Joan Plowright | Biography, Films, Plays, & Facts | Britannica
Arts & Culture

Joan Plowright

English actress
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Print
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Also known as: Dame Joan Anne Plowright
Plowright, Joan
Plowright, Joan
In full:
Dame Joan Anne Plowright
Born:
October 28, 1929, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England (age 94)
Notable Family Members:
spouse Laurence Olivier
Subjects Of Study:
“Nothing Like a Dame”

Joan Plowright (born October 28, 1929, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England) English dramatic actress who found success on both the stage and screen.

Plowright received her dramatic training at the Laban Art of Movement Studio in Manchester and at the Old Vic Theatre School in London. She made her first appearances on stage in 1951, played with an Old Vic touring company in South Africa in 1952, and made her debut in London in The Duenna in 1954. She continued to perform on the London stage until 1958, when she made her first appearance in New York City. Plowright’s dual performances in two plays by Eugène Ionesco as both an old woman and a 17-year-old girl demonstrated her range and versatility as an actress and brought her wide critical acclaim.

USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood
Britannica Quiz
Pop Culture Quiz

Plowright’s most notable stage performances included those in A Taste of Honey (1960), Saint Joan (1963), and Saturday, Sunday, Monday (1973). She also performed on television and in such motion pictures as Moby Dick (1956), The Entertainer (1960), Three Sisters (1974; the latter two with her husband, Sir Laurence Olivier), and Equus (1977).

In the 1980s and ’90s Plowright starred in such films as Brimstone and Treacle (1982), The Dressmaker (1988), and Jane Eyre (1996). For her role as a haughty know-it-all in Enchanted April (1991), Plowright was nominated for a best supporting actress Academy Award. In 2005 she starred as a lonely widow who befriends a young writer in Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2005). Plowright’s later movies included the children’s movies Curious George (2006), for which she supplied the voice of Miss Plushbottom, and The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008). She later had a cameo in the thriller Knife Edge (2009), which was her last feature film. She subsequently retired from acting because of macular degeneration, which ultimately led to a loss of eyesight.

Plowright was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2003 New Year’s Honours list. She later appeared with Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Eileen Atkins in the documentary Nothing Like a Dame (2018; also called Tea with the Dames).

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.