Double Oscar winner and former British Labour 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 the London constituency of 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, told the PA news agency: "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."
Despite her successful career, which also included two Bafta Awards, two Emmy Awards, and a Tony, Jackson said that she never had any interest in the social and glamorous aspects of the industry.
Born in 1936 in Birkenhead, in Wirral, Jackson was the daughter of a bricklayer and left school at the age of 16 after she failed her school certificate.
While she was working at her local Boots store, she tipped her toe into acting by joining a friend at the YMCA amateur dramatics society.
She later won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada).
After graduating, she began working in repertory theatres as an actress and stage manager, going on to become one of the most acclaimed performers of her generation.
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 Tony Blair's government. She became a prominent critic of Blair's New Labour project.
Jackson stood down as an MP at the 2015 general election and returned to acting.
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Her acting return, more than 20 years since her last project, came in the form of a BBC Radio 4 adaptation of a series of novels by the French writer Émile Zola, titled Émile Zola: Blood, Sex and Money, which was produced in 2015.
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.
Before her death, Jackson had just finished filming The Great Escaper alongside fellow double Oscar winner Michael Caine, who she had last acted with 48 years ago in The Romantic Englishwoman.
Oliver Parker, the director of The Great Escaper, said: "We are shocked and deeply saddened by the news of Glenda's passing. It was the privilege of a lifetime to work with her. She had such fierce intelligence, such passion, and fearlessness.
"It is hard to believe that it was less than a month ago that we screened the finished film for her and Michael – she was as feisty and vibrant as ever and we will treasure the memory of that emotional and happy day."
Paying tribute, Michael Caine said: "Glenda was one of our greatest movie actresses. It was a privilege to work with her on The Great Escaper recently, our second film together. It was as wonderful an experience this time as it was 50 years ago. I shall miss her."
The Great Escaper will be released in October.
Source: Press Association
