A 1978 Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Julia, Vanessa Redgrave rejected Prime Minister Tony Blair's offer to make her a "dame" - so not technically a "knighthood" - in 1999. Despite having already accepted a CBE in 1967, the Londoner who starred in Mary, Queen of Scots and Murder on the Orient Express - and who was described by playwrights Arthur Miller and Tennesse Williams as "the greatest living actress of our time" - declined the title of "dame" due to her left-wing political sympathies and her active participation in humanitarian causes. Redgrave later revealed that she "wouldn't be able to accept if offered a damehood" as it represents just the "British Empire", but she is a "UNICEF ambassador for children everywhere". Her duty to children all around the world is a noble reason to reject the accolade.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
