Janet Suzman

Janet Suzman was born on 9 February 1939 in Johannesburg, South Africa, to a prosperous Jewish family; her parents were Betty (née Sonnenberg) and Saul Suzman, a tobacco importer, and she was the niece of prominent anti‑apartheid activist Helen Suzman. She attended Kingsmead College and later earned a degree at the University of the Witwatersrand before moving to London to train at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Suzman's stage debut came in 1962 as Liz in Billy Liar at the Tower Theatre, Ipswich, and a year later she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), where she quickly established herself as a leading interpreter of Shakespearean heroines. During her early RSC years she performed roles such as Joan of Arc in The Wars of the Roses, 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, and both Celia and Rosalind in As You Like It. Her 1973 portrayal of Cleopatra in the televised Antony and Cleopatra is frequently cited as definitive, showcasing her ability to blend regal authority with sensual allure.

Suzman's cinematic breakthrough arrived with the 1971 film Nicholas and Alexandra, where her embodiment of Empress Alexandra earned her nominations for the Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe for Best Actress. She followed this with roles in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, The Black Windmill, Nijinsky, The Draughtsman's Contract, and the politically charged A Dry White Season (1989). In addition to acting, she has directed numerous productions in the United Kingdom and South Africa, including televised Othello and Brecht’s The Good Woman of Setzuan at Johannesburg’s Market Theatre. Her later work includes a 2020 appearance in Netflix’s The Crown as a literary agent. Recognised for her contributions to drama, Suzman was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2011 and holds honorary doctorates from multiple universities. She married director Trevor Nunn in 1969, with whom she had a son, before divorcing in 1986, and continues to influence theatre and film well into the twenty‑first century.