She also played Gertrude opposite Kenneth Branagh in Adrian Noble’s production of Hamlet. Born Jane Burgess on December 26, 1944, in Ipswich, England, Lapotaire was given up for adoption as a baby and raised by a foster mother. She discovered her passion for acting at the age of 17 and later trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School from 1961 to 1963.

Her acting career spanned more than six decades. She first gained recognition on stage in the 1960s and rose to international fame in the 1970s. In 1980, she won a Tony Award for portraying Edith Piaf, a role that became one of the most celebrated performances of her career. Television audiences also remember Lapotaire for playing Princess Alice of Battenberg in The Crown and Princess Irina Kuragin in Downton Abbey.

In 2000, she suffered a brain hemorrhage but recovered after a long rehabilitation and later returned to acting and writing. Only weeks before her death, Lapotaire received the honor of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her contributions to drama. She is survived by her son, filmmaker Rowan Joffe.