Few in modern British history have come as far or achieved as much from
humble beginnings as Glenda Jackson did. From acclaimed actress to
respected MP (Member of Parliament), she was known for her high
intelligence and meticulous approach to her work. She was born to a
working-class household in Birkenhead, where her father was a
bricklayer and her mother was a cleaning lady. When she was very young, her father was recruited into the
Navy, where he worked aboard a minesweeper. She graduated from school
at 16 and worked for a while in a pharmacy. However, she found this
boring and dead-end and wanted better for herself. Her life changed
forever when she was accepted into the prestigious Royal Acadamy of
Dramatic Art (RADA) at the age of 18. Her work impressed all who
observed it. At age 22, she married Roy Hodges.Her first work came on the stage, where she won a role in an adaptation
of "Separate Tables", and made a positive impression on critics and
audiences alike. This led to film roles, modest at first, but she
approached them with great determination. She first came to the
public's notice when she won a supporting role in the controversial
film Marat/Sade (1967), and is acknowledged to have stolen the show. She quickly
became a member of Britain's A-List. Her first starring role came in
the offbeat drama Negatives (1968), in which she out-shone the oddball material.
The following year, controversial director Ken Russell gave her a starring
role in his adaptation of the 1920s romance Zakochane kobiety (1969), in which she co-starred with Oliver Reed. The film was a major success, and Jackson's performance won
her an Academy Award for Best Actress. In the process, she became an
international celebrity, known world-wide, yet she didn't place as much
value on the status and fame as most do. She did, however, become a
major admirer of Russell (who had great admiration... for her in return)
and acted in more of his films. She starred in the controversial
Kochankowie muzyki (1971), although it required her to do a nude scene, something that
made her very uncomfortable. The film was not a success, but she agreed
to do a cameo appearance in his next film, Boy Friend (1971). Although her role
as an obnoxious actress was very small, she once again performed with
great aplomb.1971 turned out to be a key year for her. She took a risk by appearing
in Ta przeklęta niedziela (1971), as a divorced businesswoman in a dead-end affair with a
shallow bisexual artist, but the film turned out to be another major
success. She accepted the starring role in the British
Broadcasting Corporation's much anticipated biography of Queen
Elizabeth I, and her performance in the finished film, Elżbieta, królowa Anglii (1971), was
praised not only by critics and fans, but is cited by historians as the
most accurate portrayal of the beloved former queen ever seen. The same year, she successfully played the role of Queen Elizabeth I again in the historical drama Maria, królowa Szkotów (1971). That
same year, she appeared in the popular comedy series The Morecambe & Wise Show (1968) in a skit
as Queen Cleopatra, which is considered on of the funniest TV skits in
British television, and also proof that she could do comedy just as
well as costume melodrama. One who saw and raved about her performance
was director Melvin Frank, who proceeded to cast her in the romantic comedy
Miłość w godzinach nadliczbowych (1973), co-starring George Segal. The two stars had a chemistry which
brought out the best in each other, and the film was not only a major
hit in both the United States and Great Britain, but won her a second
Academy Award. She continued to impress by refusing obvious commercial
roles and seeking out serious artistic work. She gave strong
performances in Romantyczna Angielka (1975) and Niezwykła Sarah (1976), in which she portrayed the
legendary actress Sarah Bernhardt. However, some of her films didn't register
with the public, like The Triple Echo (1972), Pokojówki (1975), and Brzydkie zwyczaje (1977). In addition, her marriage fell apart in 1976. But her career
remained at the top and in 1978 she was named Commander of the Order of
the British Empire. That year, she made a comeback in the comedy
Wizyty domowe (1978), co-starring Walter Matthau. The success of this film which led to a
popular television spin-off in the United States the following year. In
1979, she and Segal re-teamed in Lost and Found (1979), but they were unable to overcome the routine script. She again co-starred with Oliver Reed in Klasa panny MacMichael (1978), but the film was another disappointment.During the 1980s, she appeared in Gra w klasy (1980) also co-starring Walter Matthau, and
Zdrowie (1980) with Lauren Bacall, with disappointing results, although Jackson
herself was never blamed. Her performance in the TV biography Sakharov (1984),
in which she played Yelena Bonner, devoted wife of imprisoned Russian nuclear
scientist Andrei Sakharov opposite Jason Robards, won rave reviews. However, the next
film Dziennik żółwia (1985), was only a modest success, and the ensemble comedy
Poza terapią (1987) was a critical and box office disaster and Jackson herself got some of the worst reviews of her career.As the 1980s ended, Jackson continued to act, but became more focused
on public affairs. She grew up in a household that was staunchly
supportive of the Labour Party. She had disliked the policies of
Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, even though she admired some of
her personal attributes, and strongly disapproved of Thatcher's
successor, John Major. She was unhappy with the direction of British
government policies, and in 1992 ran for Parliament. Although running
in an area (Hampstead and Highgate) which was not heavily supportive of
her party, she won by a slim margin and immediately became its most
famous newly elective member. However, those who expected that she
would rest on her laurels and fame were mistaken. She immediately took
an interest in transportation issues, and in 1997 was appointed Junior
Transportation Minister by Prime Minister Tony Blair. However, she was
critical of some of Blair's policies and is considered an inter-party
opponent of Blair's moderate faction. She was considered a traditional
Labour Party activist, but is not affiliated with the faction known as
The Looney Left. In 2000, she ran for Mayor of London, but lost the
Labour nomination to fellow MP Frank Dobson, an ally of Blair, who then
lost the election to an independent candidate, Ken Livingstone.In 2005, she ran again and won the nomination, but lost to Livingstone, winning 38% of the vote. When Blair announced he would not seek reelection as Prime Minister in 2006, Jackson's name was mentioned as a possible successor, although she didn't encourage this speculation. In 2010, she sought reelection to parliament and was almost defeated, winning by only 42 votes.In 2013, she responded to the death of Margaret Thatcher by strongly denouncing her policies, which was condemned by many as graceless. In 2015, elections for parliament were called again but she didn't seek reelection. She was succeeded in Parliament by Christopher Philp, a Conservative Party member who had been Jackson's opponent in 2010.show more
