Dame Joan Plowright dies aged 95

Dame Joan Plowright has died aged 95.

The legendary British actress and widow of Sir Laurence Olivier died on Thursday, her family has confirmed.

"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," they said in a statement.

"She enjoyed a long and illustrious career across theatre, film and TV over seven decades until blindness made her retired."

The star's family noted that she "cherished her last 10 years in Sussex with constant visits from friends and family, filled with much laughter and fond memories".

"We are so proud of all Joan did and who she was as a loving and deeply inclusive human being," the statement continued. "She survived her many challenges with Plowright grit and courageous determination to make the best of them, and that she certainly did."

Plowright's six-decade career began at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and she made her stage debut in Croydon, London in 1948.

The actress went on to star in a number of stage productions including The Merchant of Venice and Three Sisters.

Plowright also enjoyed a successful screen career, starring in films such as 1996's 101 Dalmatians and 1999's Tea with Mussolini alongside Maggie Smith, Judi Dench and Cher.

She won several awards during her career, including a Tony Award for The Taste of Honey and Golden Globes for the TV show Stalin and the 1991 movie Enchanted April. She also received an Oscar nomination for the latter.

In 2014, the actress retired after losing her sight and being registered as blind.

Plowright married actor and director Olivier in 1961 after playing his daughter in The Entertainer. The couple had three children, Richard, Tamsin and Julie Kate, and remained married until his death in 1989.