Penelope Keith, British Actor Known for ‘The Good Life,’ Dies at 86

Penelope Keith, the British actor best known for her roles in sitcoms such as “The Good Life,” has died. She was 86.

The BBC reported her death from cancer, citing a statement from Keith’s family.

“We are deeply saddened to announce that Dame Penelope Keith died peacefully whilst living with cancer at her home in Surrey where she had lived for more than 50 years,” the statement, which was released Monday, reportedly reads. “The family is grateful for the care and support she received throughout her treatments, and ask that their privacy be respected at this time.”

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Keith, who was made a dame for services to the arts and charity in 2014, began her career in 1963 when she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. But it was her sitcom work that made her a household name in the U.K., following her roles as snobbish neighbor Margo Leadbetter in “The Good Life” and riches-to-rags aristocrat Audrey in “To the Manor Born.”

She won numerous accolades during her career, including an Olivier Award for best comedy performance in 1976 for “Donkey’s Years,” two BAFTA TVs award for “The Good Life,” in 1977 and 1978, and a further BAFTA TV award for “To the Manor Born” in 1980.

The season finale of “To the Manor Born” Season 1 scored a record-breaking 24 million viewers while in 2004 “The Good Life” was voted one of the U.K.’s best all-time sitcoms in a BBC poll.

Keith also appeared in shows such as “Executive Stress,” “No Job for a Lady” and “Next of Kin” while continuing her career in the theater, well into the new millennium. In 2004 she played Madame Arcati in a West End production of “Blithe Spirit” and three years later appeared as Lady Bracknell in “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

A number of British public figures paid tribute to Keith, including comedian and former “Great British Bake Off” host Sue Perkins, who called her the creator of “some of the greatest sit com characters of all time.”