Veteran actress and former politician Glenda Jackson has “died peacefully” after a brief illness at the age of 87, her agent has confirmed. The screen star and former Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate won the Oscar for best actress in 1970 for Women In Love and again three years later for A Touch Of Class – although opted not to attend the ceremony on either occasion.
Her agent Lionel Larner said: “Glenda Jackson, two-time Academy Award winning actress and politician died peacefully at her home in Blackheath London this morning after a brief illness with her family at her side. She recently completed filming The Great Escaper in which she co-starred with Michael Caine.”
Despite her successful career, which also included two Emmy Awards and a Tony, Jackson previously said she never had any interest in the social and glamorous aspects of the industry. The double Oscar-winner gave up acting for politics more than a quarter of a century ago and served as a Labour MP for 23 years.
In 1992 she was elected as the Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate and served as a junior transport minister from 1997 to 1999 during Sir Tony Blair’s government. She stood down as an MP at the 2015 general election and returned to acting.
She won a Bafta for best actress in 2019 for her role in Elizabeth Is Missing, which followed the story of a woman suffering from dementia. The star had just finishing filming The Great Escaper alongside fellow double Oscar-winner Sir Michael Caine, who she had last acted with 48 years ago in The Romantic Englishwoman.
Their new film tells a story, inspired by true events, of a Second World War veteran who escaped his care home in Hove, East Sussex, to attend a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in France. The star said she only started acting after she failed her school certificate, leaving her with no option but to start working at the age of 16.
After joining a friend at the YMCA amateur dramatics society while she was working at her local Boots store, she went on to study at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada). She also played Egyptian queen Cleopatra in 1971 for an episode of The Morecambe & Wise Show with comedy duo Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise.
