Part of an astonishing generation of British actors, including Judi Dench,​ Vanessa Redgrave, Eileen Atkins and Maggie Smith​, Joan Plowright won a Tony Award, two Golden Globes and nominations for an Oscar and an Emmy.

Her family said: "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. "She enjoyed a long and illustrious career across theatre, film and TV over seven decades until blindness made her retire.

Plowright brought stage and screen characters to vibrant life for more than six decades in such works as A Taste of Honey, Tea with Mussolini and Enchanted April.