Joan Plowright met the love of her life in husband Laurence Olivier. Their marriage was a tale of two thespians since they met in the theatre. Against all odds, with two decades between them in age, the couple stayed together for the remainder of Laurence’s life. And even after Baron Olivier died, Dame Joan kept both of their legacies alive in the industry, going on to win several accolades in her career including two Golden Globe Awards, a Tony Award and the Laurence Olivier Award.
After Laurence died, Joan defended her late husband during a 2003 interview with The Daily Telegraph. She acknowledged that it was her “choice because [she] was privileged to live with him.”
“When someone who has had such fame and idolatry and worship goes, then there’s bound to be a backlash which comes the other way and you get a bit sick of that,” the Scarlet Letter star explained. “Mine was really trying to put things straight.”
To learn more about Joan and Laurence’s life together, keep reading.
Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright in a scene from John Osborne’s play, ‘The Entertainer’ which opened on Broadway on 4 Feb. 1958 pic.twitter.com/4Q0RrCCJ4C
— MrGeeVIP (@VipMrgee) January 17, 2025
How Did Joan Plowright & Laurence Olivier Meet?
Joan and Laurence first met in 1956. He visited her dressing room during a staging of The Country Wife. In his autobiography, Confessions Of An Actor, Laurence recalled seeing the production “and was entranced by the Margery Pinchwife of Miss Joan Plowright, whose very name was enough to make me think thoughts of love.”
The two actors fell in love but were still married to their respective ex-spouses. While they kept their affair a secret at the time, they later divorced their exes and married in 1961.
A love letter from Laurence to Joan described the depth of his feelings for her. According to CBS News, the letter read, “I sometimes feel such a peacefulness come over me when I think of you, or write to you — a gentle tenderness and serenity. A feeling devoid of all violence, passion or shattering longing… it makes me go out into the street with a smile on my face and in my heart for everybody.”
Joan and Laurence co-starred together in The Entertainer.
Did Joan Plowright & Laurence Olivier Have Kids?
Yes, Joan and Laurence shared children together: daughters Tamsin and Julie-Kate and son Richard, all of whom followed in their parents’ footsteps by becoming actors, according to CBS News.
Joan Plowright’s Ex-Husband
Joan was married to her first husband, Roger Gage, from 1953 to 1960. Like Joan, Roger was also an actor.
Laurence Olivier’s Ex-Wives
Laurence was married twice before falling in love with Joan. From 1930 to 1940, he was married to this first wife, Jill Esmond. In 1940, he married second wife Vivian Leigh, and they divorced 20 years later in 1960.
How Old Was Laurence Olivier When He Died?
Laurence died on July 11, 1989, at the age of 82 years old. He and Joan had a 20-year age gap.
When Did Joan Plowright Die?
Joan died on January 16, 2025, at the age of 95.
