Glenda Jackson, Oscar-winning actress and former Labour MP, dies aged 87
Tributes are being to a "formidable politician" and an "amazing actress" following the death of Glenda Jackson. She was a star of stage and screen before dedicating her life to politics in the 1990s
Glenda Jackson, the Oscar-winning actress and former Labour MP, has died at the age of 87.
In a statement, her agent Lionel Larner said: "Glenda Jackson, two-time Academy Award-winning actress and politician, died peacefully at her home in Blackheath, London, this morning after a brief illness with her family at her side.
"She recently completed filming The Great Escaper in which she co-starred with Michael Caine."
Jackson won the Oscar for best actress in 1970 for her performance as a headstrong artist in director Ken Russell's adaptation of DH Lawrence's novel Women in Love, and again three years later for romantic comedy A Touch Of Class.
However, she chose not to attend the Hollywood ceremony on either occasion. Despite her successful career in entertainment - she also won two Emmy Awards and a Tony - she said she never had any interest in the social and glamorous aspects of the industry, and devoted herself to politics in the 1990s.
She also once said she would "probably" turn down a damehood if she were to be offered one, because "what does it actually mean?"
Jackson was elected as the Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate in 1992 and served as a junior transport minister from 1997 to 1999 when Sir Tony Blair was prime minister.
Source: https://news.sky.com/story/glenda-jackson-oscar-winning-actress-and-former-labour-mp-dies-ages-87-12902904
