British actor and two-time Oscar winner Glenda Jackson passes away at 87

The two-time Oscar winner and former lawmaker in British Parliament, died today at the age of 87. Jackson's agent Lionel Larner said she died on Thursday at her home in London after a short illness. “She recently completed filming The Great Escaper' in which she co-starred with Michael Caine," he said.

Jackson was one of the biggest British stars of the 1960s and 70s, and won two Academy Awards, for “Women in Love” and “A Touch of Class.” She then went into politics, was elected to Parliament and spent 23 years as a Labour Party lawmaker. She returned to acting after leaving Parliament and had some of her most acclaimed roles, including the title character in Shakespeare's “King Lear.”

Jackson was a BAFTA winner as well as the recipient of the coveted Triple Crown of Acting, winning two Oscars, three Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award.

Her first Best Actress Oscar came in 1971



for her role in Women In Love, and she received another in 1974 for A Touch of Class. She received two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series for her work in the miniseries Elizabeth R in 1972, and Best Actress at the International Emmy Awards for her role in 2020’s Elizabeth Is Missing. She received her Tony Award in 2018 for her lead role in the Broadway production of Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women.

Despite her success in the early 1970s, Jackson took a break from acting to focus on politics; she was elected to British Parliament in 1992, later becoming the country’s transport secretary under Tony Blair in 1997. Jackson remained a lifelong activist and was outspoken in her support of feminism and progressive causes. Jackson was married to actor Roy Hodges in 1958; they divorced in 1976 and she never remarried. She is survived by her son Daniel Hodges.