BRITISH ACTRESS SUSANNA York passed away yesterday at the age of 72 after suffering from cancer, her son actor Orlando Wells has said.

A highly-regarded actress in both film and television, York received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for her performance in the film They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969). She won a Bafta for the same role.

Wells told The Telegraph that York was “an absolutely fantastic mother”, and added: “She loved nothing more than cooking a good Sunday roast and sitting around a fire of a winter’s evening. In some sense, she was quite a home girl. Both Sasha [his sister] and I feel incredibly lucky to have her as a mother.”

Born Susannah Yolande Fletcher in London in January 1939, York was first approached by an agent after performing in Heinrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House. She went on to secure roles in such films as Tunes of Glory (1960), The Maids (1974), Zee and Co (1972), Superman (1978), Prince Regent (1979), and We’ll Meet Again (1982).

Wells told The Telegraph: “She was a woman with grace and stature. She had advanced bone marrow cancer which she had an operation for. But, last Thursday, she had a scan and then the descent was fast. In the end, her death was painless and quick.”

He added, “She was a fantastic mother and the most extraordinary actress”.