Emma Thompson‘s mother, Phyllida Law, has passed away at the age of 94.
In a statement to BBC News on Tuesday, August 18, Law’s manager Jacky Leggo expressed, “With deep sorrow, we announce that Phyllida Law died peacefully at home, surrounded by her family, on Monday, 27th July. We collaborated for over fifty years, and she was a truly beautiful person inside and out.”
Law was the mother of two daughters, Emma, 67, and Sophie Thompson, whom she had with her late husband Eric Thompson. Law and Eric were married in 1957 and remained together until his passing in 1982 at the age of 53.
Emma has previously mentioned that following her father’s death, she and her mother developed a strong bond. Emma was 21 years old when her father passed away.
In a May 2021 interview with the Hollywood Foreign Press, the Love Actually actress reflected, “If my father were still alive, things would be quite different. We’ve grown much closer to mum because we’ve spent so much time together, taking holidays and traveling, and we all live on the same street, just three doors apart.”
She added, “We’ve become a very close-knit unit because of that experience in our lives. We are three actresses who have always had to earn our own living without relying on anyone’s support. My mum always worked, I worked throughout my marriage, and my sister continues to work. It has created a strong connection between us, which is somewhat overwhelming.”
Emma and Sophie, 64, have both pursued acting careers, inspired by their mother’s impressive career in the 1960s. Law appeared in several TV series like Play School, A Picture of Katherine Mansfield, That’s Love, Kingdom, and more. She made her film debut in 1968 with Otley.
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Law frequently appeared alongside her daughters on screen. She and Emma shared roles in films such as 1992’s Peter’s Friends, 1993’s Much Ado About Nothing, and 1997’s The Winter’s Guest. They also collaborated on 2005’s Nanny McPhee, with Emma writing and starring in the film, while Law provided the voice for Mrs. Partridge.
In 1996’s Emma, Law and Sophie portrayed a mother-daughter duo, with the film starring Gwyneth Paltrow.
Reflecting on her collaborations with her daughters, Law once remarked in a 2017 interview with The Telegraph, “In many ways, they are my colleagues. They didn’t follow in our footsteps; they raced ahead, leaving us behind.”
