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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, Lord Olivier. She was made a Dame (DBE) in the New Year's Honours for 2004.

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 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 1958 she co-starred with future husband Sir Laurence Olivier in the original London production of John Osborne's The Entertainer.

Plowright continued to appear on stage and in films such as The Entertainer and The Three Sisters. In 1961 she was awarded a Tony for her role in A Taste of Honey 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.

In 2003 she performed in the stage production Absolutely! in London.

Personal

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, Lincolnshire, is named after her.

Selected filmography

• Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2006) as Mrs. Palfrey
• Curious George (2006) as Miss Plushbottom
• Goose! (2004) as Beatrice Fairfield
• Bringing Down the House (2003) as Mrs. Arness
• Callas Forever (2002, by Franco Zeffirelli) as Sarah Keller
• Back to the Secret Garden (2001) as Martha Sowerby
• Tea With Mussolini (1999) as Mary Wallace
• 101 Dalmatians (1996) as Nanny
• Jane Eyre (1996) as Mrs. Fairfax
• Surviving Picasso (1996) as Françoise Gilot's Grandmother
• The Scarlet Letter (1995) as Harriet Hibbons
• Dennis the Menace (1993) as Mrs. Martha Wilson
• Enchanted April (1992) as Mrs. Fisher
• Avalon (1990) as Eva Krichinsky
• I Love You to Death (1990) as Nadja
• Drowning By Numbers (1988) as Cissie Colpitts 1
• The Dressmaker (1988) as Nellie
• Brimstone & Treacle (1982) as Norma Bates
• Britannia Hospital (1982) as Phyllis Grimshaw
• Equus (1977) as Dora Strang
• Three Sisters (1970, by Lawrence Olivier) as Masha
• The Entertainer (1960) as Jean Rice
• Moby Dick (1956) (uncredited, as Starbuck's wife) (her first film role)

External links

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