Actress Lynn Redgrave Dies at 67
Award-winning star of stage and film also appeared in numerous television productions, including acclaimed miniseries Centennial.
Lynn Redgrave, a member of the distinguished Redgrave acting family, died Sunday, May 2, 2010, at her Connecticut home following a lengthy bout with breast cancer. Redgrave, who was 67, earned a Primetime Emmy nomination in 1981 for the comedy series House Calls, as well as Oscar nominations for the 1966 film Georgy Girl and the 1998 release Gods and Monsters. She also garnered Tony nominations in 1976 for Mrs. Warren’s Profession, in 1993 for Shakespeare for My Father and in 2005 for The Constant Wife.
The London native was the youngest child of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, and sister of actress Vanessa Redgrave and actor Corin Regrave. She made her stage debut in 1962 at London’s Royal Court Theatre, and she became widely known through the popularity of Georgy Girl, in which she played the free-spirited title role.
Her movie fame brought her to the U.S., where she continued to make films and branched into television, a medium in which she worked widely until the end of her life. Highlights included Centennial, based on author James Michener’s chronicle of Colorado over several generations.
In addition to House Calls, her regular series included the comedies Teachers Only, Chicken Soup and Rude Awakening. She also had guest roles on many other series, including Kojak, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Hotel, Desperate Housewives, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Ugly Betty.
In 1991, she and her sister Vanessa starred in a made-for-television remake of the 1962 film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Lynn took on the role originally played by Bette Davis, and Vanessa played the Joan Crawford role.
Redgrave was also seen on television as a spokesperson for Weight Watchers — the first celebrity to do so.
In 1967, she married actor-director John Clark, with whom she had three children. The marriage ended in divorce in 2000.
In recent years, Redgrave spoke openly about her cancer, and addressed the experience in her 2009 autobiographical one-woman show Nightingale at the Manhattan Theater Club in New York City.
In 2004, she and daughter Annabel Clark wrote Journal: A Mother and Daughter’s Recovery from Breast Cancer.
In addition to Annabel, she is survived by a son, Ben, and another daughter, Pema.