Actress Susannah York Dies at Age 72

British actress Susannah York, one of the most memorable film actresses of the 1960s and a veteran of the UK stage, died from cancer at the age of 72.

York was best known for her role opposite Jane Fonda in the 1969 film "They Shoot Horses Don't They?" She received an Oscar nomination for her role.

"She was an absolutely fantastic mother, who was very down to earth," said son and actor Orlando Wells to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

"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."

She achieved international fame in classic films like "Tom Jones" and "A Man For All Seasons" and starred opposite actors such as ElizaBeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift and Peter O'Toole.

Her film roles became less notable during the 1970s but she continued an extensive stage career. She appeared in The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs with Lucinda Childs, Appearances in Paris, For no good Reason, as well as the UK tour of The Wings of the Dove, and the Loves of Shakespeare's Women amongst other shows. 

She also played the part of Nelly in an adaption of Wuthering Heights and most recently starred alongside Jos Vantyler in The Tennessee Williams Triple Bill at The New End Theatre in London. 

"She was as happy in a pub theater in Islington as she was in Hollywood," Wells said.

She told Reuters in a 2001 interview that theater was her real love. "This is where I belong," she said.

Besides acting, York wrote children's books and was an anti-nuclear campaigner.

York is survived by her two children, as well as a grandson and a granddaughter.