Here's a regal quartet. Four great dames (technically, two dames and two commanders of the Order of the British Empire, one of whom is also an M.P.) who have illuminated and defined British theater, film and television for more than 40 years. And they've all played English Queens. Vanessa Redgrave was Anne Boleyn in A Man for All Seasons. Judi Dench won an Academy Award nomination as Queen Victoria in Mrs. Brown. Glenda Jackson starred as Elizabeth I twice in 1971: on an acclaimed miniseries and (opposite Redgrave) in the film Mary, Queen of Scots. As if to top Jackson's tandem, Helen Mirren won an Emmy playing the first Elizabeth in a Channel 4/hbo production, and seems assured an Oscar nomination for playing the second one in The Queen.
Too rich for your blood? Well, early in their careers, they all had topless scenes. These women can do anything. And a lot of it. British actors love to work.
To list the acting laurels these four have earned (all but Mirren have already won Oscars) would glut our allotted space. So let's discuss radiance. Redgrave, tall and severely gorgeous, has had it from birth. But theatergoers of a certain age still get shivers remembering her charisma as Gilda in Nol Coward's Design for Living, or Cleopatra to her onetime beau Timothy Dalton's Antony. Redgrave's then controversial support of the Palestinians simply added heat to the light of her reputation.
Dame Judi's sex appeal is less obviousit's the slow-burning sort that can ambush audiences distracted by her mumsy appearancebut her crisp, subtle line readings make each performance a master class in acting, even in her cameo appearances in the recent James Bond movies. Mirren, best known as detective Jane Tennison in the British TV drama series Prime Suspect, always had a smoldering sexuality to complement her cauterizing wit. Men love her for playing roles that challenge and subvert male dominance. Jackson too had the supersmarts, but her characters, like the fashion designer in A Touch of Class, were more willing to play footsie with the men she indulged.
Redgrave long ago entered the stars' pantheon. Dench and Mirren have managed something no American actress has: they're at the top of their game at 71 and 61, respectively. As for Jackson, since 1992, her stage has been the House of Commons, where some would like to see her as the next Prime Minister. That would be a challenging role. Not a Queen, but still ...