Phyllida Law, the acclaimed actor and mother of Emma and Sophie Thompson, has died aged 94. Her death was announced on 27 July 2026, following a career that spanned over six decades in theatre, television, and film. Law was also a costume designer and author, known for the subtle quality of her performances.
Career Highlights and Family Ties
Law appeared alongside her daughters in several productions. In 2005, she starred with Emma in the film Nanny McPhee, and in 1996, she played the mother of Sophie's Miss Bates in the television adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. During Emma's marriage to Kenneth Branagh, Law appeared in his films, including Much Ado About Nothing (1993), where she played Ursula.
Her television work included Midsomer Murders (2011), Barchester Chronicles (1982), Kingdom, All or Nothing at All, and guest spots in Foyle's War and Doc Martin in 2008. Her last stage appearance was as Aunt Juliana in Hedda Gabler at the Chichester Minerva theatre in 1996.
Stage Career and Critical Acclaim
Law's stage career began in the 1950s with the Old Vic and Bristol Old Vic, where she performed in Shakespeare, John Osborne, and Arthur Miller plays. She met her future husband, Eric Thompson, at the Bristol Old Vic; they married in 1957. Thompson was the writer and narrator of The Magic Roundabout from 1965 to 1977.
In 1967, Law transferred to the West End in Peter Nichols's A Day in the Death of Joe Egg. She appeared with Alec Guinness in A Voyage Round My Father (1971) and in Alan Bennett's Habeas Corpus (1973). She also mastered Alan Ayckbourn's Absent Friends (1975) with Richard Briers.
Law was directed by Alan Rickman in The Winter Guest (1995) at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and the Almeida in London. Her performance as a wistful mother was praised, and Emma Thompson later took the role in the film version. She also appeared in La Cage aux Folles (1986) and The Merry Wives of Windsor (1990) at Chichester.
Later Life and Legacy
Law wrote three books, including Notes to My Mother-in-Law (2009) and How Many Camels Are There in Holland? Dementia, Ma and Me (2013), which reflected on her mother's dementia. She received an honorary doctorate from Glasgow University in 2013 and was appointed OBE in 2014.
Her husband Eric Thompson died in 1982 at age 53. Law lived in West Hampstead, London, near her daughters, and had a family cottage in Argyll. She was a prominent member of the Theatrical Guild charity. She is survived by Emma and Sophie Thompson and four grandchildren: Tindy, Gaia, Ernie, and Walter.
