Joan Plowright
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| Dame Joan Plowright | |
 Dame Joan Plowright as "Mary Wallace" in Tea With Mussolini (1999) |
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| Birth name | Joan Ann Plowright |
| Born | October 28, 1929 (age 77) Brigg, North Lincolnshire, England |
Joan Ann Olivier, Lady Olivier DBE (born October 28, 1929), known by her maiden name as Dame Joan Plowright, is a British actress, widow of Laurence Olivier. She was made a Dame (DBE) in the New Year's Honours for 2004.
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[edit] Career
Long known as a superb theatre actress, Plowright trained at the Old Vic in London and made her stage debut in 1951 and her London debut in 1954. In 1956 she joined the English Stage Company at the Royal Court and won the role of Margery Pinchwife in The Country Wife. She appeared with George Devine in The Chairs (by Eugène Ionesco), Major Barbara, Saint Joan, and in 1957 she co-starred with future husband 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) and The Three Sisters (1970). In 1961 she was awarded a Tony for her role in A Taste of Honey (play) on Broadway. After a brief hiatus to devote time to her family she has returned to the screen and can be seen in films such as Dennis the Menace, Enchanted April and Tea With Mussolini. She was also notable for her major role in 101 Dalmatians.
In 2003 Plowright performed in the stage production Absolutely! in London.
[edit] Personal life
Joan Plowright was born in Brigg, Lincolnshire. She was first married to Roger Gage. She divorced him, and, in 1961 married Laurence Olivier. Together the couple had three children, Richard Kerr, Tamsin Agnes Margaret and Julie-Kate. Both daughters are actresses. The couple were married until his death from cancer in 1989.
Her brother, David Plowright, was an executive at Granada Television before being sacked by Gerry Robinson, "the wealthiest Irishman in Britain" (who, coincidentally, was awarded a knighthood in the 2004 New Year's Honours together with Dame Joan).
The Plowright Theatre in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, is named after her.
Upon marriage to Sir Laurence Olivier, her formal title was "Lady Olivier". When he was elevated to the peerage in 1970 she became most formally "Baroness Olivier". She never used either of these names in her professional career.
[edit] Selected filmography
- Moby Dick (1956) (uncredited, as Starbuck's wife) (her first film role)
- The Entertainer (1960) as Jean Rice with her husband Sir Laurence Olivier
- Three Sisters (1970, by Sir Laurence Olivier and John Sichel) as Masha
- Equus (1977) as Dora Strang
- Britannia Hospital (1982) as Phyllis Grimshaw
- Brimstone & Treacle (1982) as Norma Bates
- The Dressmaker (1988) as Nellie
- Drowning By Numbers (1988) as Cissie Colpitts 1
- I Love You to Death (1990) as Nadja
- Avalon (1990) as Eva Krichinsky
- Enchanted April (1992) as Mrs. Fisher
- Dennis the Menace (1993) as Mrs. Martha Wilson
- The Scarlet Letter (1995) as Harriet Hibbons
- Surviving Picasso (1996) as Françoise Gilot's Grandmother
- Jane Eyre (1996) as Mrs. Fairfax
- 101 Dalmatians (1996) as Nanny
- Tea With Mussolini (1999) as Mary Wallace
- Dinosaur (2000) as Baylene
- Back to the Secret Garden (2001) as Martha Sowerby
- Callas Forever (2002, by Franco Zeffirelli) as Sarah Keller
- Bringing Down the House (2003) as Mrs. Arness
- Goose! (2004) as Beatrice Fairfield
- Curious George (2006) as Miss Plushbottom
- Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2006) as Mrs. Palfrey
