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Joan Plowright, one of Britain's most accomplished stage actresses, passed away on January 16, 2025, at the age of 95. During her long and successful career, she won many awards such as the Tony and Golden Globes.
Her amazing work in shows like A Taste of Honey and Enchanted April showed how versatile she was. Tragically, her life came to an end due to complications stemming from macular degeneration, which forced her to retire from acting in 2014.
Plowright was married to actor and director Sir Laurence Olivier. They were married for 28 years until Olivier died in 1989.
Marital life of the 101 Dalmatians actress Joan Plowright
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Actor Roger Gage was Joan Plowright's first husband. They got married in September 1953. After seven years of marriage, Joan and Roger split up in 1960.
Marriage to Laurence Olivier
Actor and director Sir Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright first met while working on The Country Wife in 1956. Olivier, who was already a huge name in British theater, was blown away by Joan's performance. Olivier was married to actor Vivien Leigh and Joan was married to Roger Gage at the time. Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier got divorced in 1960, after being married for 20 years.
Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright were 22 years apart in age, but they were deeply in love with each other. They got married in 1961 and had three kids together.
Their daughters Tamsin Olivier and Julie-Kate Olivier became actors. To carry on the family's theatrical tradition, their son Richard Olivier became a director.
When Olivier died in 1989, Joan and Olivier had been married for 28 years. She described their marriage as a learning experience and a journey of personal growth.
In a 2003 interview with The Daily Telegraph, Joan Plowright talked about how she chose to enjoy being a part of Olivier's life, even though being a famous couple came with its challenges.
Joan Plowright's career
Over six decades, Joan Plowright had a successful acting career that made her one of Britain's most famous stage and screen actors. In 1948, she made her stage debut with Croydon.
She started working at the Royal Court Theatre in 1956 and was an integral part of many important socially conscious productions, such as John Osborne's The Entertainer.
Her Broadway breakthrough came in 1961 when she won a Tony Award for her part in A Taste of Honey. She did plays like Saint Joan and Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Later, she became popular for her roles in films like Enchanted April (1992), for which she won a Golden Globe, and Tea with Mussolini (1999).
Plowright maintained both her theater and screen roles masterfully. She worked in films like 101 Dalmatians (1996), where she played Nanny. Her final work included the documentary Nothing Like a Dame (2018), alongside Maggie Smith and Judi Dench. She was awarded a Damehood in 2004.
