The legendary British actress known as the "jewel of the theatre," Jane Lapotaire has died. She was 81.
According to foreign media reports on the 12th (local time), Tony Award-winning actress Jane Lapotaire, who left a deep impression in the drama the Crown and Downton Abby, passed away on March 5. The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) said in a statement Thursday that it officially confirmed this sad news. The exact cause of death has not yet been revealed.
The RSC said, "We are very saddened to hear of the death of Jane Lapotaire, a truly radiant actress," mourning the late actress. She swept the Tonys and the Oliviers with the stage play Piaf, and left significant marks such as her performance as Gertrude in Hamlet alongside Kenneth Branagh.
Born in 1944 in Ipswich, England under the name Jane Burgess, her life was like a movie. She was adopted at birth and raised by her adoptive mother for 12 years, and later experienced a turbulent childhood that included a custody battle with her biological mother.
But hardship made her stronger. She began acting at the Bristol Old Vic in 1965 and confessed in a past interview, "It was then that I knew I wanted to act. I wanted to act more than I wanted to walk or breathe," revealing her passionate devotion to the stage.
She was a founding member of the Young Vic Theatre in the 1970s, helping to lay the groundwork for the theatre world. She gained popular recognition when she took the title role in the BBC miniseries Marie Curie in 1977, and became a world-renowned actress after winning the Tony Award for best actress for Piaf, her Broadway debut in 1980.
To domestic fans, she is familiar as Princess Alice in season 3 of Netflix's the Crown and as Princess Irina Kuragin in season 5 of Downton Abby. Her performance, which combined dignity with a strong sense of narrative, repeatedly drew praise from viewers.
There were challenges. She suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2000 and underwent surgery, among other crises, but she did not give up. After recovering, she published a memoir about her battle with illness, Time Out of Mind, offering hope to many.
In particular, last month she was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) at Windsor Castle, recognizing her contributions as an actress until the end. This became one of her last official public appearances, adding to fans' sorrow.
Meanwhile, Jane Lapotaire is survived by her son Rowan Joffé, born from her marriage to director Roland Joffé.
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