Oscar nominee Dame Joan Plowright has passed away at 95, as announced by her family. The acclaimed British actress, known for her Golden Globe-winning roles in “Stalin” and “The Enchanted April,” was married to Sir Laurence Olivier, with whom she shared a celebrated partnership. Their marriage, which began in 1961, lasted until his death in 1989, during which she cared for him through illness. Dame Joan’s illustrious career spanned over 70 years in theatre, film, and television, and she cherished her later years in Sussex. Survived by her family, she was revered for her talent, warmth, and resilience.
Oscar nominee Dame Joan Plowright has died at the age of 95, her family announced today.
The British actress, who was married to Sir Laurence Olivier, is known for her Golden Globe-winning performances in the TV biopics Stalin and The Enchanted April, and was nominated for an Academy Award. It was done.
Born Dame Joan, who also starred in Love You To Death with River Phoenix, was a West End and Broadway star before achieving international success in film.
Her wedding to Sir Olivier in 1961 caused a sensation that year. They met when they played the role of Sir Olivier’s daughter in the play “The Entertainer.”
Their marriage lasted until the theater giant’s death at the age of 82 in 1989. She became his caregiver through a series of chronic illnesses, including cancer.
Her family said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that the family of Mrs Olivier, aka Mrs Joan Plowright, announce that she passed away peacefully at Denville Hall on January 16, 2025, aged 95, surrounded by her family. I think so,” he announced.
Dame Joan Plowright at the Evening Standard Theater Awards at the Savoy, London, 1999
Lady Joan Plowright and her husband Sir Laurence Olivier in London in 1965
Dame Joan Plowright speaks with Queen Elizabeth at a reception at Buckingham Palace in 2004.
Joan Plowright and Laurence Olivier hold their son Richard at the baptism of their daughter Tamsin outside the church in Lavant, West Sussex in 1963.
“She had a long and distinguished career in stage, film and television spanning more than 70 years until her retirement due to blindness.
“She cherished her last 10 years in Sussex, filled with many laughs and fond memories, with frequent visits from friends and family.
“The family is deeply grateful to Jean Wilson and all those involved in her care over the years.
“Joan leaves behind her loving family: Tamsin and Wilf, Julie-Kate and Dan, Richard, Shelley, Troy, Ali, Jeremy, her step-granddaughters and great-granddaughters Kaya and Sophia, and her soon-to-be great-granddaughter.
Joan Plowright poses for a photo after being made Dame at Buckingham Palace in 2004
Joan Plowright attends the funeral of her husband Sir Laurence Olivier in Ashurst, Sussex, 1989.
Actor Peter O’Toole receives an award from Dame Joan Plowright in London in 2000
(From left: Joan Plowright, her husband Sir Laurence Olivier, Lady Redgrave, and Sir John Mills attend Sir Michael Redgrave’s Thanksgiving service in Covent Garden, London, 1985)
Dame Joan Plowright arrives at the Women of Achievers reception at Buckingham Palace in 2004.
Laurence Olivier as Archie Rice and Joan Plowright as Jean rehearsing for The Entertainer at the Palace Theater in London, September 1957.
Dame Joan Plowright poses for a portrait in a New York hotel in 1999
Dame Joan Plowright and Laurence Olivier, 1971
(From left) Dame Joan Plowright, director Peter Greenaway, and actresses Joely Richardson and Juliet Stevenson from the film “The Numbers” pose for a photo in Cannes in 1988.
Dame Joan Plowright reads the script for the TV show Twelfth Night for the first time in 1968 with actors Ralph Richardson, Tommy Steele and Alec Guinness.
“The family asks that their request for privacy be respected at this time.
“We are so proud of everything Joan has done and the loving and inclusive person she is.
“She overcame many hardships with Plowright grit and a brave determination to make the best of it, and she certainly did. Rest in peace, Joan…”
Her role as Dame Joan in the 1991 British comedy “Enchanted April” won her a Golden Globe Award for her role as the bee-like widow, and her role in “101 Dalmatians” in 1996 and “1999” He is also known for “Mussolini and Tea”.
She won her second Golden Globe Award in 1993 for the TV biopic Stalin.
Dame Joan Plowright and Tom Stoppard at the 1993 Evening Standard Theater Awards
Diana Churchill (left) stands alongside Laurence Harvey and Dame Joan Plowright (right) in costume for William Wycherley’s comedy The Country Wife at the Adelphi Theater in London in 1957.
Dame Joan Plowright, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for 1993’s Enchanted April, arrives at the Los Angeles Music Center for the 65th Academy Awards.
Laurence Olivier, Dame Joan Plowright (left) and actress Lauren Bacall attend the U.S. premiere of King Lear, the only Shakespeare production made specifically for television, in New York in 1983.
Dame Joan Plowright at the Royal Court Theater, London, 1960
Dame Joan Plowright and Laurence Olivier in The Entertainer at the Palace Theatre, 1957
Dame Joan Plowright in the play Roots at the Royal Court Theater in London in 1960.
Anthony Hopkins, who played John Frankford, and Dame Joan Plowright, who played Anne, during a rehearsal for the play Murdered by Kindness at the Old Vic in London in 1971.
Dame Joan Plowright as Rebecca West and Jeremy Brett as John Rosmer in a scene from Ibsen’s play Rosmersholm during rehearsal at the Greenwich Theater in 1973
Dame Joan Plowright holds a telegram while appearing in The Entertainer at the Palace Theater in 1957
Dame Joan Plowright (second from left), Laurence Olivier (centre), son Richard, and daughters Tamsin (left) and Julie-Kate (right), photographed in December 1988.
Antonia Fraser and Dame Joan Plowright at the 1970 Evening Standard Theater Awards
Laurence Olivier (left) holds a placard reading “Soviet Union, free the Panovs” and Paul Scofield (right) attends a wake in front of the Russian embassy in Leningrad in November. A 1973 photo of Russian dancers Valery and Galina Panov on hunger strike. Dame Joan Plowright in the center
Dame Joan Plowright (left) and Geraldine McEwan look at a model of the proposed new National Theater building at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London in 1968.
Dame Joan Plowright and film critic Lindsay Anderson (centre) with the cast of The Seagull – John Moffat (far left), Helen Mirren (second from right), Frank Grimes (far right), photographed in 1975
In 1961, she won a Tony Award for her role as Joe in Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey on Broadway, opposite the late Angela Lansbury, who played her mother.
Born in Scunthorpe, Dame Joan was educated at the local grammar school before winning a scholarship to the Old Vic Theater School at the age of 17.
Her first stage appearance was in If Four Walls Told at the Croydon Repertory Theater in 1948, and she then joined the English Theater Company at the Royal Court.
She met Sir 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 John Osborne’s stage version of The Entertainer.
Dame Joan was awarded the title in the 2004 New Year Honors.
However, she lost her eyesight in 2014, was registered as visually impaired, and retired from the stage.
Denville Hall, where Dame Joan died, is a retirement home for former actors and other members of the entertainment industry in Northwood, west London.