Theatre News

Stage legend Joan Plowright has died aged 95

The acting veteran had a range of credits

| Nationwide |

17 January 2025

joan p — Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright (right), Associated Press, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Joan Ann Plowright, Baroness Olivier, has died aged 95.

Born in 1929, Plowright’s career spanned over six decades, winning a Tony Award for A Taste of Honey on Broadway, while also co-starring with Laurence Olivier in the original London production of John Osborne’s The Entertainer.

Throughout her career, Plowright received numerous accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, a Tony Award, and nominations for an Academy Award, an Emmy, and two BAFTA Awards. She was one of only four actresses to have won two Golden Globes in the same year.

Plowright’s theatre career was marked by numerous successes. She made her stage debut at Croydon in 1948 and her London debut in 1954. In 1956, she joined the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre and was cast as Margery Pinchwife in The Country Wife. She won the Olivier Award in 1978 for her role in Filumena, and was a vital member of the National Theatre, leading an array of stage productions at the venue.

The West End will dim its lights, as confirmed in a new statement from the Society of London Theatre: “Theatres across London’s West End will dim their lights for two minutes at 7pm on Tuesday 21 January in remembrance of renowned British stage and screen actress Dame Joan Plowright, widow of Laurence Olivier, who died earlier this week at the age of 95.”