Oscar-Winning Actress Glenda Jackson Dies At 87

Actress Glenda Jackson has died due to an illness at 87. 

Her agent, Lionel Larner, announced her death, “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.”

He added, “Today we lost one of the world’s greatest actresses and I have lost a best friend of over 50 years.” 

Jackson was an actress who won two Oscars for her performances. She later became a politician.

She was born in 1936 in Birkenhead, England. She started acting when she was a teen and was involved in theater groups for amateurs. Shortly after, she won a scholarship to attend the acting school the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. 

Once she graduated from college, she immediately began booking jobs. She acted in many shows and got her first Broadway gig in 1965 where she was a part of the cast Marat/Sade. 

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At first, she focused on acting in plays, but she broadened her horizons and began starring in films. In 1969, she acted as Gudrun Brangwen in the movie Women in Love. She won Best Actress at the Academy Awards for her role.

She won her second Academy Award for Best Actress in the film A Touch of Class in 1974. She also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for the same film. 

She is also remembered for her roles in the films Mary, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth R as Queen Elizabeth I. 

She started her career in politics in 1992. She joined the Labour Party as MP and held the role for 23 years. After the Labour party came to power with Tony Blair, in 1997, she became a junior transport minister until 1999. 

In 2000, she ran for mayor of London, but she lost to Ken Livingstone, who was an independent candidate. 

Jackson had a falling out with Blair due to their differences in opinion over the war in Iraq. She disagreed with his decision to send British troops to Iraq.

She left Parliament in 2015 to return to acting. Since then, she acted in the films Elizabeth is Missing, Mothering Sunday, The Great Escaper, Blood Sex and Money, Miranda: Morecambe & Wise and Me and The Theory of Everything. 

She leaves behind her only son, Daniel Pearce Jackson Hodges.