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Name: Joan Plowright
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Date of Birth:
October 28, 1929
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Place of Birth:
Brigg, North Lincolnshire, England
Mini-bio:
One of England's most esteemed actresses, Joan Plowright was trained at the Old Vic. She made her regional stage debut in 1951 and her London stage bow in 1954. Two years later, she joined the English... read more Stage Company, where she essayed her most popular role up to that time, Margery Pincher in Wycherly's The Country Wife. That same year, she appeared in her first film, Moby Dick. In the original 1958 stage production of John Osborne's The Entertainer, Plowright co-starred with Sir Laurence Olivier, whom she would marry in 1961, a union that lasted until Olivier's death in 1989. She appeared on screen with her husband in the film versions of The Entertainer (1960) and The Three Sisters (1970), the latter of which was also directed by Olivier. During the same period, Plowright and Olivier were mainstays of London's National Theatre. In 1961, Plowright won a Tony award for her Broadway appearance in A Taste of Honey. Her stage work was briefly curtailed in the mid-to-late '60s, allowing her time to raise her family. From 1982 on, Plowright began appearing in films with increasing regularity, demonstrating at least two traits she'd evidently picked up from Olivier: a propensity for elaborate foreign accents (the hero's Jewish mother in Avalon (1990) and the heroine's Yugoslavian mom in I Love You to Death (1990)) and a willingness to take assignments possibly only for the money (Mrs. Wilson in Dennis the Menace (1993)). While an Oscar win is long overdue (although she was awarded a CBE from the Queen in 1970), Plowright was nominated for her work in 1992's Enchanted April. Perhaps one of her most endearing portrayals in recent years was as the high school teacher in The Last Action Hero who runs a clip from Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (1948) for her class, introducing Olivier as "the fellow who did all those Polaroid commercials." In 1999, Plowright additionally endeared herself to moviegoers with her role as one of a group of high society women living in fascist Italy in Franco Zeffirelli's Tea with Mussolini. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Joan Plowright mini-bio: Joan Ann Olivier, known by her maiden name as Dame Joan Plowright, is a British actress, widow of Laurence Olivier. She was made a Dame in the New Year's Honours for 2004. 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 (play) 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. She was also notable for her major role in 101 Dalmatians.
In 2003 Plowright performed in the stage production Absolutely! in London.
