Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991), known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was determined from an early age to become an actress, despite parental opposition. She was working in smaller theatres even before graduating from drama school, and within two years she was starring in the West End. Ashcroft maintained her leading place in British theatre for the next 50 years. Always attracted by the ideals of permanent theatrical ensembles, she did much of her work for the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

in the early 1930s,

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Brit ...

's companies in the 1930s and 1940s, the

Shakespeare Memorial Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakesp ...

and its successor the Royal Shakespeare Company from the 1950s, and the National Theatre from the 1970s. While well regarded in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, Ashcroft was also known for her commitment to modern drama, appearing in plays by Bertolt Brecht, Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter. Her career was almost wholly spent in the live theatre until the 1980s. She then turned to television and cinema with considerable success, winning two BAFTAs and an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

Life and career

Early years

Ashcroft was born in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, Surrey, (now in Greater London) the younger child and only daughter of Violetta Maud, ''née'' Bernheim (1874–1926) and William Worsley Ashcroft (1878–1918), a land agent. According to Michael Billington, her biographer, Violetta Ashcroft was of Danish and German Jewish descent and a keen amateur actress. Ashcroft's father was killed on active service in the First World War. She attended Woodford School, East Croydon, where one of her teachers encouraged her love of Shakespeare, but neither her teachers nor her mother approved of her desire to become a professional actress. Ashcroft was determined, however, and at the age of 16, she enrolled at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

, run by Elsie Fogerty, from whom her mother had taken lessons some years before. The school's emphasis was on the voice and elegant diction, which did not appeal to Ashcroft or to her fellow pupil Laurence Olivier. She learned more from reading ''My Life in Art'' by

Constantin Stanislavski Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( Alekseyev; russian: Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈgʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Soviet Russian ...

, the influential director of the Moscow Art Theatre."Obituary: Dame Peggy Ashcroft", ''The Times'', 15 June 1991, p. 14 Peggy-Ashcroft-1936-2

While still a student, Ashcroft made her professional stage debut at the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

in a revival of

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

's '' Dear Brutus'' opposite Ralph Richardson, with whom she had been greatly impressed when she saw him in Charles Doran's touring company while she was still a schoolgirl. She graduated from the Central School in 1927 with

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

's Diploma in Dramatic Art.Gaye, p. 314 Never much drawn to the West End or stardom, she learned her craft with mostly small companies in fringe theatres. Her first notable West End role was Naemi in ''Jew Süss'' in 1929, an extravagantly theatrical production, in which she won praise for the naturalism and truth of her playing. In the same year she married

Rupert Hart-Davis Sir Rupert Charles Hart-Davis (28 August 1907 – 8 December 1999) was an English publisher and editor. He founded the publishing company Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd. As a biographer, he is remembered for his ''Hugh Walpole'' (1952), as an editor, f ...

, then an aspiring actor and later a publisher. He later described the marriage as "a sad failure: we were much too young to know what we wanted ... after much agony we parted and were duly divorced. Nowadays Peggy and I lunch together perhaps once or twice a year in a Soho restaurant and have a lovely nostalgic-romantic talk of shared memories of long ago. She is a lovely person and the best actress living."

1930s

In 1930 Ashcroft was cast as

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a Moorish Venetian ...

in a production of '' Othello'' at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy P ...

, starring

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...

in the title role. The production was not well received, but Ashcroft's notices were excellent. The production prompted a political awakening in Ashcroft, who was astonished to receive hate mail for appearing onstage with a black actor; she was angry that Robeson was not welcome at the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August ...

, despite being the star at the adjoining Savoy Theatre.Billington, Michael. "Near perfection in an imperfect world", ''The Guardian'', 15 June 1991, p. 21 During the run she had a brief affair with Robeson, which, followed by another with the writer

J. B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...

, put an end to Robeson's marriage to Essie Robeson and her first marriage. Hart-Davis was granted a divorce in 1933, on the grounds of Ashcroft's adultery with the director

Theodore Komisarjevsky Fyodor Fyodorovich Komissarzhevsky (russian: Фёдор Фёдорович Комиссаржевский; 23 May 1882 – 17 April 1954), or Theodore Komisarjevsky, was a Russian, later British, theatrical director and designer. He began his car ...

. Among those impressed by Ashcroft's performance as Desdemona was

, recently established as a West End star. He recalled, "When Peggy came on in the Senate scene it was as if all the lights in the theatre had suddenly gone up". In 1932 he was invited by the

Oxford University Dramatic Society The Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England. Not all student productions at Oxford University ...

to try his hand at directing, in the society's production of '' Romeo and Juliet''. Ashcroft as Juliet and Edith Evans as the nurse won golden notices, although their director, already notorious for his innocent slips of the tongue, referred to them as "Two leading ladies, the like of whom I hope I shall never meet again." Old Vic0185

Ashcroft joined the

company for the 1932–33 season. The theatre, in an unfashionable area of London south of the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, was run by

Lilian Baylis Lilian Mary Baylis CH (9 May 187425 November 1937) was an English theatrical producer and manager. She managed the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells theatres in London and ran an opera company, which became the English National Opera (ENO); a theatre ...

to offer plays and operas to a mostly working-class audience at low ticket prices. She paid her performers modest wages, but the theatre was known for its unrivaled repertory of classics, mostly

, and many West End stars took a large pay cut to work there. It was, in

Sheridan Morley Sheridan Morley (5 December 1941 − 16 February 2007) was an English author, biographer, critic and broadcaster. He was the official biographer of Sir John Gielgud and wrote biographies of many other theatrical figures he had known, includin ...

's words, the place to learn Shakespearean technique and try new ideas.Morley, Sheridan and Robert Sharp
"Gielgud, Sir (Arthur) John (1904–2000)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, January 2011, retrieved 2 February 2014 During the season Ashcroft played five Shakespeare heroines, as well as Kate in ''

She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays from the 18t ...

'', Mary Stuart in a new play by John Drinkwater, and Lady Teazle in ''

The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sn ...

''. In 1933 she made her first film, ''

The Wandering Jew The Wandering Jew is a mythical immortal man whose legend began to spread in Europe in the 13th century. In the original legend, a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion was then cursed to walk the Earth until the Second Coming. ...

''.Ashcroft, Dame Edith Margaret Emily, (Dame Peggy Ashcroft)"
''Who Was Who'', online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014, retrieved 15 January 2015 She was not attracted to the medium of cinema and made only four more films over the next quarter-century. During her professional and personal relationship with Komisarjevsky, whom she married in 1934 and left in 1936, Ashcroft learned from him what Billington calls "the vital importance of discipline, perfectionism, and the idea that the actor, even during passages of emotional stress, must remain a thinking human being".Billington, Michael
"Ashcroft, Dame Edith Margaret Emily (Peggy) (1907–1991)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2010, retrieved 15 January 2015 After appearing in the

Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

film '' The 39 Steps'' (1935), and a succession of stage failures, Ashcroft was once again cast as Juliet by Gielgud, this time in a West End production that attracted enormous attention. It ran from October 1935 to March 1936, and Ashcroft's Romeos were played in alternation by Olivier and Gielgud. Critical opinions differed as to the relative merits of her leading men, but Ashcroft won glowing reviews. In May 1936 Komisarjevsky directed a production of ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises th ...

'', with Evans as Arkadina, Gielgud as Trigorin and Ashcroft as Nina. The recent collapse of her marriage to the director made rehearsals difficult, but the critical reception was ecstatic. After playing briefly and without much pleasure in New York, Ashcroft returned to London in 1937 for a season of four plays presented by Gielgud at the Queen's Theatre. She played the Queen in '' Richard II'', Lady Teazle in ''The School for Scandal'', Irina in '' Three Sisters'' and Portia in ''The Merchant of Venice''. The company included

Harry Andrews Harry Stewart Fleetwood Andrews, CBE (10 November 1911 – 6 March 1989) was an English actor known for his film portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Regimental Sergeant Major Wilson in ''The Hill'' (1965) alongside Sean ...

Glen Byam Shaw Glencairn Alexander "Glen" Byam Shaw, CBE (13 December 1904 – 29 April 1986) was an English actor and theatre director, known for his dramatic productions in the 1950s and his operatic productions in the 1960s and later. In the 1920s and 1930 ...

, George Devine,

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elec ...

and Harcourt Williams, with

Angela Baddeley Madeleine Angela Clinton-Baddeley, CBE (4 July 1904 – 22 February 1976) was an English stage and television actress, best-remembered for her role as household cook Mrs. Bridges in the period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. Her stage career ...

and

Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies Dame Gwen Lucy Ffrangcon-Davies, (25 January 1891 – 27 January 1992) was a British actress and centenarian. Early life She was born in London of a Welsh family; the name "Ffrangcon" is said to originate from a valley in Snowdonia. Her pare ...

as guests. The directors were Gielgud himself,

Tyrone Guthrie Sir William Tyrone Guthrie (2 July 1900 – 15 May 1971) was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at h ...

and

Michel Saint-Denis Michel Jacques Saint-Denis (13 September 1897 – 31 July 1971), ''dit'' Jacques Duchesne, was a French actor, theatre director, and drama theorist whose ideas on actor training have had a profound influence on the development of European th ...

. Billington considers that this company laid the foundations of post-war ensembles such as the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. The

Munich crisis The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...

and the approach of the Second World War delayed for a decade the further development of such a company.

1940s and 1950s

In 1940. Ashcroft met and married the rising lawyer Jeremy Hutchinson. They had a daughter, Eliza, the following year, and Ashcroft did little stage work while the child was young. Her main appearances during the war years were in Gielgud's company at the Haymarket Theatre in 1944, playing Ophelia in ''Hamlet'', Titania in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' and the title role in ''

The Duchess of Malfi ''The Duchess of Malfi'' (originally published as ''The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy'') is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster in 1612–1613. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, ...

''. She won excellent notices, but the productions were thought to lack flair and were unfavourably compared with the exciting work of the rival Old Vic company under Richardson and Olivier's leadership. After the Haymarket season Ashcroft resumed her break from the theatre, first campaigning for her husband, who stood as a Labour candidate in the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgarian ...

, and then having a second child, Nicholas, in 1946. Returning to the stage in 1947, Ashcroft had two long-running successes in a row as the alcoholic Evelyn Holt in '' Edward, My Son'', in the West End and then on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, and the downtrodden Catherine Sloper in ''

The Heiress ''The Heiress'' is a 1949 American romantic drama film directed and produced by William Wyler, from a screenplay written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, adapted from their 1947 stage play of the same title, which was itself adapted from Henry Jame ...

'' in 1949. JG-Benedick-1959

Ashcroft began the 1950s with a return to Shakespeare, at the

, Stratford-upon-Avon, playing Beatrice to Gielgud's Benedick in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' and Cordelia to his

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...

. In 1951 she returned to the Old Vic, playing Viola in ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

'', the title role in '' Electra'' and Mistress Page in '' The Merry Wives of Windsor''. In the second of these, according to Billington, "she scaled the austere peaks of Greek tragedy". Through the rest of the decade, Ashcroft's career switched between commercial productions in the West End and appearances in the nascent subsidised theatres in Shakespeare and experimental works. In the former she made a deep impression as the adulterous, suicidal Hester Collyer in

Terence Rattigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...

's '' The Deep Blue Sea'' (1952) and was well reviewed as the governess Miss Madrigal in

Enid Bagnold Enid Algerine Bagnold, Lady Jones, (27 October 1889 – 31 March 1981) was a British writer and playwright known for the 1935 story ''National Velvet''. Early life Enid Algerine Bagnold was born on 27 October 1889 in Rochester, Kent, daughte ...

's ''The Chalk Garden'' (1956). Her roles for non-commercial managements were in Shakespeare at Stratford and on tour,

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. The play has been ca ...

(1954) and the double role of Shen Te and Shui Ta in ''

The Good Woman of Setzuan ''The Good Person of Szechwan'' (german: Der gute Mensch von Sezuan, first translated less literally as ''The Good Man of Setzuan'') is a play written by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht, in collaboration with Margarete Steffin and Ruth Berla ...

'' (1956). The last of these was not a success, but Ashcroft was credited with courage for taking the role on. In 1958, Peter Hall, who had been appointed to run the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, approached Ashcroft with his plans for a permanent company, with bases in Stratford and London, and a regular, salaried company, presenting a mixture of classical and new plays. Ashcroft immediately agreed to join him, and her lead was, in Hall's view, key to the success of the new Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).

1960s

In the RSC's first seasons Ashcroft played Katharina in ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

'', Paulina in ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some crit ...

'' (1960), The Duchess of Malfi (1961), Emilia in ''Othello'' (1961) and Ranevskaya in ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate editio ...

'', opposite Gielgud as Gaev. These were generally well reviewed, but her performance in ''

The Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

'' in 1963 and 1964 had the critics searching for superlatives. The production was a reshaping of Shakespeare's three '' Henry VI'' plays and '' Richard III''. Ashcroft, then aged fifty-six, played Margaret of Anjou, ageing from blithe youth to ferocious old age as the plays progressed. The critic Philip Hope-Wallace wrote of: At about this time Ashcroft's third and last marriage was beginning to fall apart. According to Billington she found solace in her work, and threw herself into classical and ''avant garde'' works "with ever greater fervour". Her roles in the 1960s were Arkadina in ''The Seagull'' (1964), Mother in

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film '' Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) e ...

's ''Days in the Trees'' (1966), Mrs Alving in Ibsen's '' Ghosts'' (1967), Agnes in Edward Albee's '' A Delicate Balance'' (1969), Beth in

Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that span ...

's ''Landscape'' (1969) and Katharine of Aragon in '' Henry VIII'' (1969).

Later years

In the 1970s, Ashcroft remained a pillar of the RSC but when Peter Hall succeeded Olivier as director of the National Theatre in 1973 he persuaded her to appear there from time to time. She also appeared at the Royal Court in Duras's ''The Lovers of Viorne'' (1971) in the role of a schizophrenic killer, a performance that the young Helen Mirren found so accomplished that "I just wanted to rush out and start all over again". Many were surprised when Ashcroft appeared with Richardson at the Savoy in 1972 in what was by all appearances a conventional West End

drawing room comedy A drawing room play is a type of play, developed during the Victorian period in the United Kingdom, in which the actions take place in a drawing room or which is designed to be reenacted in the drawing room of a home. The common practice of entertai ...

, '' Lloyd George Knew My Father'', by

William Douglas-Home William Douglas Home (3 June 1912 – 28 September 1992) was a British dramatist and politician. Early life Douglas-Home (he later dropped the hyphen from his surname) was the third son of Charles Douglas-Home, 13th Earl of Home, and Lady Lili ...

, but the two stars revealed unexpected depths in their characters. For the National, Ashcroft appeared in Ibsen's ''

John Gabriel Borkman ''John Gabriel Borkman'' is a 1896 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was his penultimate work. Plot The Borkman family fortunes have been brought low by the imprisonment of John Gabriel who used his position as a bank manager to ...

'', Beckett's ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...

'',

Lillian Hellman Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, prose writer, memoirist and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway, as well as her communist sympathies and political activism. She was blacklisted aft ...

's ''

Watch on the Rhine A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...

'' and Pinter's ''

Family Voices ''Family Voices'' is a radio play by Harold Pinter written in 1980 and first broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 22 January 1981. Summary ''Family Voices'' exposes the story of a mother, son, and dead husband and father through a series of letters ...

''. Her RSC roles were Lidya in

Aleksei Arbuzov Aleksei Nikolayevich Arbuzov (russian: Алексей Николаевич Арбузов) (April 20, 1986) was a Soviet and Russian playwright. Biography Arbuzov was born in Moscow, but his family moved to Petrograd in 1914. His father was Ru ...

's ''Old World'' (1976), and her last stage part was the Countess in '' All's Well That Ends Well'', which she played at Stratford in 1981 and in London in 1982. Ashcroft later made occasional, but highly successful, television and film appearances. For '' The Jewel in the Crown'' she won a BAFTA award for

best actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

in 1984, and for her portrayal of Mrs. Moore in David Lean's 1984 film ''

A Passage to India ''A Passage to India'' is a 1924 novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English liter ...

'' she won another BAFTA best actress award and the 1985 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress; this made her the oldest person to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, at 77 years 93 days old. Her final performance was also in a work about India, the radio play '' In the Native State'' by Tom Stoppard. She was the grandmother of the French singer

Emily Loizeau Emily Loizeau (born 7 February 1975) is a French author, composer, and singer. Her debut album, released in 2006, was titled ''L'autre bout du monde'' (The Other Side of the World). Biography Loizeau was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, ...

. Ashcroft died of a stroke in London at the age of 83. Her ashes were scattered around a

mulberry tree ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...

in the Great Garden at

New Place New Place () was William Shakespeare's final place of residence in Stratford-upon-Avon. He died there in 1616. Though the house no longer exists, the site is owned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which maintains it as a specially-desig ...

, Stratford-upon-Avon, which she had planted in 1969. A memorial service was held in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

on 30 November 1991.

Honours, awards and memorials

Ashcroft's British state honours were

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in 1951 and Dame Commander of the Order (DBE) in 1956. Her foreign state honours were the King's Gold Medal, Norway (1955), and the

Order of St Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

, Norway (Commander, 1976). She was awarded honorary degrees by eight universities and was an honorary fellow of St Hugh's College, Oxford. She was awarded a

British Film Institute Fellowship The British Film Institute (BFI) is a charitable organisation established in 1933, based in the United Kingdom. It has awarded its Fellowship title to individuals in "recognition of their outstanding contribution to film or television culture" and ...

in 1989. In addition to the Oscar and BAFTA awards, she received a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a New Play for Old World in 1976, a

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

Award for ''She's Been Away'' (1989), a BAFTA Award for the television play ''Caught on a Train'' (1980), a special award from the British Theatre Association for the television play ''Cream in My Coffee'' (1982), a special award from BAFTA (1990) and a special Laurence Olivier Award (1991). Ashcroft is commemorated with a memorial plaque in

Poets' Corner Poets' Corner is the name traditionally given to a section of the South Transept of Westminster Abbey in the City of Westminster, London because of the high number of poets, playwrights, and writers buried and commemorated there. The first poe ...

, Westminster Abbey. The

Ashcroft Theatre The Ashcroft Theatre is a theatre located within the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, South London. The theatre was named after Croydon-born Dame Peggy Ashcroft and is a proscenium theatre with a stepped auditorium. The mural on its fire curtain is by t ...

in Croydon was named in her honour in 1962. The Royal Shakespeare Company has an Ashcroft Room directly above the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon named after her, used for play rehearsals.

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio

*''

'' BBC Third Programme (1954) *'' Macbeth'' BBC Third Programme (1966) *''

'' BBC Radio 3 (1981) *''Chances'' BBC Radio 3 (1981) *'' In the Native State'' BBC Radio 3 (1991)

Notes, references and sources

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashcroft, Peggy 1907 births 1991 deaths 20th-century English actresses Actresses awarded British damehoods Actresses from Surrey Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Best Actress BAFTA Award winners Best Actress BAFTA Award (television) winners Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire English film actresses English Shakespearean actresses English stage actresses Laurence Olivier Award winners People from Croydon Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold Royal Shakespeare Company members Spouses of life peers Volpi Cup for Best Actress winners