What movies was Glenda Jackson in? Career of the late Oscar-winning actress remembered

Glenda Jackson, who has been remembered by David Baddiel, Carol Vorderman, Keir Starmer, and Gordon Brown, among others, died today (15 June) after a brief illness.

The star left an indelible mark on the big screen during a career that spanned eight decades, with a break of nearly 30 years to pursue politics.

After studying at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), she became a celebrated stage actress, delivering impressive performances in plays including The Seagull and King Lear.

She soon began to take on screen roles - she played Elizabeth I in the 1971 drama series Elizabeth R, and played the same role later that in the historical drama film Mary, Queen of Scots.

Her breakout role was in the romantic drama film Sunday Bloody Sunday in which she played Alex Greville, a frustrated office worker who becomes involved in a polyamorous relationship with an artist and his gay lover.

Jackson was nominated for four Best Actress Oscars, winning two for Women in Love and A Touch of Class. As a two time Best Actress winner she is level with a dozen other actresses, among them Meryl Streep, Elizabeth Taylor, Vivien Leigh. Only two stars have outstripped her: Frances McDormand, who has three wins, and Katharine Hepburn, who has four.

In Women in Love, she played Gudrun Brangwen, who falls in love with Gerald, played by Oliver Reed. In romantic comedy A Touch of Class, she starred as Vickie, a woman who becomes involved in a clandestine relationship across London and Spain.

In the late 70’s and ‘80s she appeared in a string of lesser known comedy and romance films including The Maids, The Romantic Englishwoman, Nasty Habits, Lost and Found, and Hopscotch. 

Jackson’s last role before she put her acting career on pause and entered politics was in the 1992 TV movie drama The Secret Life of Arnold Bax, in which she played Harriet.

After spending 18 years as a Labour MP representing Hampstead and Kilburn, Jackson left parliament in 2010. She made a belated return to the screen in 2019, starring as Maud in the TV movie Elizabeth Is Missing, about a woman living with dementia.

She also appeared in the romantic period drama Mothering Sunday, and her last on-screen role will be in The Great Escaper, an upcoming drama film starring Michael Caine as a care home escapee who plans to travel to France for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day Landings.