By Lubna Abdel-Aziz To her fellow actors she cuts a striking figure of dignity and versatility, a formidable competitor who fills them with a little trepidation and unparalleled admiration. To the rest of us millions of admiring fans for almost half a century she is nothing less than royalty, a worthy descendant of the House of Redgrave. On January 30, 1937 at an evening performance of Hamlet, Lawrence Olivier made this curtain announcement: "Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight a great actress has been born. Laertes has a daughter." The father was Michael Redgrave, the daughter, Vanessa! She would not disappoint. In fact she exceeded all expectations. A bright, blue-eyed auburn-haired beauty, she grew up to be a head above the rest in more ways than one. Young Vanessa Redgrave felt awkward in her statuesque 180 cm frame. Her father encouraged her to walk tall, and straight, and proud, "be severe, demanding, a person of taste", he advised. She followed his advice to the letter. She has always been regal enough to be queen, graceful enough to be a dancer, and intelligent enough to be on top of her profession for the last 44 years. Whether in England or Hollywood, on stage or on film, Vanessa is nothing less than perfect. Age has not diminished her vitality or enthusiasm, her compassion or her compelling allure. Controversial, she certainly is, but even if her emotional life has been a roller coaster, her professional life has been a steady climb of paramount achievements. Born to a distinguished English family of actors, her grandparents stage actors, her father, Sir Michael Redgrave and her mother Lady Rachel (Kempson), her siblings Lynn and Corin Redgrave. She married Oscar-winning director Tony Richardson (Tom Jones, 1963) and her two daughters Natasha and Joely Richardson both actresses. Her son Carlo Nero recently joined the film world as director. After finishing the Central School of Speech and Drama, Vanessa embarked on a stage career, and starred opposite her father on the screen in Behind the Mask in 1958. She did not return to film for the next eight years during which time she dazzled audiences with her performances of Shakespeare's heroines at the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1966 she burst on the silver screen like a shooting star in three memorable films, the cult classic Morgan, for which she received her first Oscar nomination, Fred Zinnemann's A Man For All Seasons, and Michelangelo Antonioni's first film in English, Blow Up, an engaging provocative murder mystery that examines the existential nature of reality through photography. It quickly became one of the most important and influential films of the decade, making Vanessa a major star. Sincerity and loyalty lit up her face, flooding the screen with splendour. After six decades and 70 films, she still remains tall, lean and strong, with a superb sense of timing that seems to improve with age. Today, she is even more accomplished and more in demand than ever. Renowned critic, Roger Ebert wrote in his review of her delightful performance in A Month by the Lake (1995): "This comedienne should still be carrying films in her 90s." There should be very little doubt of that. Her extraordinary career does not wholly define this very gifted queen of stage and screen. While a queen is so far above men, something so august and lofty, this queen is happiest when she is in the service of her subjects. Acting is her livelihood, her passion, but nothing equals the thrill that fills her when she is working hard at easing the suffering of others. She has been tireless in carrying the banner for unpopular causes at any cost. That has been her life-long mission. Her significant dramatic achievements, which include five Oscar nominations, one Oscar win and two Cannes Palmes d'Or, are matched only by her profound human sense of political courage. She has adopted such causes as global nuclear disarmament, apartheid in South Africa, independence for Northern Ireland. She has opposed the Vietnam War, and has fought for the freedom of Soviet Jews. At present she is working on behalf of Bosnian Muslims and other victims of Serb aggression, which she calls: "the second European genocide". I myself am proud to have walked by her side behind Bertrand Russell in an anti-nuclear demonstration in the streets of London in the 60s. I was inspired by her commitment, enraged by her anger, sparked by her fire. In 1979 Redgrave financed and narrated a documentary sympathetic to a cause that has been close to her heart ever since she first heard of it -- the cause of the Palestinians. The film explores the life of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation. The vast Hollywood machinery was up in arms. She was burned in effigy outside CBS studios in Hollywood, snipers fired shots into one of the buildings where she was working, and their TV station received numerous bomb threats. The Boston Symphony cancelled a performance of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex with narration by Vanessa Redgrave for fear of offending the Jewish community. The furor over her concern for The Palestinians was a grotesque and horrible insult to Miss Redgrave who has regularly demonstrated her outrage for the Jewish victims of WWII. She displayed her profound outrage in her Emmy-winning performance in the TV drama about the holocaust, Playing for Time (1986). She won her Academy Award for portraying Julia (1977), heroine of the anti-Nazi underground, based on the book by author Lillian Hellman played by Jane Fonda. In her acceptance speech she referred to noisy demonstrators outside the theatre as "Zionist hoodlums". Redgrave has been fearless in expressing her unpopular views, and has always remained constant in her dedication to the sufferings of the downtrodden, regardless of their ethnic or religious background. In order to produce The Palestinians, Vanessa sold two houses she owned in London. After visiting Lebanon and the Sabra and Shatila camps, she observed that everything that the South Africans suffered under Apartheid is true of the Palestinians: "with one essential difference -- Palestinians do not have the right to live in their own country, not even to be buried there!" Her fairy-like magnificence and her piercing glances, have pierced many a man's heart, among them Franco Nero (Carlo's father), Timothy Dalton, Warren Beatty and even Fidel Castro. By keeping busy and vital, she has remained young, interested, and interesting at all times. It is no surprise that Cairenes are ecstatic to have her in their midst as special guest of the 26th Cairo International Film Festival, where she was honoured with a Life Achievement Award. She does not fade, she does not age. She picked two of her six Academy Award nominations in the 80s and 90s. She just keeps working. She believes: "without work, you have no identity." She changes her hide, her style, her looks. Ageless and resourceful, she has performed superbly in dramas, comedies, romances and even musicals. In 1966 she played Anne Boleyn in A Man For All Seasons opposite Paul Scofield, and in 1988 she wore the robes of Lady Alice More opposite Charlton Heston in the TV production of the same play. She has left an indelible image as one of the screen's most magnificent heroines of the 20th century. She is a woman for every season, for all seasons. She is booked till 2004 in various films and theatre projects. Among her numerous awards is Britain's honourable Commander of the British Empire. Yet her coveted crown is her wholehearted love for the human race. Few will disagree with the late playwright Tennessee Williams' view of her when he said: "She is simply the greatest actress of our time."
