British actress Joan Plowright, winner of two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award, died at the age of 95, her family reported this Friday. Plowright made his screen debut in 1956 with Moby Dick before gaining greater recognition in the 1960 film adaptation of The Entertainer along with Laurence Olivier, whom she later married and whose widow she was.
During his long career in theater and film, Plowright also received nominations for an Academy Award, an Emmy, and two BAFTA Awards. Among other films in which he acted are An enchanted April, He has Mussolini o 101 Dalmatians.
Plowright died on January 16, surrounded by her family, according to a statement released by the BBC and other British media. “She enjoyed a long and illustrious career in theater, film and television for seven decades, until blindness forced her to retire,” the family statement said. “We are so proud of everything Joan did and who she was as a loving and deeply inclusive human being.”
His performance in Stalin (1992) earned her a Golden Globe for best supporting actress. Plowright, who also landed a starring role in Love You to Deathalong with River Phoenix, stood out on the theater stages of London’s West End and New York’s Broadway. Plowright’s wedding to Olivier, in 1961, was the sensation of the year and their marriage lasted until the actor’s death in 1989 at the age of 82.
In a 2018 BBC documentary, Plowright recalled her portrayal of the character Beatie Bryant in the 1959 stage production Rootsand how exceptional it was, at that time, to play a female leading role. “Beatie is the center of attention, the center of the story, instead of being on the sidelines, as mere decoration or support,” Plowright said. “The woman is absolutely at the center of everything, and it is that feeling of joy and enthusiasm when you know that you are in charge.”