As a founding member of the English Stage Company at the Royal Court, the theatre’s honorary president, and the wife of Laurence Olivier, first director of the National Theatre, Plowright played a key role in the transformation of UK theatre in the mid-20th century.

Plowright brought stage and screen characters to vibrant life for more than six decades in such works as A Taste of Honey, Tea with Mussolini and Enchanted April.

Award-winning British actor Joan Plowright, who with her late husband Laurence Olivier did much to revitalize the U.K.'s theatrical scene in the decades after World War II, has died. She was 95. In a statement Friday,

Joan Plowright, the celebrated English actor whose career included the films 'Enchanted April,' 'The Entertainer' and 'Spiderwick Chronicles,' has died at 95.

Actress Joan Plowright poses for a portrait at a New York hotel on May 4, 1999. (AP Photo/Suzanne Plunkett, File) Laurence Olivier and English actress Joan Plowright in a scene from John Osborne’s play,

British actor Joan Plowright, winner of two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award, has died aged 95, her family said on Friday. Plowright made her on-screen debut in 1956's "Moby Dick" before gaining wider recognition in the 1960 film adaptation of "The Entertainer" alongside Laurence Olivier,

Tony Award-winning actress Joan Plowright, one of the most notable British actresses of her generation, has died at 95.

The British actress died surrounded by her loved ones at Denville Hall in England, her family said in a statement.

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. pic.twitter.com/ztTtdJZuIC

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.

LONDON (AP) — Award-winning British actor Joan Plowright, who with her late husband Laurence Olivier did much to revitalize the U.K.‘s theatrical scene in the decades after World War II ...

LONDON — Award-winning British actor Joan Plowright, who with her late husband Laurence Olivier did much to revitalize the U.K.’s theatrical scene in the decades after World War II ...