Crossword Dictionary

Glenda Jackson

Glenda Jackson, (born May 9, 1936) is a British actress and Labour Party politician who was a member of the House of Commons (1992–2015). As an actress on stage and screen, she was noted for her tense portrayals of complex women.

Discovered by Peter Brook, she was cast in his Theatre of Cruelty revue and soon appeared as the mad Charlotte Corday in his celebrated production of Peter Weiss’s Marat/Sade (1964; film 1967). She became known for her tense portrayals of complex women, gaining international acclaim in the film Women in Love (1969, Academy Award) and later successes such as Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), A Touch of Class (1973, Academy Award), and the television miniseries Elizabeth R (1971).

In 1992 Jackson left acting to embark on a political career. That year she won a seat in the House of Commons as a Labour Party candidate. She later served as junior transport minister (1997–99). In 2000 she unsuccessfully ran for mayor of London, though she continued to serve in the House of Commons, winning reelection in 2001, 2005, and 2010. She did not run in 2015.

After leaving politics, Jackson resumed her acting career following a 25-year absence. In 2016 she notably starred in a West End production of King Lear. Her performance in the title role earned Jackson her fifth Laurence Olivier Award nomination. Further acclaim—including a Tony Award—followed in 2018, when she appeared in the first Broadway staging of Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women. The next year she reprised her role as King Lear in the play’s Broadway staging. Her later credits include the TV movie Elizabeth Is Missing (2019), about a woman with dementia, and the film Mothering Sunday (2021), a romantic drama set in post-World War I England. Jackson was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1978.