Entertainment Movies Richard E. Grant Mourns the Death of His Wife of 35 Years Joan Washington: 'Love of My Life' "To be truly known and seen by you, is your immeasurable gift," Richard E. Grant said By Nicholas Rice Nicholas Rice Instagram Twitter Nicholas Rice is an Associate Editor for PEOPLE Magazine. He began working with the brand as an Editorial Intern in early 2020, before later transitioning to a freelance role, and then staff positions soon after. Nicholas writes and edits anywhere between 7 to 9 stories per day on average for PEOPLE, spanning across each vertical the brand covers. Nicholas has previous work experience with Billboard, POPSUGAR, Bustle and Elite Daily. When not working, Nicholas can be found playing with his 5 dogs, listening to pop music or eating mozzarella sticks. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 3, 2021 11:45 AM Share Tweet Pin Email Richard E. Grant and Joan Washington. Photo: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Richard E. Grant is mourning the death of his wife, Joan Washington. On Friday, the 64-year-old actor announced the news of his wife's death in a social media statement. She was 71. Without revealing her cause of death, Grant shared a sweet video of himself dancing with his love, which ended with the pair hugging in a warm embrace. "🎵ONLY YOU!🎵Joan - Love of my Life & Giver of Life to our daughter Olivia," Grant tweeted. "Our hearts are broken with the loss of your Life last night. 35 years married & 38 together. To be truly known and seen by you, is your immeasurable gift." "Do not forget us, sweet Monkee-mine," the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker star added alongside a set of broken heart emojis. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Celebrities Who've Died in 2021 Washington, who served as a voice and dialect coach, met Grant back in 1983. Together, the pair share a daughter, Olivia, and a stepson, Tom, from Washington's previous relationship. Speaking with The Independent back in 2011 for a joint interview, Grant explained how he and Washington first met at the Actors' Centre in London. "She was teaching an accent session with a bunch of actors, and I thought she had the most wonderful voice and huge, sort of monkey eyes. She seemed fairly frenetic," he told the outlet at the time. "I thought that she was really cute and all that." According to her IMDB page, Washington's career spanned almost 40 years during the time she served in the film industry in her behind-the-scenes role. Over that period, she worked with well-known stars like Anne Hathaway and Emma Stone. Richard E. Grant Was in 'Absolute Astonishment' After Meeting Idol Barbra Streisand at the Oscars After Washington's death was made public, various stars who worked with her shared their condolences on social media. Sharing a photo of herself with Washington, Jessica Chastain tweeted, "My heart is broken đź’”Joan Washington had such a profound impact on me, yes as an artist, but mostly as a woman. I've looked toward her. Her strive towards excellence made her the celebrated dialect coach she was." Noting that they worked together on films such as The Debt, Crimson Peak and The Zookeeper's Wife, Chastain, 44, continued, writing, "Every day I was excited to go to work and giggle with Joan. She was a barometer of truth with a wicked sense of humor. I loved her very much." In another statement, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies star Jason Watkins called Washington "incomparable." "Joan taught me dialects and accents when I trained at @Rada and beyond. I have made my career using accents and dialects," Watkins, 54, tweeted. "I owe her everything. Such a terrible loss to @RichardEGrant and us all. Rest in Peace."