Two-time Oscar winner Glenda Jackson dies at 87 after a short illness

Glenda Jackson, a two-time Academy Award-winning performer who had a second career in politics as a British lawmaker, has died at 87.

Jackson's agent Lionel Larner said she died on Thursday at her home in London after a short illness.

She recently completed filming The Great Escaper' in which she co-starred with Michael Caine," he said.

Jackson was one of the biggest British stars of the 1960s and 70s, and won two Academy Awards, for Women in Love and A Touch of Class.

She then went into politics, was elected to Parliament and spent 23 years as a Labour Party lawmaker.

She returned to acting after leaving Parliament and had some of her most acclaimed roles, including the title character in Shakespeare's King Lear.