Phyllida Law, the Glasgow-born actress whose career stretched across eight decades and who was mother to Emma and Sophie Thompson, has died at the age of 94. Her manager, Jacky Leggo, confirmed the news, saying Law “died supremely peacefully at home, surrounded by all of her family.”
Law trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, initially with ambitions to become a stage designer. It was there that she met Eric Thompson, the actor and creator of The Magic Roundabout. The couple married in 1957 and remained together until his sudden death from a heart attack in 1982, at just 53.
A career on stage and screen
Law’s theatre credits were extensive and varied. She appeared in the original London production of A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, starred opposite Alec Guinness in A Voyage Round My Father, and took part in the first English-language staging of the musical La Cage aux Folles in the West End. Her film work included roles in The Time Machine (2002), Danny the Dog (2005), Miss Potter (2006), and Albert Nobbs (2011).
She also appeared in A Little Chaos (2014), her second collaboration with director Alan Rickman, who had previously directed her in The Winter Guest (1997). That film, set in a Scottish coastal town, featured Law alongside her daughter Emma, and was praised for its quiet, nuanced performances.
Working with her daughters
Law frequently shared the screen with her daughters. She appeared with Emma in Peter’s Friends (1992) and Much Ado About Nothing (1993), and with Sophie in the 1996 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, which starred Gwyneth Paltrow. Her final screen role came in the 2020 romantic comedy Then Came You, written by and starring Kathie Lee Gifford.
In 2014, Law was awarded an OBE for her services to drama and charitable causes. Her death comes just months after the passing of another beloved British actress, Mary Egida Rivera, known for her role in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Law’s legacy is not only in her own performances but in the remarkable theatrical dynasty she helped create. Emma Thompson has spoken often of her mother’s influence, describing her as a woman of wit, warmth, and fierce intelligence. Sophie Thompson, too, has credited her mother with inspiring her love of acting.
Her death marks the end of an era for British and European theatre, where she was admired for her versatility and her ability to bring depth to every role, whether in classical drama or contemporary comedy.
