York, Susannah (1941–)

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York, Susannah (1941–)

English actress. Born Susannah Yolande Fletcher, Jan 9, 1941, in London, England; raised in Scotland; graduate of Royal Academy of Dramatic Art; m. Michael Wells, 1960 (div. 1976); children: Orlando Wells (child actor), Sasha Wells (child actor).

Made screen debut in Tunes of Glory (1960), followed by Freud; on stage, co-starred in There Was a Crooked Man (1960) and played 1st substantial role in The Greengage Summer (1961); came to prominence in Tom Jones (1963), followed by A Man for All Seasons (1966), Battle of Britain (1969), The Killing of Sister George (1968), They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), which earned her Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, as well as the "Superman" series, for which she played Christopher Reeve's mother (1978, 1980), Sands of the Kalahari (1965) Kaleidoscope (1966), Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1971), XY and Zee (1972), The Maids (1975), Conduct Unbecoming (1975), Yellowbeard (1983), The Book of Eve (2002), Visitors (2003) and Love Is a Survivor (2005); won Best Actress award at Cannes Film Festival (1972) for Images; wrote children's books In Search of Unicorns (1973) and Lark's Castle (1975).