Glenda Jackson, an 87-year-old former UK politician, and two-time Oscar-winning actor, passed away peacefully after a brief illness.
“Glenda Jackson, two-time Academy Award-winning actress and politician, 87, died peacefully at her home in London this morning after a short illness with her family by her side,” her agent Lionel Larner confirmed to CNN on Thursday.
“She recently completed filming ‘The Great Escaper’ in which she co-starred with Michael Caine.”
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Larner also added a personal comment about his relationship with Jackson: “Today we lost one of the world’s greatest actresses and I have lost a best friend of over 50 years,” he said.
Jackson, who was born in the English town of Birkenhead in 1936, joined an amateur theater company when he was a teenager before being awarded a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
She gained fame in London's West End after graduating, and in 1965, she made her Broadway debut in a production of "Marat/Sade."
The screen followed. She won her first Academy Award for Best Actress for her role opposite Oliver Reed in the 1969 period drama “Women in Love.”
Her second came soon after for the 1973 romantic comedy “A Touch of Class” – two years after her notable depictions of Queen Elizabeth I in both the BBC’s biographic film “Elizabeth R” and the historical drama “Mary, Queen of Scots.”
She entered politics in 1992 and, when the party was in opposition, she was elected as a Labour MP. She served as an MP for 23 years, during which Tony Blair's party easily won the election.
Jackson was designated a junior transport minister during that time and served in that capacity for two years. In 2000, she ran for mayor of London but was defeated by independent Ken Livingstone.
Although she never held positions of authority in politics, she became renowned for her courage.
Jackson fell out with Blair as he took Britain to war in Iraq, and was a bitter opponent of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, memorably criticizing her on the day of her funeral in 2013.
“The first prime minister of female gender, ok. But a woman? Not on my terms,” she said.
The film star returned to the stage in 2016 by starring in a West End production of “King Lear.” Jackson received further accolades when she won a Tony Award in 2018 for her appearance in the Broadway production of “Three Tall Women.”
Her latest on-screen project, “The Great Escaper,” is in post-production, according to IMDb.
