Oscar-winning actress and ex-Labour MP Glenda Jackson dies after 'brief illness'
Glenda Jackson died at her home in Blackheath, London
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Glenda Jackson, the former Oscar-winning actress and Labour MP, has died at the age of 87.
The much loved performer and fearless politician was said to have "died peacefully" surrounded by her family.
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.”
Glenda Jackson switched acting for politics in 1992
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Jackson twice won an Oscar for best actress, winning for her performance in Women In Love and again three years later for A Touch Of Class.
In an acting career which spanned eight decades, she also won two Emmy Awards, a Bafta and a Tony.
She first started acting in 1957, but stepped back from the big screen when in 1992 she was elected as the Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate.
She served as a junior transport minister from 1997 to 1999 during Sir Tony Blair’s government.
Jackson quit politics in 2015 in order to return to acting, winning a Bafta for best actress in 2019 for her role in Elizabeth Is Missing.
Jackson had just finishing filming The Great Escaper alongside fellow double Oscar-winner Sir Michael Caine, who she had last acted with 48 years ago in The Romantic Englishwoman.
Their new film tells a story, inspired by true events, of a Second World War veteran who escaped his care home in Hove, East Sussex, to attend a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in France.
Glenda Jackson died peacefully at home according to her agent
PA
Labour MP Tulip Siddiq, who took over from Jackson in 2015, paid tribute to her predecessor as a “very supportive mentor” and “formidable politician”.
She said: “Devastated to hear that my predecessor Glenda Jackson has died.
“A formidable politician, an amazing actress and a very supportive mentor to me. Hampstead and Kilburn will miss you Glenda.”
The spokesman for Rishi Sunak also paid tribute, describing the news as "extremely sad" and adding the Prime Minister's "thoughts will be with her friends and family at this time".