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Actress Zoe Caldwell, Tony winner for 'Medea,' dies at 86

Actress Zoe Caldwell, a four-time Tony Award winner famous for portraying larger-than-life characters, has died.

Her son Charlie Whitehead said Caldwell died peacefully Sunday at her home in Pound Ridge, New York. She was 86. Whitehead said her death was due to complications from Parkinson's disease.

The Australian-born Caldwell rose to Broadway stardom in 1968 playing an eccentric schoolteacher in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie."

FILE - In this June 2, 1996, file photo, Zoe Caldwell holds her award for Leading Actress in a Play for her role in "Master Class" at the 50th Annual Tony Awards in New York. Caldwell, a four-time Tony Award winner famous for portraying larger-than-life characters, has died. Her son Charlie Whitehead said Caldwell died peacefully Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, at her home in Pound Ridge, New York. She was 86. Whitehead said her death was due to complications from Parkinson's disease. (AP PhotoRon Frehm, File)

Among her other roles was as aging opera star Maria Callas in "Master Class" and the betrayed mother who kills her sons in the classic Greek tragedy “Medea.”

She often collaborated with her husband, Robert Whitehead, who was one of Broadway's most prolific producers of serious drama.

Former Associated Press writer Polly Anderson contributed to this report.