Actress Susannah York dies at 72

BRITISH stage and screen star Susannah York has died at the age of 72 after suffering from cancer, it was announced last night.

She was best known for her role opposite Jane Fonda in the 1969 film They Shoot Horses Don't They? for which she was nominated for an Oscar.

A quintessential English rose with her blonde hair, blue eyes and fresh-faced complexion, along with Julie Christie and Sarah Miles, she was one of the most recognisable actresses from films in the 1960s, winning a swathe of male admirers.

She achieved international fame in such classic films such as Tom Jones and A Man For All Seasons, and starred opposite the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift and Peter O'Toole.

Her son, actor Orlando Wells, said: "She was an absolutely fantastic mother, who was very down to earth. She loved nothing more than cooking a good Sunday roast and sitting around a fire of a winter's evening. In some sense, she was quite a home girl. Both Sasha (Orlando's sister] and I feel incredibly lucky to have her as a mother."