Jane Elizabeth Marie Lapotaire (née Burgess; 26 December 1944 – 5 March 2026) was an English actress from Suffolk. Her performance in the title role of Marie Curie (1977) first brought her to wide attention. In 1978, she performed the title role Édith Piaf for Pam Gems's play Piaf for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon and in London. Two years later, the show moved to Broadway where Lapotaire won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. In 2013, she played the Duchess of Gloucester in Richard II with David Tennant in the title role. This was followed in 2015 by a role as Queen Isobel in Henry V. Lapotaire won the Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play for Piaf in 1979 and was nominated for the Actress of the Year Award in 1990 for Shadowlands. Additionally, Lapotaire was twice nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for Marie Curie and Sea Tales: The Return (1977) and Blind Justice (1988). Lapotaire also wrote three memoirs. Lapotaire was married twice, latterly to director Roland Joffé. Their son is the screenwriter and director Rowan Joffé. (Via Wikipedia)
