Oscar winner Mark Rylance paid tribute to his wife, Claire van Kampen, after she passed away on January 18 following a cancer diagnosis. She was 71.
In a statement to People Magazine, Rylance and his daughter Juliet van Kampen confirmed: “Claire Louise van Kampen, Lady Rylance, has died this morning, Saturday the 18th of January at 11:47, in the ancient town of Kassel, Germany, surrounded by her family”.
It continued: “Claire has died of cancer on Mark Rylance’s 65th Birthday. Her youngest daughter having died in 2012, she leaves her eldest daughter, Juliet Rylance, her two husbands, and countless beloved friends in England and America”. The statement concluded: “We thank her for imbuing our lives with her magic, music, laughter, and love”.
Born in London, van Kampen forged a career as a successful theatre director, composer, and playwright. In 1986 she became the first female music director at the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company, later becoming the Director of Theatre Music at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Her accolades include the 2007 Sam Wanamaker Award, and six Olivier Award nominations.
Claire van Kampen (CREDIT: Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
She met Rylance in 1987 while working on a play together. They would marry two years later in Oxford, with Rylance becoming step-father to their daughters Nataasha and Juliet. Nataasha van Kampen passed away in 2012 of a suspected brain haemorrhage, aged 28.
The couple worked on many productions together, and collaborated regularly when Rylance served as the first artistic director at The Globe Theatre from 1995 to 2005.
Rylance is one of Britain’s most celebrated actors, winning plaudits for films such as Bridge Of Spies and the TV series Wolf Hall. He is reportedly one of the front-runners to play Professor Dumbledore in the forthcoming Harry Potter TV show. Recently, Dylan O’Brien, his co-star in the film The Outfit, praised Rylance for “standing up for his process”.
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