Dame Janet Suzman (born 9 February 1939) 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 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.

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.

Stage career

After training for the stage at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art,

Personal life and honours

In 1969, she married director Trevor Nunn and together they had a son. They divorced in 1986.

Suzman holds honorary DLitt degrees from the universities of Warwick, Leicester, London (QMW), Southampton, Middlesex, Kingston, Cape Town, Edge Hill and 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.

Awards and nominations

{| class="wikitable"

|+

!Year

!Awards

!Category

!Nominated work

!Result

!Ref.

|-

| rowspan="4" |1972

|Academy Awards

|Best Actress

| rowspan="3" |Nicholas and Alexandra

|

|

|-

|British Academy Film Awards

|Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles

|

|

|-

|Golden Globe Awards

|New Star of the Year – Actress

|

|

|-

|National Society of Film Critics

|Best Actress

| rowspan="2" |A Day in the Death of Joe Egg

|

|

|-

|1973

|New York Film Critics Circle

|Best Actress

|

|

|-

|1975

|British Academy Television Awards

|Best Actress

|Florence Nightingale / Play of the Month: Hedda Gabler / Antony and Cleopatra / Second House: Athol Fugard

|

|

|-

|1977

| rowspan="2" |Laurence Olivier Awards

|Actress of the Year in a Revival

|Hedda Gabler

|

|

|-

|1983

|Actress of the Year in a New Play

|Cowardice

|

|

|-

| 2011 || OffWestEnd Award || Female Performance || Dream of the Dog || Finalist

|}

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

| 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 (TV series)

| Margaret, Duchess of Chester

|

|-

| 1993

| 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 (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

|Literary agent to Michael Shea

|episode: Episode No. 8 Series 4 "48:1"

|-

|2023

|Consecration

|Mother Superior

|

|-

|}

Reference:

References

  • Janet Suzman at Who's Who Southern Africa