Biography
Having honed her performance skills on the stages of London's Old Vic and Royal Court Theatres, Plowright impressed with supporting roles in films like "Time Without Pity" (1957) and "The Entertainer" (1960), the latter film starring future husband, Olivier. Despite this early success, she spent much of the 1960s and '70s dividing her time between family duties and occasional stage work with Olivier. Eventually, Plowright made a tentative …
Latest Tv Credits
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Career Milestones
| Appeared in last joint stage appearence with Olivier in "Saturday, Sunday, Monday"; directed by Franco Zeffirelli (aired on British TV in 1977) | ||
| As a child, acted in amateur plays staged by her mother | ||
| Cast as Nathan Lane's mother in the NBC sitcom "Encore! Encore!" | ||
| Had first major stage success as Margery Pinchwife in "The Country Wife"; first caught the attention of Laurence Olivier | ||
| Had stage success with "The House of Bernarda Alba"; recreated role for TV (aired in 1991 on PBS) | ||
| Raised in Scunthorpe, England | ||
1935 | Won a local drama prize at age 15, which led to a week's work playing a maid with the Harry Hanson Players | |
1948 | Professional stage debut at Grand Theatre, Croydon in "If Four Walls Could Talk" | |
1954 | London stage debut in "The Duenna" | |
1955 | Was a member of the company performing at the Nottingham Playhouse | |
1957 | Co-starred as Olivier's daughter in John Osborne's "The Entertainer" | |
1957 | Had supporting role in the feature "Time Without Pity"; directed by Joseph Losey | |
1958 | Made Broadway debut in "The Entertainer" | |
1959 | Starred in the BBC telecast of "The School for Scandal" | |
1960 | Recreated stage role opposite Olivier in film version of "The Entertainer" | |
1961 | Won Tony Award for leading performance in "A Taste of Honey" | |
1969 | Directed "Evasion of Woman" at the Old Vic Theater | |
1970 | Returned to features after a ten year absence in film adaptation of "Three Sisters"; co-directed by husband Olivier | |
1973 | Co-starred with Olivier in the BBC telecast of "The Merchant of Venice" (aired in the US on ABC) | |
1977 | Played the mother of a troubled youth (Peter Firth) in Sidney Lumet's film version of "Equus" | |
1977 | Scored a stage triumph in London in title role of "Filumena" | |
1980 | Cast as Mrs. Frank in the NBC remake of "The Diary of Anne Frank" | |
1980 | Reprised her role in short-lived Broadway production of "Filumena"; staged by husband Olivier | |
1983 | Last screen collaboration with Olivier, "Wagner" | |
1990 | Co-starred as a Polish/Jewish matriarch in Barry Levinson's autobiographical feature "Avalon" | |
1990 | Had supporting role as Tracey Ullman's Yugoslavian mother in Lawrence Kasdan's black comedy "I Love You to Death" | |
1992 | Co-starred in the HBO biopic "Stalin" | |
1992 | Earned Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance as a dowager in "Enchanted April" | |
1992 | Starred in the unsold pilot for a television series based on the hit play and film "Driving Miss Daisy" | |
1996 | Had featured role in the Disney live-action remake of "101 Dalmatians" | |
1996 | Played the housekeeper in Zeffirelli's remake of "Jane Eyre" | |
1999 | Reteamed with Zeffirelli for the feature "Tea with Mussolini" | |
2000 | Had lead role in the TV-movie "Frankie and Hazel" (Showtime) | |
2000 | Provided one of the creature voices for the animated film "Dinosaur" | |
2001 | Starred as the maid Martha Sowerby in the Showtime movie "Back to the Secret Garden" | |
2003 | Played Steve Martin's billionaire client in "Bringing Down The House" | |
2005 | Cast as Aunt Clara in the big screen adaptation of "Bewitched" | |
2006 | Voiced Miss Plushbottom in "Curious George" a big screen version of the popular children's books | |
2008 | Cast as Aunt Lucinda in the fantasy film "The Spiderwick Chronicles" | |
Awards
1960 | BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer To Leading Film Roles in The Entertainer |
1961 | Tony Award for Actress (Dramatic) |
1977 | BAFTA Award for Supporting Actress in Equus |
1992 | Academy Award for Actress In a Supporting Role in Enchanted April |
1992 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture in Enchanted April |
1992 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television in Stalin |
1993 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress In a Miniseries or Special in Stalin |