Dame Joan Plowright Has Died at 95 After Decades In Both Theater and Film

On Jan. 16, 2025, Dam Joan Plowright died. She was 95 years old, and she is survived by her children and grandchildren. But what was Joan Plowright's cause of death? Fans who remember her best for the theater might also remember her decades-long film career, and chances are, you saw her in something over the years.

Joan was also famous for marrying English actor and director Laurence Olivier. Together, they had three children and they were married until 1981, when Laurence died. Joan didn't remarry after that, though she did continue to act in films until 2009. Read on for what we know about her cause of death following the unexpected news of her passing.

According to ABC News, Joan passed away on Jan. 16 at a retirement home called Denville Hall. The outlet also reported that Joan's family released a statement about Joan's long career in film and theater.

"She enjoyed a long and illustrious career across theatre, film and TV over seven decades until blindness made her retire," they said in their statement. "We are so proud of all Joan did and who she was as a loving and deeply inclusive human being."

Although no official cause of death was given, Joan was 95 years old at the time of her passing. Years prior to the news of her death, in 2014, she officially retired. At the time, she shared publicly that she had been diagnosed with macular degeneration, an eye condition that blurs vision. Because Joan was legally blind at this point, she retired from acting.

Throughout Joan's career, she won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. She was also nominated for an Oscar and a Primetime Emmy Award. While her movies ran the gamut from family films to more serious roles, her theater career spanned decades as well, and it became what she was known for best.

Joan was married to her first husband, Roger Leonard Gage, from 1953 until 1960. The following year, in 1961, Joan married Laurence Olivier. They remained married until Laurence's death in 1981. Joan didn't have children with her first husband, but she and Laurence had three kids — Julie Kate Olivier, Richard Olivier, and Tamsin Olivier.

All three of Joan's children followed in her and her husband's steps as actors. Though they haven't yet reached the level Joan was at during her career and up until her death. Joan is also survived by her three grandchildren, Troilus Olivier, Wilfred Laurence Ditton, and Ally Olivier.

It makes sense for acting to be the family business, in a way, since it was part of Joan's life since she was a child. And in a 2010 interview with The Actors Work, she shared how grateful she was for the opportunity.

"I think I've been very privileged, yes, to have such a life," Joan said at the time. "I mean, it's magic and I still feel, when a curtain goes up or the lights come on if there's no curtain, the magic of a beginning of what is going to unfold in front of me. What experience I'm going to have and what emotional change there's going to be because of what those people are doing up there together on stage."