Early stage and film career Vanessa Redgrave entered the
Central School of Speech and Drama in 1954. She first appeared in the West End, playing opposite her brother, in 1958. In 1959, Redgrave 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. In 1960, Redgrave had her first starring role in
Robert Bolt's
The Tiger and the Horse, in which she co-starred with her father. In 1961, she played
Rosalind in
As You Like It for the
Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1962, she played
Imogen in
William Gaskill's production of
Cymbeline for the
RSC. In 1966, Redgrave created the role of Jean Brodie in the
Donald Albery production of
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, adapted for the stage by
Jay Presson Allen from the novel by
Muriel Spark. Redgrave had her first credited film role, in which she co-starred with her father, in
Brian Desmond Hurst's
Behind the Mask (1958). Redgrave's first starring film role was in
Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966), co-starring
David Warner and directed by
Karel Reisz, for which she received an Oscar nomination, a
Cannes award, a
Golden Globe nomination and a
BAFTA Film Award nomination. Following this, she portrayed a mysterious woman in
Blowup (1966). Co-starring
David Hemmings, it was the first English-language film of the Italian director
Michelangelo Antonioni. Reunited with Karel Reisz for the biographical film of dancer
Isadora Duncan in
Isadora (1968), her portrayal of Duncan led her gaining a National Society of Film Critics' Award for Best Actress, a second Prize for the Best Female Performance at the
Cannes Film Festival, along with a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination. In 1970 and 1971, Vanessa was directed by Italian filmmaker
Tinto Brass in two films:
Dropout and
La vacanza. In the same period came other portrayals of historical (or semi-mythical) figures – ranging from Andromache in
The Trojan Women (1971) to the lead in
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), the latter earning her a third Oscar nomination. She also played the role of
Guinevere in the film
Camelot (1967) with
Richard Harris and
Franco Nero, and briefly as
Sylvia Pankhurst in
Oh! What a Lovely War (1969). She portrayed the character of Mother Superior Jeanne des Anges (Joan of the Angels) in
The Devils (1971), the once controversial film directed by
Ken Russell.
Julia (1977) In the film
Julia (1977), she starred in the title role as a woman murdered by the
Nazi German regime in the years prior to World War II for her
anti-Fascist activism. Her co-star in the film was
Jane Fonda (playing writer
Lillian Hellman). In her 2005 autobiography, Fonda wrote that: When Redgrave was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1977 for her role in
Julia, members of the
Jewish Defense League (JDL), led by Rabbi
Meir Kahane, burned effigies of Redgrave and picketed the Academy Awards ceremony to protest against what they saw as her support for the
Palestine Liberation Organization. This film opened in 1977, the same year she produced and appeared in the film
The Palestinian, which followed the activities of the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Lebanon. Her remarks received an on-stage response later in the ceremony from Academy Award–winning screenwriter
Paddy Chayefsky, that year's award presenter, who said, “I would like to suggest to Miss Redgrave that her winning an Academy Award is not a pivotal moment in history, does not require a proclamation and a simple ‘Thank you’ would’ve sufficed.”
Later career Film and television Later film roles include those of
Agatha Christie in
Agatha (1979), Helen in
Yanks (1979), a Holocaust survivor in
Playing for Time (1980), Leenie Cabrezi in
My Body, My Child (1982), The Queen in
Sing, Sing (1983), suffragist Olive Chancellor in
The Bostonians (1984, a fourth Best Actress Academy Award nomination), transsexual tennis player
Renée Richards in
Second Serve (1986), Blanche Hudson in the television remake of
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1991), Mrs. Wilcox in
Howards End (1992, her sixth Academy Award nomination, this time in a supporting role); arms dealer Max in
Mission: Impossible (1996, when discussing the role of Max,
Brian DePalma and
Tom Cruise thought it would be fun to cast an actor like Redgrave; they then decided to go with the real thing);
Oscar Wilde's mother in
Wilde (1997); Clarissa Dalloway in
Mrs Dalloway (1997); and Dr. Sonia Wick in
Girl, Interrupted (1999). Many of these roles and others garnered her widespread accolades. Her performance as a lesbian mourning the loss of her longtime partner in the HBO series
If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000) earned her a
Golden Globe for Best TV Series Supporting Actress, as well as earning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a TV Film or Miniseries. This same performance also led to an Excellence in Media Award from the
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). In 2004, Redgrave joined the second-season cast of the
FX series
Nip/Tuck, portraying
Dr. Erica Noughton, the mother of Julia McNamara, who was played by her real-life daughter
Joely Richardson. She also made appearances in the third and sixth seasons. In 2006, Redgrave starred opposite
Peter O'Toole in the film
Venus. A year later, Redgrave starred in
Evening and
Atonement, in which she received a
Broadcast Film Critics Association award nomination for a performance that took up only seven minutes of screen time. In 2008, Redgrave appeared as a narrator in an Arts Alliance production,
id – Identity of the Soul. In 2009, Redgrave starred in the
BBC remake of
The Day of the Triffids, with her daughter Joely. In the midst of losing her daughter, Natasha Richardson, Redgrave signed on to play
Eleanor of Aquitaine in
Ridley Scott's version of
Robin Hood (2010), which began filming shortly after Natasha's death. Redgrave later withdrew from the film for personal reasons. The part was given to her
Evening co-star
Eileen Atkins. She was next seen in
Letters to Juliet opposite her husband
Franco Nero. She had small roles in
Eva (2009), a Romanian drama film that premiered at the
2010 Cannes Film Festival, as well as in
Julian Schnabel's Palestinian drama
Miral (2010), which was screened at the
67th Venice International Film Festival. She voiced the character of Winnie the Giant Tortoise in the environmental animated film
Animals United (also 2010), and played a supporting role in the
Bosnia-set political drama,
The Whistleblower (2010), which premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival. Redgrave also narrated
Patrick Keiller's semi-fictional documentary,
Robinson in Ruins (2010). Since 2012, Redgrave has narrated voiceovers that are featured at the beginning and end of episodes of the
BBC series
Call The Midwife. She also played leading roles in two historical films: Shakespeare's
Coriolanus (which marked actor
Ralph Fiennes' directorial debut), in which she plays
Volumnia; and
Roland Emmerich's
Anonymous (both 2011), as Queen Elizabeth I|. Subsequently, she starred with
Terence Stamp and
Gemma Arterton in the British comedy-drama
Song for Marion (US:
Unfinished Song, 2012) and with
Forest Whitaker in
The Butler (2013), directed by
Lee Daniels. She also appeared with
Steve Carell and
Channing Tatum in the drama
Foxcatcher (2014). In 2017, at the age of 80, Redgrave made her directorial debut with the feature documentary
Sea Sorrow, which covers the plight of child migrants in the
Calais refugee camps and the broader
European migrant crisis. It premiered at the
2017 Cannes Film Festival. Critics praised the documentary's message but criticised the structure for a "scattershot lack of focus" and the "ungainliness of its production values." In June 2024,
principal photography was completed on
The Estate, a feature drama, executive produced by Redgrave, her husband
Franco Nero, and son
Carlo Gabriel Nero. The film is written and directed by her son, and stars Redgrave and Franco Nero.
The Estate will premiere in November, 2025 at the 43rd
Torino Film Festival, where Redgrave will be presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Theatre Redgrave won four
Evening Standard Awards for Best Actress in four decades. She was awarded the
Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a Revival in 1984 for
The Aspern Papers. In 2000, her theatre work included
Prospero in
The Tempest at
Shakespeare's Globe in London. In 2003, she won a
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in the Broadway
revival of
Eugene O'Neill's ''
Long Day's Journey Into Night''. In January 2006, Redgrave was presented the Ibsen Centennial Award for her "outstanding work in interpreting many of
Henrik Ibsen's works over the last decades". Previous recipients of the award include
Liv Ullmann,
Glenda Jackson and
Claire Bloom. In 2007, Redgrave played
Joan Didion in her Broadway stage adaptation of her 2005 book,
The Year of Magical Thinking, which played 144 regular performances in a 24-week limited engagement at the
Booth Theatre. For this, she won the
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show and was nominated for the
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play. She reprised the role at the
Lyttelton Theatre at the
Royal National Theatre in London to mixed reviews. She also spent a week performing the work at the
Theatre Royal in
Bath in September 2008. She once again performed the role of Joan Didion for a special benefit at
Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City on 26 October 2009. The performance was originally slated to debut on 27 April, but was pushed due to the death of Redgrave's daughter Natasha. The proceeds for the benefit were donated to the
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Both charities work to provide help for the children of
Gaza. In October 2010, she starred in the Broadway premiere of
Driving Miss Daisy starring in the title role opposite
James Earl Jones. The show premiered on 25 October 2010 at the
John Golden Theatre in New York City to rave reviews. The production was originally scheduled to run to 29 January 2011 but due to a successful response and high box office sales, was extended to 9 April 2011. In May 2011, she was nominated for a
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for the role of Daisy in
Driving Miss Daisy. The play transferred to the
Wyndham's Theatre in London from 26 September to 17 December 2011. In 2013, Redgrave starred alongside
Jesse Eisenberg in Eisenberg's
The Revisionist. The New York production ran from 15 February to 27 April. Redgrave played a Polish holocaust survivor in the play. In September 2013, Redgrave once again starred opposite
James Earl Jones in a production of
Much Ado About Nothing at
The Old Vic, London, directed by
Mark Rylance. In 2016, Redgrave played Queen Margaret in
Richard III with
Ralph Fiennes in the title role, at the
Almeida Theatre, London. In February 2022, it was confirmed that she would be playing Mrs Higgins in
My Fair Lady at the
London Coliseum from May to August 2022. In a poll of "industry experts" and readers conducted by
The Stage in 2010, Redgrave was ranked as the ninth greatest stage actor/actress of all time. == Personal life ==