- Joan Plowright
-
The Right Honourable
The Lady Olivier
DBEBorn Joan Ann Plowright
28 October 1929
Brigg, Lindsey, Lincolnshire, England, United KingdomOccupation Actress Years active 1951 – present Spouse Roger Gage (1953-1961)
Laurence Olivier (1961-1989)Joan Ann Plowright, Baroness Olivier, DBE (born 28 October 1929), better known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English actress, whose career has spanned over sixty years. Throughout her career she has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award and has been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy, and two BAFTA Awards. Joan Plowright is also one of only four actresses to have won two Golden Globes in the same year.
Contents
Early life
Plowright was born in Brigg, Lincolnshire, the daughter of Daisy Margaret (née Burton) and William Ernest Plowright, who was a journalist and newspaper editor.[1][2] She attended Scunthorpe Grammar School and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Career
Plowright made her stage debut in 1951 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 appeared with George Devine in the Eugène Ionesco play, The Chairs, Shaw's Major Barbara and Saint Joan. In 1957 she co-starred with Sir Laurence Olivier in the original London production of John Osborne's The Entertainer, taking over the role of Jean Rice from Dorothy Tutin when the play transferred from the Royal Court to the Palace Theatre.
Plowright continued to appear on stage and in films such as The Entertainer (1960). In 1961 she received a Tony Award for her role in A Taste of Honey on Broadway. Through her marriage to Laurence Olivier, she became closely associated with his work at the National Theatre from 1964 onwards.
From the 1980s she began to appear more regularly in films, including Enchanted April (1992), for which she won a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination, Dennis the Menace (1993), a cameo in Last Action Hero (also 1993), and Tea With Mussolini (1999). She was also Nanny in 101 Dalmatians (1996).
Among her television roles, she won another Golden Globe Award and earned an Emmy Award nomination for the HBO film Stalin in 1992 as the Soviet dictator's mother-in-law. In 1994, she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award.[3]
In 2003, Plowright performed in the stage production Absolutely! in London. Plowright was appointed honorary president of the English Stage Company in March 2009, succeeding John Mortimer, who died in January 2009. She was previously vice-president of the company.[4]
Plowright was awarded a CBE in 1970 and was made a Dame (DBE) in the New Year's Honours of 2004.
Personal life
Plowright was first married to Roger Gage, an actor, in September, 1953.
She divorced him, and in 1961 married Laurence Olivier, after the breaking of his 20-year marriage with esteemed actress Vivien Leigh. Plowright has continually denied that she was responsible for wrecking their marriage.
Together the couple had three children, Richard Kerr, Tamsin Agnes Margaret and Julie-Kate. Both daughters are actresses.[5] The couple remained married until his death in 1989.
Her brother, David Plowright CBE (1930–2006), was an executive at Granada Television.
Legacy
The Plowright Theatre in her native Scunthorpe is named in her honour. Upon her marriage to Sir Laurence Olivier, her formal title became "Lady Olivier"; however, she has never used it in her professional career. Her husband later became a life peer on the Queens honours list in 1970. This legally made her Baroness Olivier, of Brighton in the County of Sussex.
Filmography
- 1951: Sara Crewe .... Winnie (4 episodes, 1951)
- 1954: BBC Sunday-Night Theatre .... Adriana (1 episode, 1954)
- 1955: Moby Dick Rehearsed (TV) .... A Young Actress/Pip
- 1956: Moby Dick (uncredited) .... Starbuck's Wife
- 1957: Sword of Freedom .... Lisa Giocondo (1 episode, 1957)
- 1957: Time Without Pity .... Agnes Cole
- 1959: The School for Scandal (TV) .... Lady Teazle
- 1960: The Entertainer .... Jean Rice
- 1963: Uncle Vanya .... Sonya
- 1969: ITV Saturday Night Theatre .... Viola (1 episode, 1969)
- 1970: ITV Playhouse .... Lisa (1 episode, 1970)
- 1970: Three Sisters .... Masha
- 1973: The Merchant of Venice (TV) .... Portia
- 1977: Equus .... Dora Strang
- 1978: Daphne Laureola (TV) .... Lady Pitts
- 1978: Saturday, Sunday, Monday (TV) .... Rosa
- 1980: The Diary of Anne Frank (TV) .... Mrs. Frank
- 1982: Brimstone & Treacle .... Norma Bates
- 1982: All for Love .... Edith (1 episode, 1982)
- 1982: Britannia Hospital .... Phyllis Grimshaw
- 1983: Wagner .... Mrs. Taylor (1 episode, 1983)
- 1985: Revolution .... Mrs. McConnahay
- 1986: The Importance of Being Earnest (TV) .... Lady Bracknell
- 1987: Theatre Night .... Meg Bowles (1 episode, 1987)
- 1988: Drowning by Numbers .... Cissie Colpitts 1
- 1988: The Dressmaker .... Nellie
- 1989: And a Nightingale Sang (TV) .... Mam
- 1990: Avalon .... Eva Krichinsky
- 1990: I Love You to Death .... Nadja, Rosalie's Mother
- 1990: Sophie
- 1991: The House of Bernarda Alba (TV) .... La Poncia
- 1992: Stalin (TV) .... Olga
- 1992: Driving Miss Daisy (TV) .... Daisy Werthan
- 1992: Enchanted April .... Mrs. Fisher
- 1993: Dennis the Menace .... Mrs. Martha Wilson
- 1993: Last Action Hero .... Teacher
- 1993: Screen Two .... Mrs. Monro (1 episode, 1993)
- 1994: The Return of the Native (TV) .... Mrs. Yeobright
- 1994: A Pin for the Butterfly .... Grandma
- 1994: A Place for Annie (TV) .... Dorothy
- 1994: On Promised Land (TV) .... Mrs. Appletree
- 1994: Widows' Peak .... Mrs. Doyle-Counihan
- 1995: The Scarlet Letter .... Harriet Hibbons
- 1995: A Pyromaniac's Love Story .... Mrs. Linzer
- 1995: Hotel Sorrento .... Marge Morrisey
- 1996: 101 Dalmatians .... Nanny
- 1996: Surviving Picasso .... Françoise's Grandmother
- 1996: Mr. Wrong .... Mrs. Crawford
- 1996: Jane Eyre .... Mrs. Fairfax
- 1997: The Assistant[disambiguation needed
] .... Mrs. Ida Bober
- 1998: Encore! Encore! .... Marie Pinoni (12 episodes, 1998–1999)
- 1998: Aldrich Ames: Traitor Within (TV) .... Jeanne Vertefeuille
- 1998: This Could Be the Last Time (TV) .... Rosemary
- 1998: Dance with Me .... Bea Johnson
- 1999: Tom's Midnight Garden .... Mrs. Bartholomew
- 1999: Tea with Mussolini .... Mary Wallace
- 2000: Frankie & Hazel (TV) .... Phoebe Harkness
- 2000: Dinosaur (voice) .... Baylene
- 2001: Bailey's Mistake (TV) .... Aunt Angie
- 2001: Back to the Secret Garden .... Martha Sowerby
- 2001: Scrooge and Marley (TV) .... Narrator
- 2002: Global Heresy .... Lady Foxley
- 2002: Callas Forever .... Sarah Keller
- 2003: Bringing Down the House .... Virginia Arness
- 2003: I Am David .... Sophie
- 2004: George and the Dragon .... Mother Superior
- 2005: Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont .... Mrs. Palfrey
- 2006: Goose on the Loose .... Beatrice Fairfield
- 2006: Curious George (voice) .... Ms. Plushbottom
- 2008: The Spiderwick Chronicles .... Aunt Lucinda Spiderwick
- 2008: Brontë
- 2008: In the Shadow of Wings
- 2010: Knife Edge .... Marjorie
References
- ^ "Joan Plowright Biography". Yahoo! Movies. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800018825/bio. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
- ^ Joan Plowright Biography (1929-)
- ^ "Past Recipients: Crystal Award". Women In Film. http://wif.org/past-recipients. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
- ^ Smith, Alistair (2009-03-05). "Plowright becomes honorary president of English Stage Company". The Stage. The Stage Newspaper Limited. http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/23708/plowright-becomes-honorary-president-of. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
- ^ "Joan Plowright Biography". Film Reference. http://www.filmreference.com/film/13/Joan-Plowright.html. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
External links
- Joan Plowright at the Internet Movie Database
- Joan Plowright at the Internet Broadway Database
- Joan Plowright at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Performances listed in Theatre Archive University of Bristol
- Joan Plowright at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
- Joan Plowright at Yahoo! Movies
Awards for Joan Plowright Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play (1947–1975) Ingrid Bergman / Helen Hayes (1947) · Judith Anderson / Jessica Tandy (1948) · Shirley Booth (1950) · Uta Hagen (1951) · Julie Harris (1952) · Shirley Booth (1953) · Audrey Hepburn (1954) · Nancy Kelly (1955) · Julie Harris (1956) · Margaret Leighton (1957) · Helen Hayes (1958) · Gertrude Berg (1959) · Anne Bancroft (1960) · Joan Plowright. (1961) · Margaret Leighton (1962) · Uta Hagen (1963) · Sandy Dennis (1964) · Irene Worth (1965) · Rosemary Harris (1966) · Beryl Reid (1967) · Zoe Caldwell (1968) · Julie Harris (1969) · Tammy Grimes (1970) · Maureen Stapleton (1971) · Sada Thompson (1972) · Julie Harris (1973) · Colleen Dewhurst (1974) · Ellen Burstyn (1975)
Complete list · (1947–1975) · (1976–2000) · (2001–2025) Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (1981–2000) Joan Hackett (1981) · Jessica Lange (1982) · Cher (1983) · Peggy Ashcroft (1984) · Meg Tilly (1985) · Maggie Smith (1986) · Olympia Dukakis (1987) · Sigourney Weaver (1988) · Julia Roberts (1989) · Whoopi Goldberg (1990) · Mercedes Ruehl (1991) · Joan Plowright (1992) · Winona Ryder (1993) · Dianne Wiest (1994) · Mira Sorvino (1995) · Lauren Bacall (1996) · Kim Basinger (1997) · Lynn Redgrave (1998) · Angelina Jolie (1999) · Kate Hudson (2000)
Complete List · (1943–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–present) Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (1990–2009) Piper Laurie (1990) · Amanda Donohoe (1991) · Joan Plowright (1992) · Julia Louis-Dreyfus (1993) · Miranda Richardson (1994) · Shirley Knight (1995) · Kathy Bates (1996) · Angelina Jolie (1997) · Faye Dunaway/Camryn Manheim (1998) · Nancy Marchand (1999) · Vanessa Redgrave (2000) · Rachel Griffiths (2001) · Kim Cattrall (2002) · Mary-Louise Parker (2003) · Anjelica Huston (2004) · Sandra Oh (2005) · Emily Blunt (2006) · Samantha Morton (2007) · Laura Dern (2008) · Chloë Sevigny (2009)
Complete list · (1970–1989) · (1990–2009) · (2010–2029) Categories:- 1929 births
- Living people
- Actresses awarded British damehoods
- Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
- Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (television) winners
- British baronesses
- Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- English film actors
- English stage actors
- People from Brigg
- Royal National Theatre Company members
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