ACTOR · BORN 1929 · DIED 2021
Christopher Plummer
- Born
- 13 December 1929
- Died
- 5 February 2021
49 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
10 Facts About Christopher Plummer's Life and Family
- #006
Plummer's great-grandfather was Sir John Abbott, who served as Canada's third prime minister from 1891 to 1892. Abbott also served as the 19th mayor of Montreal between 1887 and 1889. This aristocratic and political background reveals the prominent place of Plummer's family in Canadian history and shows that, alongside his identity as an artist, he had a deep-rooted heritage.
- #010
Part of Plummer's childhood was spent in the village of Senneville in the Canadian province of Quebec. He spent his summer months in a magnificent mansion that belonged to his great-grandfather, Sir John Abbott. This luxurious and historic environment contributed to his early acquisition of aesthetic and cultural grounding and laid the foundation for his later artistic life.
- #015
Plummer became a father for the first time at 27; his first wife, Tammy Grimes, gave birth to their daughter Amanda Michael Plummer on 23 March 1957. Amanda went on to become a successful actress like her father and made a name for herself. This father-daughter relationship is an important turning point in Plummer's private life and symbolizes the continuation of the artistic legacy in his family.
- #016
Plummer received many honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Fine Arts from the Juilliard School in New York. Institutions such as the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, McGill University, the University of Western Ontario, the University of Ottawa and the University of Guelph also honoured him. These academic recognitions are an indication of Plummer's contributions to the art world and his influence on educational institutions.
- #036
Plummer was the second cousin of the English character actor Nigel Bruce. Bruce was best known for playing Sherlock Holmes's loyal friend Dr. Watson, while Plummer later reversed that legacy by playing Holmes himself. This family connection creates an interesting parallel between the two actors' careers.
- #037
Plummer said that the film that made him cry the most in his life was Jean Renoir's 'Grand Illusion' (1937). This masterpiece holds an important place in cinema history for its anti-war themes and its in-depth treatment of the human condition. Plummer's admission shows his emotional bond with cinema and his belief in the power of art.
- #038
Plummer regarded the actor Jason Robards as one of his closest drinking companions. The two worked together both on stage and on screen, and a strong friendship developed between them. Robards's death in 2000 was a great loss for Plummer; this friendship was one of the important relationships in his private life.
- #042
Christopher Plummer's great-uncle Frederick Barnard Fetherstonhaugh was one of Canada's leading patent lawyers and founded the patent agency Fetherstonhaugh & Company. He also owned one of the country's first electric cars. This innovative and entrepreneurial family member shows that Plummer's family were pioneers not only in politics but also in technology.
- #044
Christopher Plummer's ancestry included English, Cornish, Scottish, Northern Irish and distant French-Canadian and Swiss-French origins. This multicultural heritage contributed to the richness of his identity and his art. That connection to different cultures enabled him to speak both English and French and to understand different characters in depth.
- #049
Christopher Plummer played the son of Sir Alec Guinness in Anthony Mann's 'The Fall of the Roman Empire' (1964), although in reality only 15 years separated them in age. The age gap led to criticism of his performance, and the film is remembered as one of the controversial productions of Plummer's career. The experience led him to be more careful about his choice of roles in later years.
Continue through the archive
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work