Three Sisters,” among others.
The current director of the National Theatre, Rufus Norris, paid tribute to Plowright, saying that her “contribution as one of the central pillars of the National Theatre cannot be overstated”. He added, “Joan’s influence offstage on the nascent National Theatre was similarly profound, and her remarkable talent and dedication to her craft have left an enduring legacy as an actor. She remained a personal friend to and champion of the National Theatre throughout its history.” West End theatres will dim their lights for two minutes in tribute to Plowright on Tuesday, while UK Theatre and Society Of London Theatre co-chief executive Hannah Essex said that Dame Joan Plowright was “an iconic and deeply respected figure in the world of theatre”.
Dame Joan was part of a generation of great acting dames, and appeared in the 1999 film “Tea with Mussolini” alongside Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith. In 2018, she was seen in the BBC documentary “Nothing Like A Dame”, where she recounted memorable experiences with the fellow dames. Playwright David Hare remembered her as a wise and witty woman who was very good fun. He said, “She had the not very easy task of being Laurence Olivier’s wife while Laurence Olivier ran the theatre, and she handled that situation extremely well.
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