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BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that stage and screen veteran Jane Lapotaire, who won Olivier and Tony Awards for portraying French singer Édith Piaf in the play Piaf, passed away on March 5. She was 81 years old.
A mainstay of the British theatre, Lapotaire’s career of over six decades included performances with prestigious theatre companies, including the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Bristol Old Vic, and The National Theatre, among others.
Selected credits include roles in RSC’s Uncle Vanya, Twelfth Night, and A Room with a View, Joy in Shadowlands at Queen’s Theatre, London, Maria Callas in a British touring production of Master Class and at The National Theatre, The Merchant of Venice, and the title role in Antigone. In 1977, she starred to great acclaim in a television series of Marie Curie, receiving a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for her performance as the famed scientist.
Onscreen, she frequently guest-starred on episodes of British television, including late career turns in Downton Abbey as Princess Kuragin, and The Crown as Princess Alice. Film credits include Charlton Heston’s Antony and Cleopatra, Trevor Nunn’s Lady Jane, and the 2020 remake of Rebecca. Her final onscreen role was the 2023 miniseries The Burning Girls.
Her one and only Broadway credit came in 1981 as Édith Piaf in Pam Gem’s Piaf, reprising her role from the London production. Her celebrated turn as the singer was brought to the screen in a filmed version released in 1984, featuring co-star Peter Friedman and Zoë Wanamaker. She won Tony and Olivier Awards for her performance.
She was recently appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2025 Honours for her services to drama.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Royal Shakespeare Company
