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Accolades from Playwrights
Tennessee Williams declared her "the greatest actress of our time in the English-speaking world" and, early in her career, Noel Coward told her, admiringly, that she was incapable of being untruthful on stage. Her passion for theatre, film and radical causes remains gloriously undimmed. -
Birth of Vanessa Redgrave
Redgrave was born on 30 January 1937 in Blackheath, London, the daughter of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. Laurence Olivier announced her birth to the audience at a performance of Hamlet at the Old Vic, when he said that Laertes (played by Sir Michael) had a daughter. Accounts say Olivier announced, "A great actress has been born this night." -
Attends Central School for Speech and Drama in London
From 1906 to 1957, the Central School of Speech and Drama trained some of Britain’s greatest thespians in part of the Hall called the West Theatre. Long before the founding of the first university drama department in the UK, Founder Elsie Forgerty was arguing that theatre should be studied at university and that theatre training should be awarded degrees. Sir Lawrence Olivier, Judy Dench and Harold Pinter learned their trade there. -
Professional Debut: A Touch of the Sun
Redgrave made her professional debut in the play A Touch of the Sun (1957), in which she costarred with her father. -
Stratford-Upon-Avon Theatre Company.
In 1959, she appeared at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre under the direction of Peter Hall as Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream opposite Charles Laughton as Bottom and Coriolanus opposite Laurence Olivier (in the title role), Albert Finney and Edith Evans. "I acted at Stratford-on-Avon in the 1959 season. We in the acting company tended to hang out at the pub known as the Dirty Duck." Vanessa Redgrave -
Hecuba
Received The Helen Hayes award nomination for her work in Hecuba. This play was a major success. It was so well received that the BAM theater in New York scheduled it for two weeks and it went on to being performed in Delphi. -
Visits Communist Cuba
In 1961, 24-year-old Vanessa, who has not only built up a strong reputation both onstage and onscreen but also in the fields of civil rights and peace activism, joined the ranks of left-wing celebrities that embraced the Cuban revolution and crossed the Atlantic to prove it. Almost half a century later, and while other former enthusiasts of the Cuban revolution have turned their eyes away from the Caribbean island, the actress still feels for Cuba. -
A Man for All Seasons
Redgrave was offered the role of Margaret More in A Man for All Seasons (1966) but she turned it down due her commitments to the theatre and opted for the cameo role of Anne Boleyn instead. Susannah York was cast as Margaret More instead. She refused to accept any money for her role as Anne Boleyn. -
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Redgrave was created Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) as part of the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to drama. -
Best Actress Oscar Nomination
Both she and sister Lynn Redgrave were nominated for the 1967 Best Actress Academy Award. Vanessa was nominated for Morgan! (1966) and Lynn for Georgy Girl (1966). They both lost to Elizabeth Taylor, who won for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). -
Divorced from Tony Richardson
Named Jeanne Moreau as co-respondent in her 1967 divorce from Tony Richardson on grounds of adultery. -
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Relationship with Timothy Dalton
Vanessa was in a long relationship with former James Bond actor Timothy Dalton. First met Dalton on the set of Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) in 1970. Their relationship reportedly blossomed after a heated 6 hour argument regarding the true meaning of Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech. -
The Prime of Miss Jane Brodie
Received rave reviews for originating the role of Jean Brodie in, 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" winning the London Evening Standard award for her work. -
Wins Oscar for "Julia"
When Venessa Redgrave accepted an Oscar for her role in the 1977 film Julia, she saluted those members of the Academy who “have refused to be intimidated by the threats of a small bunch of Zionist hoodlums whose behavior is an insult to the stature of Jews all over the world and to their great and heroic record of struggle against fascism and oppression.” She had previously been threatened by the Jewish Defense League for producing and starring in a documentary film called The Palestinian. -
Wins Oliver Award for Best Actress
She was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1985 (1984 season) for Best Actress in a Revival for "The Aspern Papers". -
Nominated for Another Oliver Award
She was nominated for a 1997 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Play of 1996 for her performance in "John Gabriel Borkman". -
The Year of Magical Thinking
When director David Hare and producers of "The Year of Magical Thinking" were thinking of an actress to cast in their one-woman show, they could only think of one name, and that was Redgrave. They said that only she could tackle the range of emotion created by the character. -
The Triple Crown of Acting
Redgrave becomes the sixteenth performer to win the Triple Crown of acting. Oscar: Best Supporting Actress, Julia (1977), Tony: Best Actress-Play, "Long Day's Journey into Night" (2003), and Emmys: Best Actress-Limited Series/Special, Playing for Time (1980) & Best Supporting Actress-Miniseries/Movie, If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000). -
Wins Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play
Won Broadway's 2003 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for a revival of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into Night." Featuring a cast including Brian Dennehy, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Robert Sean Leonard. Directed by Robert Falls. -
Activism: Chechen Rebels
Appeared on "BBC News 24" Breakfast and stated that the massacre of Russian school children by Chechen guerrillas was not an act of terrorism. (4 September 2004). She later said she fears for the life of Chechen envoy Akhmed Zakayev if he were to be extradited to Russia on terrorism charges. -
Death of Daughter, Natasha Richardson
Lost her daughter, Natasha Richardson, on March 18, 2009 as the result of a skiing accident at Mont Tremblant, Quebec. The Evening Standard Awards, the oldest awards ceremony in the UK, honored her memory by renaming the Best Actress award in her name. -
Death of Siblings
Lost her younger brother and sister, Corin Redgrave and Lynn Redgrave, who died within a month of one another. -
Meryl Streep & James Earl Jones Salute Redgrave
Meryl Streep pays tribute at "An Academy Salute to Vanessa Redgrave".
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YbzWdwzARA)
Also, Ralph Fiennes and James Earl Jones. -
Receives Gielgud Award of Excellence
Vanessa Redgrave received the Gielgud Award For Excellence In The Dramatic Arts at the UK Theatre Awards 2016 for her performance in Richard III. Past recipients include F. Murray Abraham, Sir Kenneth Branagh, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Derek Jacobi, Kevin Kline, Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave OBE, Sir Patrick Stewart and Dame Eileen Atkins. -
Why Redgrave Declined Damehood in 1999
Redgrave explained that “I am not against the royal family. They do many good things, and the royal family in England is one of the red lines that can save England at certain moments. It isn’t the royal family or the queen who offers the honour, it’s the government of the day. So I would never say I refused an honour from the Queen. But I could not and would not accept any honour from Blair, when he has taken our country, and so many people, to war on the basis of a lie.” (Venice Film Festival) -
Survives Heat Attack at 84
“Heart attacks make you funny. It does change you in lots of ways but I prefer to keep on the humorous side. They do affect you very much. You realize life is very precious." -
Receives Damehood from Prince William
Acclaimed actress Vanessa Redgrave has said receiving her damehood at Buckingham Palace was a "unique" moment in her career. Dame Vanessa, 85, has been nominated for six Academy Awards, winning the Oscar for best supporting actress in 1977 for her role in Julia, in which she starred alongside Jane Fonda. The actress said she was "very happy" after picking up her damehood from the Prince of Wales on Thursday for services to drama. -
References
Britannica, Wikipedia, New York Times, Times of London. The Independent, The Hollywood Reporter, The Daily Mirror,. Express -
Interviews
Vanessa Redgrave: A Life in Pictures
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4B92Z8O1F4)
Theatre Talk: The Year of Magical Thinking
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zjy1BAvVJ8)
Mark Lawson Interviews
Part 1 - (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGqyy-V1id8)
Part 2 - (https://www.youtube.com/watch?=hBALyt8VAhY&t=48s)
Part 3 - (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPVsvq4b8KY&t=6s)
Part 4 - (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSphndFTv7k&t=59s)
Part 5 - (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TIPcPkOInU)