Actress Phyllida Law, whose career stretched across theater, television, and film, has died at 94. Her longtime manager, Jacky Leggo, confirmed that Law died peacefully at home on July 27 with her family surrounding her. Leggo, who worked with the actress for more than 50 years, remembered her as a beautiful person inside and out.
According to Entertainment Weekly, many audiences also knew Law as the mother of actresses Emma Thompson and Sophie Thompson, but she built an accomplished career entirely on her own. From the West End to memorable movie roles, she spent decades bringing wit and warmth to the screen while occasionally sharing it with her famous daughters.
Phyllida Law Built a Career Across Stage and Screen
Born in Glasgow, Law initially entered the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School with plans to become a stage designer. Acting ultimately pulled her in another direction. She went on to work extensively in theater and originated the role of Jacqueline in the 1986 London production of La Cage Aux Folles.
Her screen résumé became equally varied. Law appeared in television favorites such as Upstairs, Downstairs and Midsomer Murders, along with films including Much Ado About Nothing, Emma, Anna Karenina, and The Time Machine. She also memorably played opposite daughter Emma Thompson in Alan Rickman’s 1997 drama The Winter Guest, portraying her onscreen mother as well as being her mother in real life.
Her Close Bond With Emma And Sophie Thompson Extended Beyond Hollywood
Law married actor and writer Eric Thompson in 1957, and the couple raised daughters Emma and Sophie before his death in 1982. Emma later spoke about how that loss brought the three women even closer. The mother and daughters lived near one another, traveled together, and shared the unusual bond of all working professionally as actresses.