Phyllida Law, mother of Emma and Sophie Thompson, dies aged 94

Author: Bang Showbiz,
Publish Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2026, 2:25pm

Phyllida Law died aged 94 after a career in film, TV and theatre. Photo / Getty Images

Phyllida Law has died at the age of 94.

The veteran actor died last month, but the news was only announced on Tuesday by her personal manager Jacky Leggo, who said she had “died supremely peacefully at home, surrounded by all her family”.

Jacky told the BBC: “It is with great sadness we have to announce that Phyllida Law died supremely peacefully at home, surrounded by all of her family, on Monday 27th July.

“We had worked together for over 50 years and she was a beautiful person inside and out.”

The Scottish actor – who married actor Eric Thompson in 1957 – had a vast range of roles in theatre, TV and film, including projects with her two daughters, Dame Emma Thompson and Sophie Thompson.

(From left to right) Gaia Wise, Phyllida Law and Dame Emma Thompson in London September 2025. Photo / Getty Images

She starred with Emma in films including Peter’s Friends (1992) and Much Ado About Nothing (1993), which were both directed by Emma’s then-husband Sir Kenneth Branagh, and they played mother and daughter in The Winter Guest, which the late Alan Rickman directed in 1997.

She appeared with younger daughter Sophie in Jane Austen’s Emma (1996), as well as working with her on TV series including Midsomer Murders, Doc Martin Timeshift and Poirot.

Law – who originally studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School to be a stage designer before pivoting to acting – also had movie roles in The Time Machine, Miss Potter, and Albert Nobbs, and TV parts in the likes of Waking the Dead, Foyle’s War, Rosemary + Thyme, a recurring part in ITV series Kingdom.

Her notable stage roles included an appearance alongside Alec Guinness in A Voyage Round My Father in London’s West End in 1971, and Habeas Corpus at the Oxford Playhouse in 1973. She also played Jacqueline in the original London cast of La Cage Aux Folles at the Palladium in 1986.

The actor received an OBE in 2014, and starred with John Hurt in the Oscar-nominated short film Love at First Sight in 2012.

Her husband died of a heart attack in 1982 aged 53, which Emma previously said had brought them closer together.

She reflected in 1997: “We know mum so much better because we spent so much time together, we started going on holidays and travelling together, and we all live on the same street, within three doors of each other.

“We’re far closer-knit because of [her dad’s] death in our lives.

“Also, we’re three actresses who always had to earn our own living, we’ve never been supported by anyone.

“My mum always worked, I always worked when I was married, and my sister works. So that’s created quite a strong kind of triumvirate. It’s a little alarming, actually.”