Jane Lapotaire, the Tony Award-winning actress known for stage and screen roles including The Crown and Downton Abbey, has died. She was 81. The Royal Shakespeare Company confirmed that Lapotaire passed away on March 5; no cause of death has been released.

Tributes and confirmation

A spokesperson for the Royal Shakespeare Company confirmed the news on Thursday. “We are saddened to hear of the death of Jane Lapotaire,” the statement said, per The Sun. “A truly brilliant actress, her RSC credits include Piaf, winning her TONY & Olivier awards, & Gertrude opposite Kenneth Branagh in Adrian Noble’s Hamlet.”

One of Lapotaire’s last public appearances was at Windsor Castle last month when she was honoured with a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Career and achievements

Born Jane Burgess in Ipswich in December 1944, Lapotaire built a distinguished career on stage, television and film. She began acting in 1965 at the Bristol Old Vic and was a founding member of the Young Vic Theatre around 1970. She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1974.

Her television breakthrough came with the 1977 BBC miniseries Marie Curie. She won international acclaim for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in Pam Gems’ original 1978 production of Piaf, remaining with the play when it moved to Broadway and earning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in 1980.

Lapotaire’s screen credits included Queen Mary in Lady Jane (1980), Princess Irina Kuragin in Season 5 of Downton Abbey and Princess Alice of Battenberg in Season 3 of The Crown.

Personal life and legacy

Lapotaire’s life included periods of hardship; she was put up for adoption and raised by a foster mother before a later custody dispute with her birth mother. In 2000 her career was interrupted when she suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and underwent surgery. After a four-week recovery in intensive care she wrote the award-winning memoir Time Out of Mind, published in 2004.

She is survived by her son, Rowan Joffe, whom she shared with her ex-husband, director Roland Joffe. Lapotaire leaves a legacy as a celebrated stage actress and a familiar presence on British television. This story originally appeared on Page Six and is republished here with permission.

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