Dame Joan Plowright, one of Britain’s most distinguished actresses, whose career spanned over six decades and encompassed stage, screen and television, has died aged 95.

Known for her nuanced performances and dedication to her craft, Plowright leaves behind a legacy that helped shape British theatre and film in the 20th century.

Born in 1929 in Brigg, Lincolnshire, Plowright was the daughter of a journalist and a schoolteacher who encouraged an early passion for the arts. She went on to train at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Plowright’s professional stage debut came in 1948, but it was her work with the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre in the 1950s that cemented her reputation. Her breakout performance as Margery Pinchwife in The Country Wife by William Wycherley displayed her knack for combining wit with vulnerability, traits that would become hallmarks of her acting style. It was during this period that she became a leading light of Britain’s theatrical renaissance.

In 1960, Plowright joined the newly formed National Theatre at the Old Vic, under the direction of Laurence Olivier, whom she would later marry in 1961. Their partnership – both personal and professional – defined an era of British theatre. The couple...