Award winning actress Dame Joan Plowright has died at the age of 95, her family have announced.
Dame Joan, who’s acting career spanned over six decades, died peacefully with her family by her side on Thursday, January 16. The family of the screen star, who had roles in movies such as 101 Dalmatians, Dennis the Menace and Spiderwick, released a statement to announce the news.
The statement 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.
“The family are deeply grateful to Jean Wilson and all those involved in her personal care over many years.
“Joan is survived by her loving family: Tamsin and Wilf, Julie-Kate and Dan, Richard, Shelley, Troy, Ali, Jeremy, step-granddaughter and great granddaughter Kaya and Sophia, and great grand-daughter soon to arrive.
“The family ask you to please respect their request for privacy at this time.
“We are so proud of all Joan did and who she was as a loving and deeply inclusive human being.
“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…” the statement ended. Dame Joan enjoyed a long career on the stage and screen.
She was one of Britain’s most acclaimed actresses as her nods included an Oscar nomination for the movie Enchanted April and warned a Tony Award for her role as Jo in the stage show A Taste of Honey. Dame Joan was married twice. Her first husband, Roger Leonard Gage, was a fellow actor. The pair met when Dame Joan joined the Old Vic Theatre company. The pair were married from 1953 to 1960.
Actress Joan’s career also saw her meet her second husband, Sir Laurence Olivier. The pair met when Dame Joan undertook the role of Dorothy Tutin in The Entertainer when it was transferred to the West End. Joan played Laurence’s daughter in the play and became a leading member of the National Theatre, which he set up. The pair married in 1961, following the end of Sir Laurence’s marriage to Vivien Leigh.
The couple went on to welcome three children together; Richard, Tamsin and Julie – all three went on to embark on careers in the acting industry. Dame Joan and Sir Laurence’s marriage spanned 28 years until his death in 1989 at the age of 82.
Dame Joan retired from acting in 2014, after losing her eyesight and being registered as legally blind. However, in 2018 she made a return to the screen in the documentary Tea with the Dames, appearing alongside Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Judi Dench and Dame Eileen Atkins.
A resurfaced clip from the documentary recently went viral, as the touching moment saw Dames Maggie and Joan teasing Judi about being offered all the parts in Hollywood. In the clip, Judi tells the pair: “We’re always going to work forever if we’re asked.” Harry Potter star Maggie, who died in September aged 89, quips: “But you’re always asked first if I may say so. I’m turning on you now,” she jokes as the other two Dames giggle. “It’s all coming out now.”
Dame Joan then jokes: “One of my hearing aids has gone, what were we just talking about,” with a giggle before Maggie offers the actress to use one of her’s. When the conversation is relayed to her, Dame Joan says: “I tell you my agent in America said to me, when he knew I couldn’t do very much because of the eyesight going. And he said, ‘well if you do want to come over again, we’ll look around for a nice little cameo that Judi Dench hasn’t got her paws on.” Maggie giggles as Judi says: “How rude.” To which Joan explains: “It’s not rude darling, it’s how they talk.”
Follow Mirror Celebs onTikTok,Snapchat,Instagram,Twitter,Facebook,YouTubeandThreads.
Celeb obsessed? Get a daily dose of showbiz gossip direct to your inbox