Born October 28, 1929 in North Lincolnshire, England, the daughter of a journalist and playwright and his wife, Joan Plowright attended the Old Vic Theatre School after grade school.
On stage from 1948, Plowright married first husband, actor Roger Gage, in 1953. She made her film debut in an uncredited role in 1956’s Moby Dick directed by John Huston. Her first billed role was in 1957’s Time Without Pity directed by Joseph Losey.
Later in 1957, Plowright co-starred as Laurence Olivier’s daughter in the London stage production of The Entertainer, reprising her role in the 1960 film directed by Tony Richardson. She and Olivier married in 1961 after her divorce from Gage and Olivier’s from Vivien Leigh. To escape the notoriety of the Olivier-Leigh divorce, they went to New York where Olivier starred in Broadway’s Becket and she in Broadway’s A Taste of Honey for which she won a Tony.
Active in the theatre and television while raising her three children with Olivier, Plowright did not make another film until 1970’s Three Sisters directed by Olivier. Her next film was 1977’s Equus directed by Sidney Lumet for which she was nominated for a BAFTA as Peter Firth’s mother.
More TV and stage work followed with an occasional role on film, but her film career didn’t go into full gear until after Olivier’s death in 1989.
In 1990 Plowright appeared in both Lawrence Kasdan’s I Love You to Death and Barry Levinson’s Avalon receiving a Best Supporting Actress nomination from the New York Film Critics for the latter.
1992’s Enchanted April directed by Mike Newell earned the actress her only Oscar nomination as one of four Englishwomen reevaluating their lives on holiday in an Italian villa.
Supporting roles in 1993’s Last Action Hero directed by Lawrence McTiernan and Dennis the Menace directed by Nick Castle were followed by a starring role in 1994’s Widows’ Peak opposite Mia Farrow and Natasha Richardson. She had memorable roles as well in 1995’s Hotel Sorrento directed by Richard Franklin and The Scarlet Letter directed by Roland Joffé, and 1996’s Jane Eyre directed by Franco Zeffirelli, Surviving Picasso directed by James Ivory, and 101 Dalmatians directed by Stephen Herek.
In 1999, Plowright starred along with fellow acting legends Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Lily Tomlin, and Cher in Franco Zeffirelli’s autobiographical Tea with Mussolini in what was possibly her greatest role as Zeffirelli’s beloved teacher and friend.
Plenty of television work and an occasional film followed in its wake, the standout being 2005’s Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont directed by Dan Ireland for which she won the AARP Movies for Grownup Award for Best Actress.
A Baroness thanks to her marriage to Olivier, Plowright was made a Dame of her own right in by Queen Elizabeth in 2004. She retired from acting in 2014 due to molecular degeneration causing her to go blind. She came back briefly for 2018’s documentary, Tea with the Dames in which she hosted fellow dames Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, and Eileen Atkins at her estate.
Joan Plowright died on January 25, 2025. She was 95.
ESSENTIAL FILMS
THE ENTERTAINER (1960), directed by Tony Richardson
Plowright first met Olivier at Britain’s National Theatre where she played his daughter in the stage version of John Osborn’s play. She then reprised the role in the film version for which Olivier was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of an old-time British music hall star scheming to stay in show business. Brenda de Banzie plays Olivier’s long-suffering wife drowning herself in booze while veteran actor Roger Livesey plays his retired Vaudevillian father and Alan Bates his doting older son. Albert Finney plays his younger son who is about to be shipped off to fight in the Suez Crisis, and Daniel Massey plays Plowright’s fiancé.
AVALON (1990), directed by Barry Levinson
Nominated for four Oscars for Best Original Screenplay (by Levinson), Cinematography, Costume Design, and Score (by Randy Newman), this saga of a Polish-Jewish immigrant (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and his family at the beginning of the 20th Century earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Plowright as his wife and mother of Elizabeth Perkins and Aidan Quinn. Elijah Wood is their wide-eyed grandson. Taking place from the 1940s to the 1970s, it was the third film in Levinson’s Baltimore trilogy preceded by Diner and Tin Men. Also in the cast are veteran character actors Lou Jacobi and Leo Fuchs.
ENCHANTED APRIL (1992), directed by Mike Newell
Nominated for three Oscars including Best Adapted Screenplay, Costume Design, and Supporting Actress (Plowright), this was the second film version of Elizabeth von Arnim’s novel with Josie Lawrence, Miranda Richardson, and Polly Walker as the other members of the party of four Englishwomen following World War I. The men in their lives include Alfred Molina, Jim Broadbent, and Michael Kitchen. The 1935 version featured Ann Harding, Katherine Alexander, Jane Baxter, and Jessie Ralph (in Plowright’s role) as the women and Frank Morgan, Reginald Owen, and Ralph Forbes among the men.
TEA WITH MUSSOLINI (1999), directed by Franco Zeffirelli
Three former Oscar winning actresses, Cher Judi Dench, and Maggie star along with two previously Oscar nominated actresses, Lily Tomlin, and Plowright in this autobiographical film of the director’s life in Mussolini’s Italy from 1934-1944. Cher and Tomlin play Americans while Dench, Smith, and Plowright play English women living in Florence. BAFTA winner Smith rules the roost as the widow of the former English Ambassador to Italy with Dench and Tomlin as art restorers, and Plowright as Zeffirelli’s wealthy father’s secretary tasked with teaching Zeffirelli (called Luca in the film) English in this heartrending comedy-drama.
MRS. PALFREY AT THE CLAREMONT (2005), directed by Dan Ireland
Plowright has a rare starring role as an elderly woman all but abandoned by her family in a London retirement hotel where she strikes up a friendship with a young writer. Plowright gives a multi-layered performance as the old lady who only has one living relative, a grandson, who never calls her. Rupert Friend as the struggling writer she befriends almost equals her while Anna Massey, Georgina Hale, Millicent Martin and others lend excellent support. Plowright’s performance earned her a Best Actress nomination from the Satellites and a Best Actress win from the AARP Movies for Grownup Awards.
JOAN PLOWRIGHT AND OSCAR
Enchanted April (1992) – nominated – Best Supporting Actress
