Richard E Grant has said his heart is broken following the death of his wife of 35 years, voice coach Joan Washington.
The 64-year-old actor, known for films including Withnail And I and Can You Ever Forgive Me?, announced that Washington had died on Thursday night on his Twitter and Instagram accounts. He did not give a cause of death.
Grant shared a short clip of them dancing together before he embraces her, and wrote: "ONLY YOU! Joan – Love of my Life & Giver of Life to our daughter Olivia.
"Our hearts are broken with the loss of your Life last night. 35 years married & 38 together. To be truly known and seen by you, is your immeasurable gift. Do not forget us, sweet Monkee-mine."
🎵ONLY YOU!🎵Joan - Love of my Life & Giver of Life to our daughter Olivia. Our hearts are broken with the loss of your Life last night. 35 years married & 38 together. To be truly known and seen by you, is your immeasurable gift. Do not forget us, sweet Monkee-mine 💔💔💔💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/YcdVAVK1ja
— Richard E. Grant (@RichardEGrant) September 3, 2021
The couple met when Washington was teaching an accent session at an acting school in December 1982.
They married in 1986 and welcomed daughter Olivia in 1989. Grant is also stepfather to Washington's son Tom from her first marriage.
Washington, from Aberdeen, trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and had nearly 40 years' experience in the film industry as a voice and dialect coach, working with stars including Anne Hathaway, Vanessa Redgrave and Emma Stone.
Among her early projects in the mid-80s were Yentl starring Barbra Streisand, Highlander, and The Bounty, featuring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins.
Recent years saw her work on features such as The Witches, where she coached Hathaway for the part of the Grand High Witch, and Yorgos Lanthimos’ black comedy The Favourite, where she worked with Stone.
In a joint interview with the Independent in 2011, Grant recalled them meeting for the first time.
He said: "I met her at the Actors’ Centre in London. She was wearing a boiler suit and had fairly short, cropped hair and Kicker shoes, and was chain-smoking, which I thought was insane.
"She was teaching an accent session with a bunch of actors, and I thought she had the most wonderful voice and huge, sort of monkey eyes. She seemed fairly frenetic.
"I thought that she was really cute and all that. It was December 1982."
Friends and followers offered the actor their condolences on social media.
Actress Tamzin Outhwaite wrote: "Oh Richard, I am so sorry. From afar yours looked like the most beautiful love affair. sending you and Olivia my deepest condolences. xx"
Dawn French tweeted: "Joan Washington will ALWAYS be remembered by those of us who knew her & were taught by her, as a PHENOMENAL WOMAN. So much love to @RichardEGrant & all the family."
Presenter Fearne Cotton replied on Instagram: "I am so so sorry for your loss. Love, strength and prayers to you and Olivia."
Actor Max Beesley shared: "Oh richard. My deepest condolences. Sending you and Olivia much love and strength. Joan was an amazing women. I'm so sad to see this."
Irish director John Butler wrote: "Thinking of you Richard. X"
