Jane Lapotaire, British acting legend of stage and screen, dies aged 84

Jane Lapotaire, star of the stage and screen who appeared in episodes of The Crown and Downton Abbey, has died aged 81

The Guardian reports that the actress died on 5 March. A cause of death has not been disclosed.

The Royal Shakespeare Company described Lapotaire as a “truly brilliant actress” in a tribute on Thursday.

On screen, Lapotaire first appeared in an episode of Sherlock Holmes in 1968, before going on to star in Casualty, Midsomer Murders and Lucan in later years.

However, it was her appearance as Marie Curie in the 1977 BBC mini-series of the same name that saw her become a household name.

Other screen roles included as Princess Kuragin in an episode of Downton Abbey in 2014, and as Princess Alice of Battenberg in The Crown in 2019.

Lapotaire trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School from 1961 to 1963, before joining the Bristol Old Vic theatre company in 1965 and the National Theatre in 1967.

She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1974, playing Viola in Twelfth Night and Lady Macduff in Macbeth.

A few years later, she took on the title role Édith Piaf in Pam Gems’s play Piaf for the RSC, and earned the 1979 Olivier best actress award. The show then moved to Broadway, and Lapotaire won the Tony.

Other notable stage roles followed in Master Class, Hamlet, Shadowlands, Dear Anyone, Antigone, Venice Preserved, Ghosts, Henry VIII, and her one-woman show Shakespeare As I Knew Her.

In 2000 Lapotaire suffered a cerebral haemorrhage while teaching a Shakespeare master class. She returned to the stage over a decade later in the RSC’s Richard II, starring David Tennant.

Lapotaire was appointed CBE in 2025 and attended the investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle just last month.

The Royal Shakespeare Company wrote in a statement paying tribute to Lapotaire: "We are saddened to hear of the death of RSC Honorary Associate Artist, Jane Lapotaire.

"A truly brilliant actress, Jane joined the RSC in 1974 to play Viola in Twelfth Night. A few years later, she took the title role in Pam Gems' Piaf, winning Olivier and TONY Best Actress awards.

"In 1992, she played Gertrude opposite Kenneth Branagh in Adrian Noble's Hamlet. Her final two performances for the Company were in 2013 as the Duchess of Gloucester in Greg Doran's Richard II alongside David Tennant, and, in 2015, as Queen Isobel in Henry V, again directed by Greg.

"Our thoughts are with Jane's family and friends."