Phyllida Law, beloved British actress and mother of Emma Thompson, dies aged 94

Ms Law was the mother of Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson and fellow performer Sophie Thompson, with whom she frequently shared the screen throughout her distinguished career.

Born in 1932, she became one of Britain’s most versatile and enduring character actresses, equally at home in comedy, musicals and drama.

Her extensive body of work encompassed landmark theatre productions, beloved television series and acclaimed feature films, earning her an OBE for services to drama and charitable causes in 2014.

Ms Law initially enrolled at the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre school with ambitions of becoming a stage designer, before discovering a passion for performing.

It was during her time in Bristol that she met fellow actor Eric Thompson, and the pair wed in 1957.

Her television career took off in the late 1950s and 1960s, with appearances in programmes including Dr Finlay’s Casebook and Dixon of Dock Green.

It was her stage work opposite Alec Guinness that cemented her reputation as a serious theatrical talent. The pair starred in John Mortimer’s A Voyage Round My Father at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 1971, and subsequently in Alan Bennett’s Habeas Corpus at the Oxford Playhouse two years later.

She joined the National Theatre in 1979 and was cast in the inaugural London staging of the English-language musical adaptation of La Cage aux Folles.

From the late 1980s, Ms Law became a familiar presence on the big screen, frequently working alongside her daughters.