She proved that actors and politics can indeed mix.
Glenda Jackson, the feisty two-time Oscar-winning actress who notably quit acting to hitch the UK parliament, has passed away from an undisclosed ailment. She was 87.
Several years before her death, The Post had asked the thespian if she ever missed acting during her stint in politics.
Jackson replied, “Acting only exists if you’re doing it. When you’re not doing it, there’s nothing to miss.”
Her agent Lionel Larner confirmed the actress’s passing in a press release.
“Glenda Jackson, two-time Academy Award-winning actress and politician, died peacefully at her home in Blackheath, London this morning after a transient illness, along with her family at her side,” he wrote. “She recently accomplished filming ‘The Great Escaper’ through which she co-starred with Michael Caine.”
He added, “Today we lost considered one of the world’s biggest actresses, and I actually have lost a best friend of over 50 years.”
No explanation for death was revealed.
Born on May 9, 1936, in Birkenhead, Jackson cut her teeth on the legendary Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
First appearing within the 1966 Royal Shakespeare Company production of “Marat/Sade,” the dramatist would go on to grow to be a veritable icon on the stage.
She notably garnered a whopping five Laurence Olivier Award nominations for her work in such productions as 1979’s “Antony and Cleopatra,” and most recently, “King Lear” in 2017.
Jackson is probably most famous internationally for her work on the massive screen.
She won Oscars for her roles in Ken Russell’s adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s “Women in Love,” which also starred Alan Bates and Oliver Reed, in addition to the 1973 romantic-comedy “Touch of Class” alongside George Segal.
The Brit would go on to receive two more Academy Award nods for her work within the 1971 British drama “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and for enjoying the titular femme fatale in 1975’s “Hedda,” an adaption of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler.
She appeared within the stage version that very same yr.
No stranger to the small screen, Jackson had roles in multiple TV series, notably portraying Queen Elizabeth I within the 1971 BBC series “Elizabeth R,” for which she won two Emmys.
Then, unexpectedly in 1992, Jackson left all of it behind to pursue politics, winning a Labor seat within the UK’s House of Commons.
“Each side of the home expected me to be an airhead or a diva,” she told The Post of her surprising profession shift. “Either I used to be going to fall flat on my face or I used to be going to demand an amazing deal of attention on a regular basis.”
She ended up having a storied 23-year profession, highlights of which included roasting her own prime minister — Tony Blair — for joining the USA within the war against Iraq.
She also controversially attacked Margaret Thatcher’s legacy days after the previous British Prime Minister’s death in 2013.
After departing her political profession in 2015, the actress decided to return to the theater, effectively coming full circle.
Her recent roles include the titular character in Sam Gold’s gender-bending rendition of “King Lear” and a starring turn within the 2018 revival of Edward Albee’s acclaimed drama “Three Tall Women,” for which she earned a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
Despite starring in among the most legendary roles on stage and screen, Jackson said she never campaigned to land any particular parts.
“I’ve at all times waited to see what got here through the door,” she told The Post.
Jackson is survived by her son, columnist Dan Hodges.