Susannah York.

Born in Chelsea, London in 1939 as Susannah Yolande Fletcher, she was raised in a remote Scottish village after her parents divorced when she was six. Attending Marr College, she trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she won the Ronson Award for most promising student. She then performed classical repertory and pantomime in her early professional career.

Making an impression on television in 1959 opposite Sean Connery in The Crucible, she debuted on film as the daughter of Alec Guinness in Tunes of Glory 1960. She gained notice with Loss of Innocence 1961, Freud 1962 with Montgomery Clift, and the bawdy Tom Jones 1963. She courted controversy with The Killing of Sister George 1968 and earned an Oscar nomination and BAFTA for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They 1969. She won the Cannes Best Actress award for Images 1972, but later roles in Superman 1978 and Superman II 1980 as Lara gave her little to do. She also wrote children’s books and performed one-woman shows.

Married writer Michael Wells in 1960, the couple had two children, Orlando and Sasha, and divorced in 1980. She spoke French fluently and enjoyed languages, walking, and theatre. Politically active, she supported the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and opposed apartheid, though she made two films in South Africa. She allegedly turned down a CBE honour.

Susannah York’s fearless performances in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They and Images earned her a BAFTA and a Cannes award. She was made an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government in 1991. Her children’s books and one-woman shows showcased her versatility. She appears in two Best Picture Oscar winners, Tom Jones and A Man for All Seasons, and her role as Lara in Superman introduced her to a new generation.