At 80, Vanessa Redgrave has had a long and successful career, both on stage and screen. Born into theater royalty, she has more than acquitted herself with numerous awards and a devoted fan base. Here's a partial list of her extensive filmography.
In Blowup, Miss Redgrave plays a young woman trying to seduce a dissipated photographer's film and the possibly damaging material on it from David Hemmings. Michelangelo Antonioni directed this breakout 1966 film.
Camelot proved that the young Vanessa could not only hold her own against the likes of Richard Harris, but sing and dance as well.
Redgrave won an Oscar for Julia, rumored to based on the life of Lillian Hellman, who was born to great wealth and traveled the world advocating for left-wing causes. This was one of the few film role Redgrave took during the 1970s, when she focused more on her political work.
Never one to shy away from controversy, Redgrave took the part of real-life Holocaust survivor Fania Fenelon over Fenelon's objections in CBS' miniseries Playing for Time. Redgrave is well-known (some might say notorious) for her support of the Palestinians.
In Orpheus Descending, Vanessa Redgrave plays the lovelorn wife of a vicious, dying man. When a sexy stranger comes to town, the stage is set for tragedy in this adaptation of a play by Tennessee Williams.
Redgrave takes the title role in Mrs. Dalloway, based on a novel by Virginia Woolf. In this film, Clarissa Dalloway prepares for a party and ends up on a detour into her past.
One of Redgrave's most current roles (she may never retire) is as Mature Jenny Lee, the author of Call the Midwife, a trilogy of books turned into an excellent series by the BBC.
Of course, Vanessa Redgrave has also had some inspired smaller parts and cameos in great films, including Coriolanus, Mission:Impossible, and Howards End.
If you're wondering what she herself thinks about all this, Redgrave has also written an autobiography: Vanessa Redgrave. While it came out in 1994, it still offers insight into this fascinating, complex woman.