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Britain's first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, has died at the age of 87 on Monday after suffering a stroke.
It was just two years ago that the iconic stateswoman was brought to the big screen by US actress Meryl Streep in the Oscar Award-winning role of 'The Iron Lady'.
The film started with an unrecognisable Streep as a frail Lady Thatcher in her dotage, talking to her late husband Denis (played by Jim Broadbent), and thinking back over her remarkable life, from her childhood, famously as a grocer's daughter, through her first days in Parliament, her unique position in the 1980s taking on the unions and Northern Ireland opponents on the domestic front, and sending her forces abroad to defend the Falkland Islands.
We saw her position change within her own Cabinet from one of absolute authority to increasing vulnerability and isolation, until she finally heeded the words of her husband Denis, who told her during her ultimate challenge from within her own party, "It's time to go."
Historians and political observers had a field day, deconstructing the inaccuracies and partisanship evident in the film but what it did do successfully was humanise a woman who had for so long been hard to empathise with.
By taking on the role, Streep joined a long list of actors to have played the British Prime Minister and, while each portrayal's politcal stand points may have differed, what was consistent was the bouffant hair, pearls and twin-sets.
See some of the most memorable performances through the years below, ranging from the comedic to the dramatic...
Britain's first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, has died at the age of 87 on Monday after suffering a stroke.
It was just two years ago that the iconic stateswoman was brought to the big screen by US actress Meryl Streep in the Oscar Award-winning role of 'The Iron Lady'.
The film started with an unrecognisable Streep as a frail Lady Thatcher in her dotage, talking to her late husband Denis (played by Jim Broadbent), and thinking back over her remarkable life, from her childhood, famously as a grocer's daughter, through her first days in Parliament, her unique position in the 1980s taking on the unions and Northern Ireland opponents on the domestic front, and sending her forces abroad to defend the Falkland Islands.
We saw her position change within her own Cabinet from one of absolute authority to increasing vulnerability and isolation, until she finally heeded the words of her husband Denis, who told her during her ultimate challenge from within her own party, "It's time to go."
Historians and political observers had a field day, deconstructing the inaccuracies and partisanship evident in the film but what it did do successfully was humanise a woman who had for so long been hard to empathise with.
By taking on the role, Streep joined a long list of actors to have played the British Prime Minister and, while each portrayal's politcal stand points may have differed, what was consistent was the bouffant hair, pearls and twin-sets.
See some of the most memorable performances through the years below, ranging from the comedic to the dramatic...
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