Glynis Johns October 5 1923 January 4 2024 was a South Africanborn British actress dancer musician and singer Born in Pretoria South Africa while her parents were on tour she is best known for originating the role of Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music on Broadway for which she won a Tony Award and for playing Winifred Banks in Walt Disneys musical motion picture Mary Poppins In 2020 with the death of Olivia de Havilland Johns became the oldest living Academy Awardnominee in any acting category In both roles Johns sang songs written specifically for her including Send in the Clowns composed by Stephen Sondheim and Sister Suffragette written by the Sherman Brothers Johns was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 1960 film The Sundowners She was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood and class years of British cinema She is known for the breathy quality of her husky voice and her upbeat persona Description above from the Wikipedia article Glynis Johns licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia