British actor Glynis Johns, best known for playing the “Sister Suffragette”-singing mother Winifred Banks in the 1964 classic Mary Poppins, has died at 100.
According to Johns’ manager Mitch Clem, the actor passed away on Thursday (January 4th) from natural causes in a West Hollywood assisted living facility.
“Glynis powered her way through life with intelligence, wit, and a love for performance, affecting millions of lives,” Clem said in a statement. “She entered my life early in my career and set a very high bar on how to navigate this industry with grace, class, and truth. Your own truth. Her light shined very brightly for 100 years. She had a wit that could stop you in your tracks powered by a heart that loved deeply and purely.”
Born on October 5th, 1923, in Pretoria, South Africa to actor Mevyn Johns and concert pianist Alyce Steele-Wareham, Johns was raised in London, where she first graced the stage as a child ballerina. Johns quickly made a splash on the stage and screen alike, eventually catching the attention of creators like Stephen Sondheim and Walt Disney, who both specifically sought her out for roles.
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Johns received an Oscar nomination for her supporting role in 1960’s The Sundowners, and received a Golden Globe nomination for her work in 1962’s The Chapman Report. She also won a Tony for her performance as Desiree Armfeldt in the original production of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, where she sang “Send in the Clowns.”
In 1963, Johns also starred in her own self-titled CBS sitcom Glynis. Other notable titles in Johns’ repertoire include The Court Jester, Under Milk Wood, Miranda, and Mad About Men. She gave her final film performance in the 1999 Molly Shannon comedy Superstar.
Johns was married four times, and had one son, the late actor Gareth Forwood. She is survived by her grandson, writer-director Thomas Forwood.
