Famously fiery, Glenda Jackson has split her remarkable career between acting and politics. Now 86, Jackson found fame in 1969’s Women in Love and 1973’s A Touch of Class, winning Oscars for both roles. In 1992, she quit acting for politics when she was elected MP for Hampstead and Highgate in London. She served as junior transport minister from 1997 to 1999 and famously threatened to challenge Tony Blair if he didn’t resign over the 2003 Hutton inquiry into Iraq. She finally stood down down in the 2015 general election, two days before her 79th birthday.
In 2016, Jackson returned to the stage for the first time in 25 years, cast sex-blind as King Lear at the Old Vic and later Broadway; the Guardian said her performance was “magnificent”, and she was nominated for an Olivier award. In 2019, Jackson returned to our screens in BBC drama Elizabeth Is Missing, for which she won a Bafta and International Emmy for best actress. Jackson also has five honorary degrees and is a CBE. So, as we said, that’s quite a career.
