Penelope Keith, a British actor known for her roles in sitcoms such as “The Good Life,” has died. She was 86 years old.
The BBC reported her death from cancer, citing a statement from Keith’s family.
A statement released Monday reportedly said: “It is with great sadness that we announce that Mrs. Penelope Keith has passed away peacefully from cancer at her home in Surrey, where she had lived for over 50 years.” “The family appreciates the care and support she received throughout her treatment and asks that their privacy be respected at this time.”
Keith, who was made a Dame in 2014 for her services to the arts and charity, began her career at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1963. But it was her sitcoms that made her a household name in Britain, after playing the snobbish neighbor Margo Leadbetter in The Good Life and the rich-turned-burgher Audrey in The Manor Bone.
She won numerous accolades throughout her career, including an Olivier Award for Best Comedic Performance for “Donkey’s Years” in 1976, two BAFTA TV Awards for “The Good Life” in 1977 and 1978, and a BAFTA TV Award for “To the Manor Born” in 1980.
The season finale of “To the Manor Born” Season 1 drew a record-breaking 24 million viewers, and in 2004, “The Good Life” was named one of the best British sitcoms of all time in a BBC poll.
Keith also continued his theater career into the new millennium, appearing in shows such as “Executive Stress,” “No Job for a Lady,” and “Next of Kin.” In 2004 she played Madame Arcati in the West End production of Blithe Spirit, and three years later appeared as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest.
A number of British celebrities paid tribute to Keith, including comedian and former Great British Bake Off host Sue Perkins, who called him the creator of “some of the greatest sitcom characters of all time”.
