Joan Plowright, the distinguished actress of the post-war British stage whose considerable skill as a performer was at times eclipsed by her fame as the third and last wife of Laurence Olivier, has died. She was 95.

LONDON -- Award-winning British actor Joan Plowright, who was one half of a theatrical power couple after marrying Laurence Olivier, has died. She was 95. In a statement Friday, her family said Plowright died the previous day at Denville Hall, a retirement home for actors in southern England, surrounded by her loved ones.

Joan Plowright, an English actress whose marriage to celebrated actor-director Laurence Olivier conferred on her instant rank among the theatrical nobility and who carved her own considerable and singular place on the British stage,