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Glenda Jackson gave her two Oscars to her mother, who found another use for them

Two-time Academy Award winner didn’t attend either ceremony, where she was nominated for Best Actress

Jacob Stolworthy
Friday 16 June 2023 04:30 BST
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Glenda Jackson's last theatrical appearance before passing away, aged 87

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Glenda Jackson is one of just a relatively small number of actors who have won two or more Oscars.

As of 2023, 44 Hollywood stars have won multiple trophies at the ceremony, with Katharine Hepburn leading the pack with four.

Jackson, who died on Thursday (15 June) aged 87, won twice for her roles in Ken Russell’s Women in Love (1970), and A Touch of Class (1973), which was directed by Melvin Frank

While several other stars have the honour of being two-time Oscar winners (Bette Davis, Renée Zellweger and Cate Blanchett to name a few), Jackson is the only one who didn’t collect either award.

Once she received the golden trophies, she decided to give them to her mother, who found another use for them altogether. In 2021, Jackson told The Times that her mother used them as bookends.

Jackson said: “It always sounds so ungrateful, and I’m not, but once you’ve got it, what do you do with it?”

She also said that “getting a good part” gave her more pleasure than receiving accolades for her work.

Glenda Jackson in ‘A Touch of Class’
Glenda Jackson in ‘A Touch of Class’ (AVCO Embassy Pictures)

Jackson’s agent confirmed that the actor died at her home in Blackheath, London after a “brief illness”.

The actor, who also was a Labour MP, won a Bafta for Best Actress in 2020 for her role in Elizabeth Is Missing, which followed the story of a woman suffering from dementia.

She recently completed filming The Great Escaper, in which she co-starred with Michael Caine.

The film is inspired by true events, and tells the story of a Second World War veteran who escaped his home in Hove, east Sussex, to attend a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in France.

It marked the first time Jackson had acted alongside Caine since they starred together in The Romantic Englishwoman, 48 years ago.

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