Oscar-winning actress and longtime activist Vanessa Redgrave will be honored this year with the European Film Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Redgrave will accept the honor on December 9th at the 36th European Film Awards in Berlin.
Redgrave is an acting icon who has skillfully woven between theater, film and television in a career spanning more than six decades. She first made a name for herself on stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company before starting film work with Karel Reisz in 1966.’ Morgan: A suitable case for treatment. The role, which won her the Best Actress award at Cannes, was the starting point for her international career. Since then, numerous acting awards have followed, including another Best Actress award at Cannes, two Emmys, a Tony, two Golden Globes and two BAFTAs.
She was nominated for an Oscar six times – for performances in Morgan: A suitable case for treatment (1966), Isadora (1968), Mary, Queen of Scotland (1971), Julia (1977), The Bostonians (1984) and Howard’s End (1992). She won the 1977 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Julia opposite Jane Fonda in Fred Zinnemann’s film Julia.
Redgrave’s other notable film appearances include the role of Anne Boleyn in Zinnemann’s film A man for all seasons (1966) stars author Agatha Christie in Michael Apteds Agatha (1977) and a sensational role as the vampiric arms dealer Max in Brian De Palmas Mission impossible (1996).
Although Redgrave is best known for her film work, she has also given memorable performances in television dramas. She has been nominated for six Emmy Awards in her career, winning for Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Play at time (1981) and Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Film Award If these walls could talk 2 (2000).
In 1994, Redgrave received the Volpi Cup for James Gray in Venice Little Odessa She later received the Golden Lion of her career for her work, which includes more than 140 films.
Throughout his career, Redgrave was always outspoken on political and social issues. She was a staunch opponent of the Vietnam War in the 1960s and throughout her life supported various political liberation movements around the world, sometimes at the expense of her career. In her later years, she was an outspoken critic of the US-led war on terrorism in the 2000s and more recently has raised awareness of the refugee crisis in Europe. Redgrave was also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
Perhaps the most prominent member of the Redgrave acting dynasty, Vanessa Redgrave’s parents Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, her siblings Lynn Redgrave and Corin Redgrave, and her daughters Joely Richardson and Natasha Richardson have all achieved success on stage and screen.
