Janet Suzman

1939 -
S African born Johannesburg

This alert and classy Britisher seemed poised for Hollywood stardom in the early 1970s but, although it wasn't meant to be, Janet Suzman has remained one of the more respected classical stage actresses of her time. Born in 1939, she was raised in a staunch libertine family household in South Africa at a time when the country was confronted with the horrors of apartheid. Janet studied languages at the multi-racial Witwatersrand University in the late 1950s and was an active member of the drama society. She left South Africa during the height of the oppression and moved to England in 1959. Making her professional stage debut with "Billy Liar" in 1962, she almost immediately joined the Royal Shakespeare Company receiving rave notices for her Joan of Arc in "The War of the Roses." Her London debut would be in a production of "A Comedy of Errors" in 1963. In the ensuing years Janet built up an impressive classical resumé portraying most of Shakespeare's illustrious heroines including Rosalind, Portia, Ophelia, Beatrice and the shrewish Kate. She also appeared in several BBC-TV versions of the classics. In 1969 Janet married director Trevor Nunn and together they collaborated on some of England's finest stage productions during the early 1970s, notably "Antony and Cleopatra" (1972), "Titus Andronicus" (1972) and "Hello and Goodbye" (1973), which won Janet the Evening Standard award. She would win a second for her role of Masha in the 1976 production of Chekhov's "The Three Sisters." They had a son, Joshua, before they divorced in the 1980s. Later work would include notable roles in "She Stoops to Conquer," "The Good Woman of Setzuan" and her "Hedda Gabler." In the early 1970s Janet also branched out into films and, following an auspicious turn in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1972), won the coveted role of Czarina Alexandra in the florid historical piece Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) co-starring Michael Jayston, and with a sterling British cast in support including Harry Andrews, Jack Hawkins, Ian Holm, John McEnery, Laurence Olivier and Michael Redgrave. Janet received an Oscar nomination for her performance and bigger things seemed inevitable. Other than a few showy parts, however, in Voyage of the Damned (1976), Nijinsky (1980) and Priest of Love (1981), her output would be rather disappointing. In a change-of-pace role, she played a Mother Superior in the hysterical farce Nuns on the Run (1990). In the 1980s Janet was inspired to direct and coach. She was a visiting professor of drama at Westfield College, London and later returned to South Africa to provide multi-ethnic casting in versions of Shakespearean plays. Making her directing bow in a production of "Othello" at the Market Theatre in 1987, some of her more notable assignments included "Death of a Salesman (1992) and a reworked politicized version of Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" called "The Free State" (1997), which is set in South Africa. In 2002 Janet returned to the RSC to perform in "The Hollow Crown," and most recently appeared in a London production of "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" (2005) starring Kim Cattrall. Spouse Trevor Nunn (1969 - ?) (divorced) 1 child.

Heaven and Earth (2007) , Trial & Retribution X: Sins of the Father (2006) , Max (2002/I) , A Fairy Story (2002) , Front Seat (1997) , Leon the Pig Farmer (1993) , "Inspector Morse" (1993) , The Secret Agent (1992) , Nuns on the Run (1990) , A Dry White Season (1989) , "The Wars of the Roses" (1989) , Nobody Here But Us Chickens (1989) , Revolutionary Witness (1989) , "Theater Night" (1988) , "The Singing Detective" (1986) , "Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy" (1986) , Bright Smiler (1985) , The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (1984) , The Midsummer Marriage (1984) , E la nave va (1983) , The Draughtsman's Contract (1982) , Priest of Love (1981) , "Escape" (1980) , Nijinsky (1980) , The House on Garibaldi Street (1979) , Voyage of the Damned (1976) , "Clayhanger" (1976) , The Black Windmill (1974) , Antony and Cleopatra (1974) , Twelfth Night (1974) , "Play of the Month"(1968) , A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1972) , Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) , Lord Raingo (1966) , The Comedy of Errors (1964)