British actress Jane Lapotaire, who won a Tony Award for her portrayal of French singer Edith Piaf in “Piaf,” died on March 5. She was 81.

The death of Lapotaire, who also won an Olivier Award for her performance, was originally reported by The Guardian. No cause of death was given.

During her long career, Lapotaire performed with the Bristol Old Vic, the National Theatre, The Young Vic — which she co-founded in 1970 — and the Royal Shakespeare Company, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

She received a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 2025 and attended her investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Feb. 17, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Lapotaire won the Olivier Award in 1979 for her role in “Piaf” on Broadway, and she won a Tony two years later, Deadline reported.

She won the Best Performance by a Leading Actress/Play, beating out Glenda Jackson (“Rose”), Eva Le Gallienne (“To Grandmother’s House We Go”) and Elizabeth Taylor (“The Little Foxes”), the entertainment news website reported.

Born on Dec. 26, 1944, in Ipswich, England, Lapotaire was raised by her teenage mother’s French foster mother, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

After being turned down by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she studied acting at the Bristol Old Vic for two years before joining the National Theatre in 1967.

Lapotaire was teaching a Shakespeare master class in Paris in early 2000 when she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, The Guardian reported.

Her recovery was slow, but she used her time to write her memoir, "Time Out of Mind“ (2003), and reissued her first memoir, ”Everybody’s Daughter, Nobody’s Child“ (2007).

Lapotaire’s film résumé included such works as “Antony and Cleopatra” (1972), “Lady Jane” (1986), “Surviving Picasso” (1996) and “Shooting Fish” (1997).

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