Vanessa Redgrave

Screen Shot 2020-03-08 at 6.49 — Vanessa Redgrave in *Isadora*

Vanessa Heatwave (1937 -)

Film Deaths[]

Isadora (The Loves of Isadora) (1968) [Isadora Duncan]: Neck accidentally snapped when her scarf gets caught in the rear wheel of her “closest roommate” ‘s dad’s paddlewheeler.
Dropout (1970) [Mary]: Shot to death by police as she chases after Franco Nero.
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) [Mary, Queen of Scots]: Executed (off-camera) by beheading; we only see the axe descending, followed by a scene of Glenda Jackson holding Vanessa's Bible and rosary.
Julia (1977) [Julia]: Stabbed to death by Nazi soldiers after they break into her bedroom. When the scene occurs, it's ambiguous whether we're seeing her murder as it happens, or seeing Jane Fonda dreaming of it. However, we later learn that Vanessa was indeed killed in the way we saw.
Howards End (1992) [Ruth Wilcox]: Dies of natural causes; it's been so long since I've seen this movie, I can't recall whether her death or body was shown on-screen.
The House of the Spirits (1993) [Nivea del Valle]: Decapitated when the car is hit by a train while she's riding with Armin Mueller-Stahl.
Little Odessa (1994) [Irina Shapira]: Dies of a heart attack in her kitchen, collapsing in front of her son (Edward Furlong).
Deep Impact (1998) [Robin Lerner]: Commits suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills. The movie intercuts between a scene of Vanessa preparing for her suicide and a scene of Elijah Wood and Leelee Sobieski's wedding; Vanessa's body is shown sitting in a chair at the end of this cross-cutting sequence.
Evening (2007) [Ann Lord]: Dies of an unspecified illness as her family gathers by her bedside.
The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh (2012) [Rosalind Leigh]: Dies, presumably of old age/natural causes. (I have not seen this film, but her death is mentioned in the story outline on the film's IMDB listing.)
Song for Marion (Unfinished Song) (2012) [Marion]: Dies from terminal cancer when Terence Stamp awakens in their bed to find her struggling, followed by a cut to their son (Christopher Eccleston) talking to paramedics about her passing.
Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) [Annabeth Westfall]: Dies (off-screen), presumably of old age/natural causes, at some point between her last scene and the later portion of the story. (Her death is not mentioned in the dialogue, but considering the character's age in her final scene and the length of the story's timeline, it can be assumed.)
Foxcatcher (2014) [Jean du Pont]: Dies (off-screen) from old age; her death is revealed when Mark Ruffalo asks why her son (Steve Carell) was not there for Channing Tatum's final round.
Mission Impossible - Fallout (2018) [Max]: Vanessa doesn't appear in the film, but her character from the 1996 film is said to have died offscreen by her daughter (Vanessa Kirby).

Television Deaths[]

Faerie Tale Theatre: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1984) [The Evil Queen]: Dies when her heart literally turns to stone because of her jealousy of Elizabeth McGovern.
Orpheus Descending (1990) [Lady Torrance]: Shot twice in the stomach by Brad Sullivan. (See also Anna Magnani in the 1959 version The Fugitive Kind).
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (What Ever Happened to...?) (1991) [Blanche Hudson]: Dies of exposure and/or exhaustion when Lynn Redgrave brings her out to the beach after a lengthy period of confinement & torture. (See also Joan Crawford in the 1962 version.)
Young Catherine (1991) [Empress Elizabeth]: Dies of old age/natural causes.
The Thirteenth Tale (2013) [Vida Winter]: Dies of pancreatic cancer.

Gallery[]

Noteworthy Connections[]

Daughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson.
Sister of Lynn Redgrave and Corin Redgrave.
Ex-wife of Tony Richardson (director).
Wife of Franco Nero.
Mother of Joely Richardson, Natasha Richardson, and Carlo Gabriel Nero (director).