Part of an astonishing generation of British actors, including Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Eileen Atkins and Maggie Smith, Plowright won a Tony Award, two Golden Globes and nominations for an Oscar and an Emmy.

LONDON -- Award-winning British actor Joan Plowright, who was one half of a theatrical power couple after marrying Laurence Olivier, has died. She was 95. In a statement Friday, her family said Plowright died the previous day at Denville Hall, a retirement home for actors in southern England, surrounded by her loved ones.

Joan Plowright, who has died aged 95, was one of Britain's finest stage actresses - and later found fame on the cinema screen, although she largely preferred stage work. The Tony and Golden Globe-winning actress once said movies were a fall-back to pay the bills,