--- name: "Susannah York" canonical: "https://film.one/person/susannah-york" roles: ["Actor"] born: "9 January 1939" died: "15 January 2011" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 62 average_as: "actor" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-09-20T04:30:55.747244+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Susannah York Actor. Born 9 January 1939 in Chelsea, London, England, UK. Died 15 January 2011. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 9 January 1939, Chelsea, London, England, UK - **Died:** 15 January 2011 - **Active:** 1963–1987 - **Also known as:** Сюзанна Йорк, Susannah Yolande Fletcher - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination - **Average Fi1m score:** 62, as actor, over 3 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1960s 78 (2), 1980s 30 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 62 to 59 across 3 titles - **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 1 of 2 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** History 2, Action 1, Adventure 1, Comedy 1, Drama 1, Romance 1 - **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $65m across 2 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susannah_York, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q225509, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0948772/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/13326 ## Streaming the US now - **The Roku Channel:** [*A Man for All Seasons*](https://film.one/film/a-man-for-all-seasons.md) (81) - **HBO Max:** [*Tom Jones*](https://film.one/film/tom-jones.md) (74) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Susannah York > Susannah York arrived as the English rose and spent the rest of the 1960s trying to be cast as something else. She was best as the still, sane figure in a loud room, and later as women coming apart. In *Tom Jones* (1963) everyone around Susannah York is shouting. Hugh Griffith's Squire Western roars at his dogs and falls off things, Edith Evans purses her lips at the whole county, and Albert Finney grins his way through Fielding. York plays Sophie Western, the one sane person in the picture, with a straight back and a good deal of patience. It is the hardest job in the film. We found ourselves watching her rather than the crowd, because she is the only one behaving as though the eighteenth century were real and not a party. That was her breakthrough, and for a while it fixed her as a type. She had begun on screen in 1960 with *Tunes of Glory*, and *The Greengage Summer* (1961) and *Tom Jones* between them made her the fair, blue-eyed English girl who is decent and put upon and waits for the hero to grow up. She did not see herself that way. "I always felt that I was a character actor, I never felt that I was a star," she said, and the parts she chose bear it out. *Freud* (1962) had already given her a patient rather than a sweetheart. After *A Man for All Seasons* (1966), where she played Margaret More, came *The Killing of Sister George* (1968), then *They Shoot Horses, Don't They?* (1969), as Alice, a woman losing her grip at a dance marathon, and *Images* (1972), Robert Altman's film about an author who may be losing her mind. The shape is plain enough. For a decade she was hired for her composure, and then, increasingly, for what happened when it broke. Tony Richardson used the composure. Altman used the break. The fair complaint about the early years is that the sweet parts were too small for her, and that it took until the end of the 1960s for anyone to hand her a woman with something wrong inside. When they did, the composure turned out to have been the interesting thing all along: it is more frightening to watch a steady person come loose than a nervous one. Later there was *Superman* (1978), as Lara, Superman's mother, a part she carried into the sequels, and after that a good deal of stage work, television and writing for children. She died in 2011. Start with *Tom Jones*, where she is doing the quiet job in a loud film and doing it properly. Then go looking for *Images*, and see what she did when a director finally stopped asking her to keep still. ## Biography Susannah York was an English actress. She played Sophie Western in *Tom Jones* (1963). She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and made her screen debut in *Tunes of Glory* (1960). York appeared in *A Man for All Seasons* (1966) as Margaret More, *They Shoot Horses, Don't They?* (1969) as Alice LeBlanc, and the *Superman* films (1978, 1980, 1987) as Lara. She received a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress for *They Shoot Horses, Don't They?* and won the Best Actress award at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival for *Images*. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, britannica.com.* ## On Fi1m (3) - *Superman IV: The Quest for Peace* (1987), Fi1m 30, as Lara (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/superman-iv-the-quest-for-peace.md) - *A Man for All Seasons* (1966), Fi1m 81, as Margaret More — [page](https://film.one/film/a-man-for-all-seasons.md) - *Tom Jones* (1963), Fi1m 74, as Sophie Western — [page](https://film.one/film/tom-jones.md) ## Complete filmography (93) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *The Calling* (2010), as The Prioress - *Franklyn* (2008), as Margaret - *The Stoning* (2006), as Jean Fielding - *The Gigolos* (2006), as Tessa Harrington - *Norfolk Coast* (2006), Actor - *A Guest of life* (2006), as Narrator - *The Divine Michelangelo* (2004), series, as Narrator - *Visitors* (2003), as Carolyn Perry - *The Book of Eve* (2002), as May - *Jean* (2000), Actor - *St. Patrick: The Irish Legend* (2000), as Concessa - *Romance and Rejection (So This Is Romance?)* (1997), as Mike's Mum - *Loop* (1997), as Olivia - *Pretty Princess* (1993), as regina Cristina - *The Higher Mortals* (1993), as Miss Thorogood - *Illusions* (1992), as Dr. Sinclair - *Trainer* (1991), series, as Rachel Ware - *Devices and Desires* (1991), series, as Meg Dennison - *The Man from the Pru* (1990), as Amy Wallace - *Fate* (1990), Actor - *Barbablù, Barbablù* (1989), as Teresa - *A Handful of Time* (1989), as Susanne Walker - *After the War* (1989), series, Actor - *Melancholia* (1989), as Catherine Lanham Franck - *Just Ask for Diamond* (1988), as Lauren Bacardi - *A Summer Story* (1988), as Mrs. Dora Narracombe - *Mio in the Land of Faraway* (1987), as The Weaver Woman - *The Ruth Rendell Mysteries* (1987), series, as Liz - *Superman IV: The Quest for Peace* (1987), as Lara (voice) — Fi1m 30, [page](https://film.one/film/superman-iv-the-quest-for-peace.md) - *The Animals Roadshow* (1987), series, Actor - *Pretty Kill* (1987), as Toni - *The Struggles for Poland* (1987), series, as Narrator (UK version) - *Casualty* (1986), series, as Helen Grant - *Daemon* (1985), as Rachel - *Star Quality* (1985), as Lorraine Barry - *The Ray Bradbury Theater* (1985), series, as Nora - *Screen Two* (1985), series, as Amy Wallace - *A Christmas Carol* (1984), as Mrs. Cratchit - *Yellowbeard* (1983), as Lady Churchill - *Alice* (1982), as Queen of Hearts · Writer - *We'll Meet Again* (1982), series, as Dr Helen Dereham - *Loophole* (1981), as Dinah Booker - *Late Flowering Love* (1981), Actor - *Superman II* (1980), as Lara - *Falling in Love Again* (1980), as Sue Lewis (Present Day) · Screenplay - *The Awakening* (1980), as Jane Turner - *Alphabet: The Story of Writing* (1980), as Narrator - *The Golden Gate Murders* (1979), as Sister Benecia - *Superman* (1978), as Lara - *Long Shot* (1978), as An Actress - *The Silent Partner* (1978), as Julie - *The Shout* (1978), as Rachel Fielding - *The Adventures of Eliza Fraser* (1976), as Eliza Fraser - *Sky Riders* (1976), as Ellen Bracken - *Conduct Unbecoming* (1975), as Marjorie Scarlett - *That Lucky Touch* (1975), as Julia Richardson - *The Maids* (1975), as Claire - *Fallen Angels* (1974), as Julia Sterroll - *Gold* (1974), as Terry Steyner - *Orson Welles' Great Mysteries* (1973), series, as Countess Josephine - *Duhallow Home* (1973), as Sarah’s words spoken - *Images* (1972), as Cathryn · Novel - *The Creditors* (1972), as Tekla - *Zee and Co.* (1972), as Stella - *Happy Birthday, Wanda June* (1971), as Penelope Ryan - *Jane Eyre* (1970), as Jane Eyre - *Brotherly Love* (1970), as Hilary Dow - *They Shoot Horses, Don't They?* (1969), as Alice LeBlanc - *Battle of Britain* (1969), as Section Officer Maggie Harvey - *Lock Up Your Daughters* (1969), as Hilaret - *Oh! What a Lovely War* (1969), as Eleanor - *Duffy* (1968), as Segolene - *The Killing of Sister George* (1968), as Alice 'Childie' McNaught - *Sebastian* (1968), as Rebecca Howard - *ITV Playhouse* (1967), series, as Grace - *A Man for All Seasons* (1966), as Margaret More — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/a-man-for-all-seasons.md) - *Kaleidoscope* (1966), as Angel McGinnis - *The Fall of the House of Usher* (1966), as Madeleine Usher - *Mystery and Imagination* (1966), series, as Madeleine Usher - *Sands of the Kalahari* (1965), as Grace Munkton - *I Took My Little World Away* (1965), as Mandy Hope - *Scruggs* (1965), as Susan - *The Importance of Being Earnest* (1964), Actor - *Thursday Theatre* (1964), series, as Milly Theale - *The 7th Dawn* (1964), as Candace Trumpey - *Scene Nun, Take One* (1964), as The Actress - *Theatre 625* (1964), series, as Jane, Bronwen - *Tom Jones* (1963), as Sophie Western — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/tom-jones.md) - *Freud: The Secret Passion* (1962), as Cecily Koertner - *The Greengage Summer* (1961), as Joss Grey - *Tunes of Glory* (1960), as Morag Sinclair - *There Was a Crooked Man* (1960), as Ellen - *Armchair Theatre* (1956), series, as Linda, Anna, Cecily Cardew, Mandy Hope, Tekla ## Gallery - ![Susannah York](https://film.one/media/person/462453/gallery-1ce8586e00b1.jpg) Susannah York — Alberto Botella, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Susannah_York.JPG/1280px-Susannah_York.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Susannah York](https://film.one/media/person/462453/gallery-41c962f1bd39.jpg) Susannah York — Image via TMDB - ![Susannah York](https://film.one/media/person/462453/gallery-978283f5b627.jpg) Susannah York — Image via TMDB - ![Susannah York](https://film.one/media/person/462453/gallery-b5552bf6abca.jpg) Susannah York — Image via TMDB - ![Susannah York](https://film.one/media/person/462453/gallery-bcac47ca3275.jpg) Susannah York — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated - 1970: Best Supporting Actress (nominated), for *They Shoot Horses, Don't They?* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/susannah-york