LONDON, England / The Times / News / May 4, 2010
Lynn Redgrave after receiving her OBE in March 2002.
Michael Stephens / PA Wire
By Chris Smyth
In family photographs of her illustrious acting dynasty, Lynn Redgrave could be recognised, she once said, as “the glum one”.
Redgrave, who has died aged 67, spent most of her personal and professional life in the shadow of her father, Michael, and her siblings, Vanessa and Corin.
Yet in moving to the US and developing a talent for comic self-effacement unusual in her family, she was able to emerge on her own terms as a respected and versatile actress.
She died at her home in Connecticut on Sunday night after a seven-year battle with breast cancer, a month after her brother, Corin, died at the age of 70 .
“She lived, loved and worked harder than ever before. The endless memories she created as a mother, grandmother, writer, actor and friend will sustain us for the rest of our lives,” her three children said in a statement.
Redgrave was nominated for two Oscars, two decades apart, during a 50-year-career that ranged from the National Theatre to Desperate Housewives.
“She was a phenomenal actress, she could do comedy, tragedy — anything really — with absolute ease,” said the director Michael Winner, who cast Redgrave in one of her first films in 1960. “She was a wonderful person and a brave woman involved in many causes. She wasn’t facile — she didn’t only care about fame.”
The retired chat show host Sir Michael Parkinson expressed his sadness. “She was maybe the jolliest and most likeable of all the family,” he said. “She was a lovely, funny, open character, she was very easy to get on with. She was a good actress, but being a Redgrave I suppose she couldn’t help it — it’s in their blood, in their marrow. She had a great comedic talent.” [rc]
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Copyright 2010 Times Newspapers Ltd.
