Barbara Leigh-Hunt dies aged 88 after brilliant acting career

Iconic actress Barbara Leigh-Hunt has passed away aged 88.

The English star, who is known for playing ill-fated Brenda in Alfred Hitchcock's epic film Frenzy, passed away peacefully on September 16 at her home in Warwickshire - according to her family's statement.

The Olivier Award-winner is also well-remembered for playing Lady Catherine de Bourgh in 1995 series adaptation of Pride and Prejudice alongside Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

Some might even remember her playing the vice principal in the blockbuster Billy Elliott (2000).

The beloved actress - who was capable of stunning audiences on both big and small screens for decades also appeared in films as Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972), Bequest to the Nation (1973), Joe Camp's Oh Heavenly Dog (1980), Paper Mask (1990), A Merry War (1997),  Billy Elliot (2000) and Mira Nair's Vanity Fair (2004).

But Barbara's brilliant career spans way more than that, as she dedicated a huge part of her life to theatre - including Broadway productions of Hamlet, Sherlock Holmes and Justice.

She was also the recipient of an Olivier Award in 1993 for Best Supporting Actress for the National Theatre production of An Inspector Calls.

The iconic performer was trained Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and later on joined the Old Vic company in London, and graduated in 1953 being accoladed as the 'most promising student'.

The actress was born daughter of Elizabeth and Austin Leigh-Hunt in Bath, Somerset, on December 14 1935.

Mum 'Betty' left her father soon afterwards and raised Barbara as a single mum while juggling between working for Boots and parenting duties, without any financial help.

Her mother soon afterwards left her father and brought up Barbara with no financial help, working for Boots.

But throughout time, despite the living struggles, the doting mum continued to take her daughter to the theatre in Bath or Bristol regularly.

Following her theatrical debut in 1954, the beloved actress travelled on tour with the company to the US and Canada in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night.

The theatre alum eventually earned a huge success with the West End production of 'Mrs Mouse Are You Within' in 1968. 

Proving her wide range that encompassed both intense comedy and drama - Barbara also played in David Hare's milestone Racing Demon, Murmuring Judges and The Absence of War - about the clergy, the law and the Labour party at the National in 1993.

Her very first television debut was in 1956 in The Recording Angells - which opened her the doors to a series of show appearances including Callan (1967), Special Branch (1969), A Perfect Hero (1991), and many more.

The actress' first film debut was nevertheless than Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972), and in the same year she starred in Henry VII And His Six Wives, where she played Catherine Parr.

Barbara previously described the legendary English director as a 'perfect gentleman', recalling that after each day of filming, Hitchcock would dropped her off at her Baker Street lodging, and head to Claridge’s.

The next year she appeared in Bequest The Nation alongside acting legends Glenda Jackson and Peter Finch.

Barbara was happily married to late husband and TV star Richard Pasco since 1967 - as the Mrs Brown actor eventually passed away in 2014.

The A Marry War sensation is also a long-time pal of Dame Judi Dench and her ex husband Michael Williams - as she was made godmother of the former couple's daughter Finty Williams.

Barbara starred also starred alongside the couple in Hugo Whitemore’s Pack of Lies in 1983 – opposite to Judi, 89, and Michael, 65, in a theatre play about spycatching in the suburbs.