Oscar-winning actress Glenda Jackson died on Thursday at the age of 87. Jackson’s agent Lionel Larner said in a statement that the actress, who was also a former Labor Member of Parliament, “died peacefully at her home in Blackheath, London this morning after a brief illness with her family at her side.” adding, “today we lost one of the world’s greatest actresses and I have lost a best friend of over 50 years.”
Jackson appeared on stage for the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s where she played roles in Hamlet and Antony and Cleopatra. She won a Best Actress Oscar in 1970 for the film Women in Love, based on the novel by D.H. Lawrence; and in 1973, she won an Oscar for her role in the film A Touch of Class, two years after her memorable depictions of Queen Elizabeth I in both the BBC’s biographic film “Elizabeth R” and the historical drama “Mary, Queen of Scots.” Jackson also won an Emmy and a Tony Award during her career.
In 1992 she turned to politics during John Major’s tenure as prime minister, and was elected MP for Hampstead and Highgate. Jackson remained an MP for 23 years, during which her party came to power in a landslide under Tony Blair. When Blair started his New Labor project, Jackson was part of the Labor contingent that opposed the move away from more traditional Labor positions.
Jackon left her seat in 2015 and returned to acting, portraying a woman struggling with dementia in Elizabeth is Missing, earning Jackson a BAFTA award for Best Actress. She later returned to the stage in 2016 by starring in a West End production of “King Lear,” and won a Tony Award in 2018 for her appearance in the Broadway production of “Three Tall Women.” Jackson had recently completed filming for The Great Escaper in which she starred alongside Michael Cain, which tells the true story of a British veteran who escaped a care home to attend the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in France’s Normandie region.
Jackson was married from 1958-1976 to stage director Roy Hodges. She is survived by their son, Daniel.
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