Editing Janet Suzman

{{Short description|British actress (born 1939)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix   = [[Dame]]
| name               = Janet Suzman
| honorific_suffix   = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|DBE}}
| caption            =
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1939|2|9|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Johannesburg]], South Africa
| education          = [[Kingsmead College]]
| alma_mater         = [[University of the Witwatersrand]]
| occupation         = Actress, director
| children           = 1
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Trevor Nunn]]|1969|1986|end=div}}
| relatives = [[Helen Suzman]] (aunt)
}}

'''Dame Janet Suzman''' (born 9 February 1939<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rose |first=Mike |date=February 9, 2023|title=Today's famous birthdays list for February 9, 2023 includes celebrities Michael B. Jordan, Tom Hiddleston|url=https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2023/02/todays-famous-birthdays-list-for-february-9-2023-includes-celebrities-michael-b-jordan-tom-hiddleston.html |access-date=February 9, 2023 |website=[[Cleveland.com]]}}</ref>) is a South African-born British actress who had a successful early career in the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]], later replaying many Shakespearean roles on television. In her first film, ''[[Nicholas and Alexandra]]'' (1971), her performance as Empress [[Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse)|Alexandra Feodorovna]] earned her several honours, including a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]].

Suzman later starred in a wide range of classical and modern drama as well as directing many productions in the UK and South Africa. Suzman appeared in ''[[A Dry White Season]]'' (1989), a film that examined [[apartheid]].

==Early life==
Janet Suzman was born in [[Johannesburg]], [[South Africa]], to a Jewish family, the daughter of Betty (née Sonnenberg) and Saul Suzman, a wealthy tobacco importer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/34/Janet-Suzman.html|title=Janet Suzman Biography (1939–)|website=filmreference.com|access-date=2018-09-06}}</ref><ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article708840.ece?token=null&offset=0 "It's difficult to describe the grief"]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''Times Online''</ref>

Her grandfather, Max Sonnenberg, was a member of the [[South African parliament]], and her aunt was the [[civil rights]] and anti-apartheid campaigner [[Helen Suzman]]. Suzman was educated at the independent school [[Kingsmead College]], Johannesburg, and at the [[University of the Witwatersrand]].<ref name="Bio">{{Cite web |title=Suzman, Janet (1939–) |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/suzman-janet-1939 |access-date=2023-02-09 |website=[[Encyclopedia.com]]}}</ref>

==Stage career==
After training for the stage at the [[London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art]],<ref name="Bio"/> Suzman made her debut as Liz in ''[[Billy Liar]]'' at the Tower Theatre, [[Ipswich]], in 1962. She became a member of the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] (RSC) in 1963 and started her career there as Joan of Arc in ''[[The Wars of the Roses (adaptation)|The Wars of The Roses]]'' (1962–64). The RSC gave her the opportunity to play many of the [[Shakespearean]] heroines, including Rosaline in ''[[Love's Labour's Lost]]'', Portia in ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'', Ophelia in ''[[Hamlet]]'', Kate in  ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'', Beatrice in ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'', Celia and Rosalind in ''[[As You Like It]]'', Lavinia in ''[[Titus Andronicus]]'' and her [[Antony and Cleopatra|Cleopatra]], magisterial, ardent and seductive, in 1973, which is said to have been a definitive performance. (An [[Associated Television|ATV]]/[[ITC Entertainment|ITC]] television production, ''[[Antony and Cleopatra (1974 TV drama)|Antony and Cleopatra]]'', was broadcast in 1974 in the UK and was shown internationally.) Although her stage appearances tended to run naturally towards Shakespeare and the classics, including Ibsen's ''[[Hedda Gabler]]'', [[Chekhov]]'s ''[[The Three Sisters (play)|The Three Sisters]]'', [[Christopher Marlowe|Marlowe]], [[Jean Racine|Racine]], [[Maxim Gorky|Gorky]] and [[Brecht]], she also appeared in plays by [[Jean Genet|Genet]], [[Pinter]], [[Ronald Harwood]], Nicholson, [[Edward Albee|Albee]] and others.

==Films and television==
She appeared in many British television drama productions in the 1960s and early 1970s, including ''[[Saint Joan (play)|Saint Joan]]'' (1968), ''[[The Three Sisters (1970 TV drama)|The Three Sisters]]'' (1970), ''[[Macbeth]]'' (1970), ''[[Hedda Gabler]]'' (1972), ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' (1973), as Hilda Lessways in ''[[Clayhanger]]'' (1975), as Lady Mountbatten in ''[[Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy]]'' (1985) and [[Dennis Potter]]'s ''[[The Singing Detective]]'' (1986). Her first film role was in ''[[Nicholas and Alexandra]]'' (1972), and she was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]], the [[BAFTA Awards|BAFTA]] and the [[Golden Globe]] for her portrayal of the Empress [[Alexandra of Hesse|Alexandra]]. This was followed by ''[[A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (film)|A Day in the Death of Joe Egg]]'' (1972) opposite [[Alan Bates]]. In addition to the 1974 television version of Shakespeare's ''Antony and Cleopatra'', she also appeared as "Frosine" in the BBC's ''[[Theatre Night]]'' 1988 production of ''[[The Miser]]'' opposite [[Nigel Hawthorne]] as "Harpagon" and [[Jim Broadbent]] as Maitre Jacques. Another role was that of Frieda Lawrence in ''[[Priest of Love]]'' (1981).

Suzman has made few films since, including [[Don Siegel]]'s ''[[The Black Windmill]]'' (1974), ''[[Nijinsky (film)|Nijinsky]]'' (1980), [[Peter Greenaway]]'s ''[[The Draughtsman's Contract]]'' (1982), [[Federico Fellini]]'s ''E la Nave Va'' (''[[And the Ship Sails On]]'' 1983), ''[[A Dry White Season]]'' (1989) with [[Marlon Brando]] and ''[[Nuns on the Run]]'' (1990; a rare comedic role). In 2020 Suzman appeared in the Netflix production of ''[[The Crown (TV series)|The Crown]]'' as the literary agent of [[Michael Shea (diplomat)|Michael Shea]], the queen's press secretary. The episode dealt with the rift between Buckingham Palace and Margaret Thatcher over the prime minister's refusal to back Commonwealth sanctions against South Africa. The episode also implied that Mrs Thatcher's stance might have been linked to her son Mark's business interests in South Africa.

==Later activities==
In her native South Africa she directed ''[[Othello]]'', which was televised, and Brecht's ''[[The Good Woman of Setzuan]]'' (renamed ''The Good Woman of [[Sharpeville]]'') both at the [[Market Theatre (Johannesburg)|Market Theatre]], Johannesburg.  She also toured her modern adaptation of [[Chekhov]]'s ''[[The Cherry Orchard]]'' – a South African response entitled ''The Free State''. She wrote, starred in and directed this piece with the [[Birmingham Repertory Theatre]]. Other productions with Suzman as director included ''A Dream of People'' at the RSC, ''The Cruel Grasp'' at the [[Edinburgh International Festival|Edinburgh Festival]], [[Feydeau]]'s ''[[Monsieur chasse!|No Flies on Mr Hunter]]'' (Chelsea Centre, 1992), ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'' ([[Theatr Clwyd]], 1993), and [[Pam Gems]]'s ''The Snow Palace'' (Tour and Tricycle Theatre, 1998).

In 2002, she returned to the RSC to perform in a new version of ''The Hollow Crown'' with Sir [[Donald Sinden]], [[Ian Richardson]] and Sir [[Derek Jacobi]]. In 2005, she appeared in the [[West End theatre|West End]] in a revival of [[Brian Clark (writer)|Brian Clark]]'s 1978 play ''[[Whose Life Is It Anyway? (play)|Whose Life Is It Anyway?]]'' starring [[Kim Cattrall]]. In 2006 she directed ''[[Hamlet]]'' and in 2007 she played Volumnia in ''[[Coriolanus]]'' in [[Stratford-upon-Avon]], for which she received excellent notices. In 2010, she appeared in ''Dream of the Dog'', a new South African play, at the [[Finborough Theatre]], London, which subsequently transferred to the West End. Suzman wrote ''Acting With Shakespeare: Three Comedies'', a book based on a series of acting master classes. {{Citation needed|date=June 2011}}

In 2014, Suzman was criticized for comments regarding arts participation in the theater. In response to a call by [[Meera Syal]] to engage in more diverse audiences, Suzman referred to theater as "a white invention, a European invention. There is, in fact no archaeological evidence to indicate otherwise."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/dec/08/actor-janet-suzman-criticised-calling-theatre-white-invention |title=Actor Janet Suzman criticised for calling theatre 'a white invention'|work=The Guardian|first1=Dalya|last1=Alberge|first2=Mark|last2=Brown|date=8 December 2014|access-date=25 January 2022}}</ref>

==Personal life and honours==
In 1969, she married director [[Trevor Nunn]] and together they had a son. They divorced in 1986.<ref name="Bio"/>

Suzman was appointed [[Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (DBE) in the [[2011 Birthday Honours]] for services to drama.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=59808 |date=11 June 2011 |page=7 |supp=y}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-13728375|title=Forsyth knighthood heads honours|date=2011-06-11|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-09-06|language=en-GB}}</ref> 

Suzman holds [[Doctor of Letters|honorary DLitt]] degrees from the universities of [[University of Warwick|Warwick]], [[University of Leicester|Leicester]], [[Queen Mary, University of London|London (QMW)]], [[University of Southampton|Southampton]], [[Middlesex University|Middlesex]], [[Kingston University|Kingston]], [[Cape Town University|Cape Town]], [[Edge Hill University|Edge Hill]] and [[University of Buckingham|Buckingham]]. 

She is an Honorary Fellow of the [[Shakespeare Institute]], and was awarded the Pragnell Award for lifetime services to Shakespeare in 2012. She is a patron of the [[London International Festival of Theatre]].<ref>[https://www.liftfestival.com/about-us/meet-the-team "Meet The Team"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911012852/https://www.liftfestival.com/about-us/meet-the-team |date=11 September 2016 }}, ''LIFT''. Retrieved 9 August 2016.</ref>

== Awards and nominations ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Awards
!Category
!Nominated work
!Result
!Ref.
|-
| rowspan="4" |1972
|[[Academy Awards]]
|[[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| rowspan="3" |[[Nicholas and Alexandra|''Nicholas and Alexandra'']]
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-10-05 |title=The 44th Academy Awards {{!}} 1972 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1972 |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[British Academy Film Awards]]
|[[BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles|Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles]]
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Most Promising Newcomer To Leading Film Roles |url=https://www.bafta.org/awards/film/most-promising-newcomer-to-leading-film-roles |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=Bafta |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[Golden Globe Awards]]
|[[Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress|New Star of the Year – Actress]]
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-04-13 |title=Winners & Nominees 1972 {{!}} Golden Globes |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1972 |access-date=2025-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413203425/https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1972 |archive-date=13 April 2019 }}</ref>
|-
|[[National Society of Film Critics]]
|[[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| rowspan="2" |[[A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (film)|''A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'']] 
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=FilmAffinity |url=https://www.filmaffinity.com/en/award-edition.php?edition-id=nsfc_1972 |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=FilmAffinity |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|1973
|[[New York Film Critics Circle]]
|[[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Youngstown Vindicator - Google News Archive Search |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=juFIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ioIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2904,1108077&dq |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=news.google.com}}</ref>
|-
|1975
|[[British Academy Television Awards]]
|[[British Academy Television Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
|''Florence Nightingale'' / [[Play of the Month|''Play of the Month: Hedda Gabler'']] / [[Antony and Cleopatra|''Antony and Cleopatra'']] / ''Second House: Athol Fugard''
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Actress |url=https://www.bafta.org/awards/television/actress-television |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=Bafta |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|1977
| rowspan="2" |[[Laurence Olivier Awards]]
|[[Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a Revival|Actress of the Year in a Revival]]
|[[Hedda Gabler|''Hedda Gabler'']]
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olivier Winners 1977 |url=https://officiallondontheatre.com/olivier-awards/winners/olivier-winners-1977/ |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=Olivier Awards |language=en-GB}}</ref>
|-
|1983
|[[Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play|Actress of the Year in a New Play]]
|''Cowardice''
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olivier Winners 1983 |url=https://officiallondontheatre.com/olivier-awards/winners/olivier-winners-1983/ |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=Olivier Awards |language=en-GB}}</ref>
|}

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
! Year || Film || Role || Notes
|-
| 1964
| ''Festival'' (TV series)
| Luciana
| episode: ''The Comedy of Errors''
|-
| 1965
| ''The Wars of the Roses'' (TV miniseries)
| Lady Anne/Joan la Pucelle
| chapter: ''Richard III''<br />chapter: ''Henry VI''
|-
| 1966
| ''[[Lord Raingo]]'' (TV series)
| Delphine
| episode: ''Fear''<br />episode: ''Doubts''<br />episode ''Power''<br />episode: ''The Offer''
|-
| 1966
| ''Theatre 625'' (TV series)
| Edith Swan-Neck/Mary
| episode: ''The Family Reunion''<br />episode: ''Conquest: The Leopard and the Dragon''<br />episode: ''Conquest: The Encounter''
|-
| 1970
| ''Solo'' (TV series)
| Charlotte Brontë
|episode: ''Janet Suzman as Charlotte Brontë''
|-
| 1971
|''[[Nicholas and Alexandra]]''
| Alexandra
|
|-
| 1972
| ''[[A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (film)|A Day in the Death of Joe Egg]]''
| Sheila
|
|-
| 1968–1972
| ''BBC Play of the Month'' (TV series)
| Hedda Gabler<br />Lady Macbeth<br />Masha<br />Joan of Arc
|episode: ''Hedda Gabler''<br />episode: ''Macbeth''<br />episode: ''The Three Sisters''<br />episode: ''St. Joan''
|-
| 1974
| ''[[The Black Windmill]]''
| Alex Tarrant
|
|-
| 1974
| ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (TV film)
| Cleopatra
|
|-
| 1976
| ''Clayhanger'' (TV series)
| Hilda Lessways/Hilda Clayhanger
|
|-
| 1976
| ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]''
| Leni Strauss
|
|-
| 1979
| ''[[The House on Garibaldi Street]]'' (TV film)
| Hedda
|
|-
| 1980
| ''Nijinsky''
| Emilia Marcus
|
|-
| 1980
|''Escape'' (TV series)
| Wendy Woods
| episode: ''Banned''
|-
| 1981
| ''[[Priest of Love]]''
| Frieda Lawrence
|
|-
| 1982
| ''[[The Draughtsman's Contract]]''
| Virginia Herbert
|
|-
| 1983
|''[[And the Ship Sails On]]''
| Edmea Tetua
|
|-
|1984
| ''The Midsummer Marriage'' (TV film)
| Sosostris
|
|-
| 1984
| ''[[The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood]]'' (TV film)
|Eleanor of Aquitaine
|
|-
| 1985
| ''Bright Smiler'' (TV film)
| Avon Eve
|
|-
| 1986
|Masterpiece Theatre: ''Lord Mountbatten – The Last Viceroy''
| Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma
|
|-
| 1986
| ''[[The Singing Detective]]'' (TV miniseries)
| Nicola
|
|-
| 1988
| ''[[Theatre Night]]'' (TV series)
| Frosine
| episode: ''The Miser''
|-
|  1989
| ''Revolutionary Witness'' (TV short)
| Theroign de Mericourt
| segment: ''The Woman''
|-
| 1989
| ''[[A Dry White Season]]''
| Susan du Toit
|
|-
| 1989
| ''4 Play'' (TV series)
| Judith
| episode: ''Nobody Here But Us Chickens''
|-
| 1990
| ''[[Nuns on the Run]]''
| Sister Superior
|
|-
| 1992
| ''Horizon'' (TV series)
| Narrator
| episode: ''Taking the Credit''
|-
| 1992
| ''[[Leon the Pig Farmer]]''
| Judith Geller
|
|-
| 1992
| ''[[The Secret Agent (1992 TV series)|The Secret Agent]]'' (TV series)
| Margaret, Duchess of Chester
|
|-
| 1993
| ''[[Inspector Morse (TV series)|Inspector Morse]]'' (TV series)
| Dr Claire Brewster
| episode: ''Deadly Slumber''
|-
| 1997
| ''[[The Ruth Rendell Mysteries]]'' (TV series)
| Cecily Branksome
|episode: ''Front Seat''
|-
| 2002
| ''The Windsors – A Royal Family'' (Documentary)
| Narrator
| Originally released in 1994 by PBS, updated and re-released in 2002
|-
| 2005
| ''Hiroshima'' (TV film)
| voice
|
|-
|2006–2007
| ''[[Trial & Retribution]]'' (TV series)
| Winifred Morgan QC
| episode: ''Sins of the Father''
|-
|  2008
|  ''The Color of Magic'' (TV film)
|Ninereeds
|
|-
| 2010
| ''[[Midsomer Murders]]'' (TV series)
| Lady Matilda William
|episode: ''The Sword of Guillaume''
|-
| 2011
|''[[Tinga Tinga Tales]]'' (TV series)
| Ostrich
|
|-
| 2012
| ''Sinbad'' (TV series)
| Grandmother/Safia
| episode: ''Homecoming''<br />episode: ''Queen of the Water-Thieves''<br />episode: ''Pilot''<br />episode: ''The Siren''
|-
| 2012
| ''[[Labyrinth (miniseries)|Labyrinth]]'' (TV series)
| Esclarmonde
|episode: ''Episode No. 1.2''<br />episode: ''Episode No. 1.1''
|-
| 2012
| ''Moominland Tales: The Life of Tove Jansson'' (TV film)
| Readings
|
|-
| 2013
| ''Felix''
| Mrs Cartwright
|
|-
|2020
|''[[The Crown (TV series)|The Crown]]''
|Literary agent to [[Michael Shea (diplomat)|Michael Shea]]
|episode: ''Episode No. 8 Series 4 "48:1"''
|-
|2023
|''[[Consecration (film)|Consecration]]''
|Mother Superior
|
|-
|}
Reference: {{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0840531/ |title=Janet Suzman |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |publisher=IMDb|access-date=25 September 2013}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|840531}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110806131912/http://www.whoswhosa.co.za/janet-suzman-3738 Janet Suzman] at [https://web.archive.org/web/20110901215042/http://www.whoswhosa.co.za/ Who's Who Southern Africa]

{{Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suzman, Janet}}
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Actresses awarded damehoods]]
[[Category:Actresses from Johannesburg]]
[[Category:Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art]]
[[Category:British film actresses]]
[[Category:British film directors]]
[[Category:British people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:British stage actresses]]
[[Category:British television actresses]]
[[Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Jewish British actresses]]
[[Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members]]
[[Category:South African emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:South African film actresses]]
[[Category:South African film directors]]
[[Category:South African Jews]]
[[Category:South African people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:South African stage actresses]]
[[Category:South African television actresses]]
[[Category:South African women film directors]]
[[Category:University of the Witwatersrand alumni]]