‘SUPREMELY PEACEFULLY’

Emma Thompson’s Actress Mother Dies at 94

Her last screen appearance was in 2020.

Acclaimed actor Phyllida Law, the mother of actors Emma and Sophie Thompson, has died at 94. Law died “supremely peacefully at home, surrounded by all of her family,” her longtime manager, Jacky Leggo, said. Born in Glasgow in 1932, Law initially enrolled at the Bristol Old Vic theater school hoping to become a stage designer, before discovering a love of acting she described as a “happy mistake.” Her career would span eight decades across stage, television, and film. She appeared opposite Alec Guinness in A Voyage Round My Father and later took roles in films including Much Ado About Nothing, Emma, The Time Machine, Miss Potter, and Albert Nobbs. Law frequently worked alongside her daughters, appearing with Emma in Peter’s Friends, The Winter Guest, and Nanny McPhee, and with Sophie in the 1996 adaptation of Emma. Her final screen appearance was in the 2020 film Then Came You. Law was awarded an OBE in 2014 for services to drama and charity. She is survived by Emma and Sophie.