Jackson, Glenda (1936-2023), was a British actress and politician. She appeared in motion pictures, theater productions, and TV programs. From 1992 to 2015, Jackson was a member of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom’s Parliament. As a member of the Labour Party, she represented the north London constituencies (districts) of Hampstead and Highgate, and Hampstead and Kilburn.
Glenda May Jackson was born on May 9, 1936, in Birkenhead, on Merseyside, England. She was educated at West Kirby Grammar School for Girls, and later at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Jackson began acting in 1957. In 1963, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where her roles included Ophelia in Hamlet by the English playwright William Shakespeare. She won praise as a leading stage actress in 1964 for her portrayal of Charlotte Corday in Marat/Sade.
Jackson made her first appearance in a feature film in This Sporting Life (1963). She won Academy Awards for her performances in Women in Love (1969) and A Touch of Class (1973). Jackson’s other movies include Mary, Queen of Scots, in which she portrayed Queen Elizabeth I, The Music Lovers, and Sunday Bloody Sunday (all 1971); The Romantic Englishwoman (1975); Hopscotch (1980); and Salome’s Last Dance (1988). She received an Emmy Award for her performance in the television miniseries Elizabeth R (1971), in which she again played Elizabeth I.
Jackson retired from acting in 1992 to pursue a political career. She returned to the stage in 2016 as the title character in a production of Shakespeare’s King Lear by the Old Vic theater company in London. In 2018, Jackson won a Tony Award for her performance in the play Three Tall Women. She also acted in some movies in her later years. Jackson died on June 15, 2023.
