Getty US actor Christopher Plummer arrives at the premiere of his film "The Insider" with his daughter Amanda.
Christopher Plummer passed away on Friday, February 5 at the age of 91. The legendary actor, known for his decades-long career in films including The Sound of Music and Knives Out, was at his home in Connecticut when he died, Variety reports.
Plummer is survived by his wife, Elaine Taylor, and his daughter, Amanda Plummer. Deadline reports that Plummer died “peacefully at his home in Connecticut, with Elaine Taylor, his wife and true best friend for 53 years by his side.”
Here’s what you need to know about Christopher Plummer’s family:
1. Plummer’s Wedding to Taylor Was His Third Marriage
GettyChristopher Plummer & Elaine Taylor
Christopher Plummer and Elaine Taylor was married in Canada on October 2, 1970. In his memoir, In Spite of Myself, Plummer reflected on the wedding, writing, “[Reverend Moreton] was tall and exceptionally handsome with a beautiful speaking voice, which made the verses sing and gave our service an unexpected romance … It was the smallest and best wedding ever.”
Before marrying Taylor in 1970, Plummer was married two times previously. He was married to his first wife Tammy Grimes from 1956 until 1960. He was married to his second wife Patricia Lewis from 1962 until 1967.
During his first marriage, Plummer had his first and only child, a daughter named Amanda Plummer, with his then-wife Grimes. Plummer and Taylor did not have any children together.
2. Elaine Taylor Was a Bond Girl
GettyActors Elaine Taylor and Christopher Plummer arrives at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards held at Kodak Theatre on March 7, 2010 in Hollywood, California.
According to Taylor’s IMDb profile, she was a “bond girl” in Casino Royale, which was her breakout film role in 1967.
The Sun reports that Plummer and Taylor met on-set while filming Lock Up Your Daughters in 1969. They were married in Montreal, Canada the following year.
Taylor’s other credits include TV’s The Organization (Veronica), The Newcomers (Penelope Barnett), and The Lance Percival Show. Her most recent credit, per her IMDb profile, was in 1992; she played “Female Bank Officer” in the TV movie Till Death Do Us Part.
3. Amanda Plummer Is an Actress & Tony Award Winner
GettyChristopher Plummer’s daughter Amanda Plummer.
In 1993, Plummer talked to Rolling Stone about her unique upbringing as the daughter of two actors. She said, “Because you are an actor’s daughter or son, it’s assumed that you’re terribly unhappy because they were working and not around. But I had a fascinating childhood.”
Plummer had her first acting role as a baby, appearing in Broadway’s The Unsinkable Molly Brown; her professional, off-Broadway debut was at the age of 14. Of her experience growing up around the theater, she told Rolling Stone, “Backstage isn’t a child’s world. You have to be quiet and professional, and everyone has a job. A mother can’t be a mother, because you’ve got this work to do. A child is an outsider, a guest.”
Plummer won a Tony Award in 192 for “Best Featured Actress in a Play,” for her work in Agnes of God. She has two additional Tony nominations and has starred in a number of major films, including Pulp Fiction, The Fisher King, and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
4. Christopher & Amanda Plummer Did Not Have a Close Relationship When She Was Young but Grew Close in Her Adulthood
GettyActor Christopher Plummer attends as AT;T presents the U.S. premiere of “The Exception” at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center on on April 26, 2017.
Plummer told Rolling Stone that she understood why her father wasn’t around much when she was growing up, but that she watched his plays and films to stay connected to him. She explained, “My parents stuffed me with poetry and music and beauty. Mum … Mum’s great lady. And Dad, who didn’t spend much time with me when I was growing up. The way I saw him was on stage and screen. It’s not a sob story, that’s just the way it was.”
Continuing, Plummer told Rolling Stone that in spite of his absence in her youth, “I love my father so fuckin’ much. I don’t know what to do with all the love I have for him. We get together now, and we have a great time.”
In the New York Times’ 2008 piece “Christopher Plummer’s legendary life, wonderfully retold,” Alex Witchell writes of Plummer’s autobiography and what it reveals about his relationship with his daughter. Witchell writes, “From the time he and Grimes split in 1960 until 1981, he saw the child only once, during a visit to London when she was 8. Though he says she ‘has become more of a friend now,’ the relationship raises all sorts of questions, none of them happy.”
5. Plummer, Who Was Born in Canada, Was His Parents’ Only Child
According to Deadline, Plummer was raised in Montreal, Canada, which is where his love for and pursuit of acting began.
According to the New York Times, Plummer was the great-grandson of Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott, former president of the Canada Central Railway and the country’s first native-born prime minister.
His IMDb profile indicates that he was his parents’ only child. Plummer became a parent himself at the age of 27 when Amanda was born on March 23, 1957. Amanda is not married nor does not have kids; Plummer did not have any grandchildren.
Per Variety, Plummer’s manager Lou Pitt paid tribute to his late friend as news of his passing spread. In a statement, Pitt said, “Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self deprecating humor and the music of words. He was a National Treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come. He will forever be with us.”
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Christopher Plummer’s Kids & Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know