Susannah York (9 January 1939 - 15 January 2011)

British actress, Susannah York, died on the 15th January at the age of 72 from bone marrow cancer.

Born on the 9th January 1939 in Chelsea London, she was the youngest daughter of Simon William Peel Vickers Fletcher, a merchant banker and steel magnate, and his first wife, Joan Nita Mary Bowring. She was educated in Troon and in Sussex and graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London in 1958, where she won the Ronson Award for most promising student.

Her film career began with a role in Tunes of Glory in 1960, co-starring with Alec Guinness and John Mills. In 1961, she played the leading role in The Greengage Summer, co-starring Kenneth More and Danielle Darrieux. In 1963 she starred in the Oscar winning film, Tom Jones, opposite Albert Finney.  Her other film credits include: A Man for All Seasons (1966), The Killing of Sister George (1968) and Battle of Britain (1969). In 1969 she was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in They Shoot Horses Don't They? She won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in Images in 1972. York also played Lara in in three of the Superman films: Superman (1978), Superman II (1980) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). Her last film, The Calling, was released in the UK in 2010. 

She had an extensive career in British television, her credits including the role of Maria Fitzherbert in Prince Regent (1979) and Mrs. Crachit in the 1984 production of A Christmas Carol. In 2003, she took on the role of hospital manager, Helen Grant, in the BBC television drama Holby City, reprising the role in its sister series Casualty in 2004.

Beyond acting, Susannah York was a political campaigner for nuclear disarmament and supporter of Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli imprisoned for revealing his country's covert nuclear programme.

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