A ‘truly brilliant actress’ who starred in The Crown, Downton Abbey and Lady Jane has died, aged 81, and tributes from heartbroken fans have been pouring in
17:49, 12 Mar 2026Updated 18:14, 12 Mar 2026
The Crown and Downton Abbey star dead – tributes paid to ‘magnificent’ actress(Image: AP)
A “truly brilliant actress” and star of The Crown has died. Jane Lapotaire has died after over 60 years on the stage and screen. The Tony award winning star’s death was marked by the Royal Shakespeare Company, who said they were “saddened” to hear the news.
The actress died on 5 March, but her death was only announced a week later. Jane had an extensive career on the stage before her death, beginning in 1965 with her debut as Ruby Birtle in When We Are Married at the Bristol Old Vic. She would go on to be one of the founding members of The Young Vic Theatre in 1970 and joined the RSC in 1974.
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Jane had a 60 year career on the stage(Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
Responding to her death, the RSC said: “We are saddened to hear of the death of Jane Lapotaire. A truly brilliant actress her RSC credits include Piaf, winning her TONY & Olivier awards, & Gertrude opposite Kenneth Branagh in Adrian Noble’s Hamlet.”
Her performance as Marie Curie in a TV show of the same name in 1977 first made her a household name, and several of her fans took to social media to remember her in the role. “Oh that is very sad news,” one said of her death. “I remember her playing Marie Curie. My condolences to her family and friends.”
Jane became critically acclaimed after playing Edith Piaf in a play about her life, and stayed with the show when it moved to Broadway in 1980. She would win the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play that year.
She won awards for her roles on the stage(Image: EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS)
The RSC lead tributes to her(Image: Getty Images)
Her film and TV work was equally as impressive, as she was in several big projects including Lady Jane (1980) where she played Queen Mary, Downton Abbey, where she played Violet Crawley’s former romantic rival Princess Kuragin, and The Crown, where she played Princess Alice of Battenberg.
During her long career, Jane also played opera singer Maria Callas in 1999. In early 2000, she took a break to teach a Shakespeare class in Paris, but collapsed with a cerebral haemorrhage.
The star had to undergo two major operations and spent nearly four weeks in intensive care. Her experience later became part of her bestselling memoir Time Out of Mind.
Fans have shared their grief at Jane’s death on social media. One wrote: “Her Tony-winning Piaf was raw, vulnerable, devastating. What a remarkable artist we’ve lost.” Another added: “She was an extraordinary talent and have always admired her versatility in every role she took on.” A third said: “She was magnificent as Alice of Battenberg in The Crown.”
Jane was awarded a CBE last year and made one of her final public appearances in February 2026 at Windsor Castle to collect it. She is survived by her son, Rowan Joffe, a screenwriter and director whom she shared with Roland Joffe, her ex husband.
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