Judy Davis (1982). In 1984, she was cast as Adela Quested in David Lean's final film "A Passage to India", an adaptation of E. M. Forster's novel, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. The film became a critics' favourite, opening to tremendous praise worldwide and "Variety" praised Davis for having "the rare gift of being able to look very plain (as the role calls for) at one moment and uncommonly beautiful at another. Likewise, "The Washington Post" wrote, "With makeup the color of smudged ivory, her pallor enhanced by the off-white linens she wears, Davis is
Peggy Ashcroft King's Gold Medal, Norway (1955), and the Order of St Olav, Norway (Commander, 1976). She was awarded honorary degrees by eight universities and was an honorary fellow of St Hugh's College, Oxford. In addition to the Oscar and BAFTA awards mentioned above, she received a Venice Film Festival Award for "She's Been Away" (1989), a BAFTA Award for the television play "Caught on a Train" (1980), a special award from the British Theatre Association for the television play "Cream in My Coffee" (1982), a special award from BAFTA (1990) and a special Laurence Olivier Award (1991). Ashcroft is commemorated with