R.I.P. Joan Plowright, Oscar-nominated and Tony-winning actor

Plowright, the widow of Laurence Olivier, died at age 95.

By Mary Kate Carr  |  January 17, 2025 | 9:41am
Photo: Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images
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R.I.P. Joan Plowright, Oscar-nominated and Tony-winning actor
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Dame Joan Plowright, the award-winning actor and widow of Laurence Olivier, has died. Her family confirmed that she died peacefully at Denville Hall, a retirement community for those of the theatrical profession. She was 95 years old.  

In a statement to the BBC, her family said, “It is with great sadness that the family of Dame Joan Plowright, the Lady Olivier, inform you that she passed away peacefully on January 16 2025 surrounded by her family at Denville Hall aged 95. She enjoyed a long and illustrious career across theatre, film and TV over seven decades until blindness made her retire. She cherished her last 10 years in Sussex with constant visits from friends and family, filled with much laughter and fond memories. She survived her many challenges with Plowright grit and courageous determination to make the best of them, and that she certainly did. Rest in peace, Joan….”

Plowright was born in Lincolnshire, England in 1929, and began her career as a stage actor training at the Old Vic theatre school. She performed in the Old Vic Theater company and was directed by the legendary Orson Welles. Later, she joined the Royal Court production of The Entertainer opposite Olivier. Not only did the role help launch her film career when the pair starred in the movie adaptation, but it also sparked a romance between the two actors. Both divorced their respective spouses and began a relationship that would last until Olivier’s death in 1989. 

Shortly after The Entertainer film, Plowright won a Tony Award for A Taste Of Honey, in which she co-starred with Angela Lansbury. She went on to star in numerous stage and screen productions, earning particular acclaim in 1993 for the HBO film Stalin (for which she was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe) and the movie Enchanted April (for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Academy Award). She won the Globe for both performances; at the time, she was only the second actor to ever win two acting awards in the same year, and remains one of only four performers to do so. 

In her later career, Plowright appeared on screen in films such as 101 Dalmations, Jane Eyre, Tea With Mussolini, Bringing Down The House, and The Spiderwick Chronicles. More recently, she reflected on her life and career in the 2018 documentary Tea With The Dames alongside Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, and the late Maggie Smith. Plowright officially retired from acting in 2014 due to macular degeneration. 

Per The Guardian, the Society of London Theatre announced that playhouses across London’s West End will dim their lights for two minutes at 7 PM on Tuesday in remembrance of the prolific actor. The organisation’s co-CEO, Hannah Essex, said, “Dame Joan Plowright was 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.”

 
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