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Award-winning actress Dame Joan Plowright dies aged 95

Oscar nominee Dame Joan Plowright has died at the age of 95, her family has said.

The British actress, who was married to Lord Laurence Olivier, was known for her Golden Globe award-winning performances in TV biopic Stalin and Enchanted April, for which she was also nominated for an Academy Award.

Dame Joan also starred in Love You To Death with River Phoenix, and was a star of the West End and Broadway before her international movie success.

The lights of London鈥檚 West End will dim in memory of the Olivier award-winning actress on Tuesday.

LAURENCE OLIVIER : 1957
Dame Joan on stage with Laurence Olivier in The Entertainer in 1957. They would go on to marry (PA)

鈥淪he enjoyed a long and illustrious career across theatre, film and TV over seven decades until blindness made her retire.

鈥淪he cherished her last 10 years in Sussex with constant visits from friends and family, filled with much laughter and fond memories.

鈥淭he family are deeply grateful to Jean Wilson and all those involved in her personal care over many years.

鈥淭he family ask you to please respect their request for privacy at this time.

鈥淲e are so proud of all Joan did and who she was as a loving and deeply inclusive human being.

鈥淪he survived her many challenges with Plowright grit and courageous determination to make the best of them, and that she certainly did.

鈥淩est in peace, Joan.鈥

Actress Josie Lawrence, who featured in Enchanted April alongside Dame Joan, also paid tribute to the star telling the PA news agency she 鈥渢hought she was just wonderful and very caring to her during filming鈥, with the 65-year-old adding that 鈥渨orking with her was the greatest honour鈥.

Dame Joan鈥檚 wedding to Lord Olivier in 1961 was the sensation of the year, and their marriage was an enduring one until the theatre great鈥檚 death in 1989 at the age of 82.

She became his carer through a series of chronic illnesses, including cancer, until he died.

Joan Plowright Investiture
She received a damehood in the 2004 new year honours (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

She won a second Golden Globe for the TV biopic Stalin in 1993.

In 1961 she won a Tony Award for the role of Jo in Shelagh Delaney鈥檚 A Taste of Honey on Broadway, which saw her star opposite the late Dame Angela Lansbury playing her mother.

Born in Scunthorpe, Dame Joan was educated at the local grammar school before winning a scholarship to the Old Vic Theatre School at the age of 17.

The town鈥檚 Scunthorpe Civic Centre was renamed the Plowright Theatre during the 1990s in honour of the actress鈥檚 achievements.

Paying tribute to Dame Joan, Plowright Theatre operators Scunthorpe Theatres said in a statement: 鈥淲e are saddened to hear that Dame Joan Plowright, the esteemed British actress whose career spanned over six decades, has passed away at the age of 95. Born in Brigg she became one of the most distinguished actors of her generation.

鈥淥ur Plowright Theatre, once known as Scunthorpe Civic Theatre, was renamed in the 1990s in recognition of the achievements of Joan and it was her father, Bill Plowright who founded Scunthorpe Little Theatre Club who continue to perform there today.

鈥淥ur thoughts and prayers are with her family at this time.鈥

Her first stage appearance was in If Four Walls Told at the Croydon Repertory Theatre in 1948 and she later joined the English Theatre Company at the Royal Court.

She met Lord Olivier in 1957 when he was still married to Gone With The Wind star Vivien Leigh, and they fell in love while co-starring in the stage version of John Osborne鈥檚 The Entertainer.

She received a damehood in the 2004 new year honours.

A year before, she had appeared in Freaks And Geeks creator Paul Feig鈥檚 directional debut film I Am David, set after the Second World War.

Feig wrote on X that it was an 鈥渦nbelievable honour鈥 and that he 鈥渨as in over my head directing such a legend but she made it all so easy鈥.

鈥淚 marvelled at every take she did and learned so much from her,鈥 the director of 2016鈥檚 Ghostbusters and 2011鈥檚 Bridesmaids said.

Dame Joan announced she was retiring from acting in 2014, after she lost her eyesight because of macular degeneration and was registered as blind.

In 2021, her friend and contemporary Dame Judi Dench spoke about having the same condition.

In 2014, Dame Joan took part in the documentary film Nothing Like A Dame, with Dame Eileen Atkins, Dame Judi and Dame Maggie Smith, in which they discussed their careers and lives.

UK Theatre and Society Of London Theatre co-chief executive Hannah Essex said that Dame Joan, who won the Olivier award for best actress in 1978 for the drama Filumena, 鈥渨as an iconic and deeply respected figure in the world of theatre, leaving an indelible mark on the industry she shaped with her talent and dedication鈥.

She added: 鈥淲e are honoured to contribute to the celebration of her extraordinary career (by dimming the London theatre lights for two minutes) and extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and loved ones.鈥

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