Joan Plowright, perhaps the greatest Anglophone actor of the 20th century and the widow of Laurence Oliver, has died. She was 95.

Despite the age difference — Olivier was 51, Plowright 27 — the actor was smitten with the star. "I went to see The Country Wife," he wrote in his autobiography, Confessions Of An Actor, "and was entranced by the Margery Pinchwife of Miss Joan Plowright, whose very name was enough to make me think thoughts of love."

DAME Joan Plowright was married to one of the most renowned actors of all time — Lawrence Olivier. Joan sadly passed away surrounded by her family on January 16, 2025. A family statement said:

British acting legend Dame Joan Plowright has died at 95. The actor, who was married to fellow acting great, Lord Laurence Oliver from 1961 to his death in 1989, "died peacefully on Jan. 16, 2025 surrounded by her family,

LONDON -- Award-winning British actor Joan Plowright, who was one half of a theatrical power couple after marrying Laurence Olivier, has died. She was 95. In a statement Friday, her family said Plowright died the previous day at Denville Hall, a retirement home for actors in southern England, surrounded by her loved ones.

Veteran actress Joan Plowright, a two-time Golden Globe and Tony award winner who was married to Laurence Olivier, has died. She was 95.

LONDON, Jan. 17 (Reuters) — British actor Joan Plowright, winner of two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award, has died aged 95, her family said on Friday. Plowright made her on-screen debut in 1956’s “Moby Dick” before gaining wider recognition in the 1960 film adaptation of “The Entertainer” alongside Laurence Olivier, whom she later married.

Joan Plowright, known for her performance in Three Sisters, Avalon and Bringing Down the House, was made Dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004.

Joan Plowright is survived by three children, whom she shared with her late husband, Laurence Olivier. Learn more about them here.

"She survived her many challenges with Plowright grit and courageous determination to make the best of them," her family says

Joan Plowright, the celebrated English actor whose career included the films 'Enchanted April,' 'The Entertainer' and 'Spiderwick Chronicles,' has died at 95.