Dame Joan Plowright death: Oscar-nominated actress dies, aged 95

Plowright was the widow of Laurence Olivier and won two Golden Globes during her career

Award-winning actor Dame Joan Plowright, the widow of Lord Laurence Olivier, has died aged 95, her family has announced.

A 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 granddaughter soon to arrive.

Joan Plowright, her husband Sir Lawrence Olivier, Lady Redgrave and Sir John Mills in 1985 (/PA Wire)

“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…”

Joan Plowright with Peter O’Toole in 2000 (Sean Dempsey/PA Wire)

Plowright, who officially retired in 2014 after becoming legally blind, is best known for her roles in Dennis the Menace, 101 Dalmatians and The Entertainer, as well as Enchanted April, which earned her an Oscar nomination in 1993.

The role also earned her a Golden Globe win and at the same ceremony she also won Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for Stalin. This makes her the second of only four actresses ever to win two Golden Globes in the same year.

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Sir Laurence Olivier in the role of Archie Rice, and Joan Plowright, 26, in the role of Jean, the Palace theatre, London, rehearsing for 'The Entertainer'. (PA/PA Wire)

In 1961 she won a Tony Award for the role of Jo in Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey on Broadway, which saw her star opposite the late Dame Angela Lansbury playing her mother.

Born in Scunthorpe, Dame Joan was educated at the local grammar school before winning a scholarship to the Old Vic Theatre School at the age of 17.

Her first stage appearance was in If Four Walls Told at the Croydon Repertory Theatre in 1948 and she later joined the English Theatre Company at the Royal Court.

She met Lord 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 the stage version of John Osborne’s The Entertainer.

Joan Plowright, playing Rebecca West, and Jeremy Brett, playing John Rosmer, in a scene from Ibsen's play 'Rosmersholm' (Getty Images)

Dame Joan’s wedding to Lord Olivier in 1961 was the sensation of the year, and their marriage was an enduring one until the theatre great’s death in 2007 at the age of 86.

She became his carer through a series of chronic illnesses, including cancer.

She received a damehood in the 2004 New Year honours.

Dame Joan announced she was retiring from acting in 2014, after her losing her eyesight due to macular degeneration and becoming registered as blind.

In 2021, her friend and contemporary Dame Judi Dench spoke about having the same condition.

From left actress Joan Plowright, director Peter Greenaway, actresses Joely Richardson and Juliet Stevenson from the film ‘Drowning by Numbers’ (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Prior to that, in 2014, Dame Joan took part in the documentary film Nothing Like A Dame, alongside Dame Eileen Atkins, Dame Judi and Dame Maggie Smith, which saw them discuss their careers and lives.

In a statement, the Olivier Awards confirmed that “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”

Additional reporting by PA.