Laurence Olivier

English actor and director (1907–1989)

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century.[1] He was the youngest actor to be knighted and the first to be raised to the peerage.[2] Olivier married English actresses Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh and Joan Plowright.


The Lord Olivier

Olivier in 1972
Born
Laurence Kerr Olivier

(1907-05-22)22 May 1907
Died11 July 1989(1989-07-11) (aged 82)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • producer
Years active1925–1988
WorksFull list
Spouses
  • Jill Esmond
    (m. 1930; div. 1940)
  • (m. 1940; div. 1960)
  • (m. 1961)
Children4
AwardsFull list

Actor Spencer Tracy said that Olivier was 'the greatest actor in the English-speaking world'.[3] In 1999, the American Film Institute named Olivier among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time, at number 14 on the list.

Olivier had many awards: twelve Oscar nominations, with two wins (for Best Actor and Best Picture for the 1948 film Hamlet), plus two honorary awards including a statuette and certificate. He was awarded five Emmy Awards. He was a three-time Golden Globe and BAFTA winner. In 1976 he received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, a lifetime achievement award.

Olivier's ashes are buried in Westminster Abbey.

References