Zoe Caldwell, a four-time Tony Award winner and film actress, died on Tuesday at the age of 86 from complications due to Parkinson’s disease, according to her son.
Born in Melbourne in 1933, Caldwell began her theatrical career at the age of nine in a production of “Peter Pan” and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in London at the age of 20. In 1965, she made her Broadway debut in the John Whiting play “The Devils,” and a year later she won her first Tony for her performance in the Tennessee Williams play “Slapstick Tragedy. She later won Tonys for her performances in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” in 1968, “Medea” in 1982, and “Master Class” in 1995.
Outside of Broadway, Caldwell was best known for her voice work in the 2002 Disney film “Lilo & Stitch.” Caldwell played the Grand Councilwoman, an alien leader who sentences Stitch to exile to protect the galaxy from his dangerous nature but later allows him to stay on Earth. Caldwell reprised the role in straight-to-video sequels and a Disney Channel TV series based on the film.
Caldwell married theatre director and producer Robert Whitehead in 1968. They were together until his death in 2002. She is survived by two sons, Sam and Charlie Whitehead; and two grandchildren, Ross and Ward.