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| Glenda Jackson in Ken Russell's Women In Love |
Glenda Jackson, who made her name in films like Women In Love, Sunday Bloody Sunday and A Touch Of Class before going on to spend 23 years as Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate (later Hampstead and Kilburn), has died at the age of 87, it was announced today. The Birkenhead-born star, who won two Oscars, three Emmys and a Tony over the course of her career, made a late life return to acting and her final film, The Great Escaper, is expected to be released early next year.
A forthright woman who always put politics front and centre in her life and once described herself as an antisocial socialist, Jackson chose films which gave her the chance to address issues she felt passionate about, such as Ken Russell's The Music Lovers, which broke onscreen taboos about homosexuality and female sexual expression. Offscreen, she campaigned on human rights issues and was a prominent figure in campaigns for the decriminalisation of abortion.
RADA trained, Jackson also made a splash on the stage, receiving high praise for her work in Ibsen's Hedda Gabbler and earning an Oscar nomination when she took the role to the silver screen in Trevor Nunn's 1975 adaptation. Her later work included a role alongside Olivia Colman in Eva Husson's Mothering Sunday. She also demonstrated a gift for romantic comedies, including House Calls and Lost And Found, but was known for her adaptability and enjoyed playing a pirate captain in a memorable television encounter with the Muppets.
Jackson died at her London home following a short illness.
