Actor Richard E. Grant says his heart is breaking after the death of his wife of 35 years, Joan Washington. 

Washington worked as a voice coach with actors on Oscar-winning films, including Elizabeth and Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace.

Grant said he was overwhelmed by the support from fans and fellow actors. 

"[We're] overwhelmed by the messages of love, condolence & support we have received from loved ones and strangers from all over the world and the appreciation from actors Joan taught over the years," Grant wrote on Twitter.

Loading

Married for 35 years 

Grant announced his wife's passing on Twitter on Friday when he posted a video on Twitter of him dancing with his late wife to a song by the Platters. 

"ONLY YOU! Joan - Love of my Life & Giver of Life to our daughter Olivia," he wrote. 

"Our hearts are broken with the loss of your Life last night. 35 years married & 38 together."

In an interview with The Independent in 2011, Grant said the first time he met Washington, he thought she had a wonderful voice and was "really cute".

"I met her at the Actors Centre in London. She was wearing a boiler suit and had fairly short, cropped hair and Kicker shoes, and was chain-smoking, which I thought was insane," Grant told the newspaper. 

"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.

Loading

"I thought that she was really cute and all that. It was December 1982," he said. 

Legacy in Hollywood  

Washington was one of Britain's leading voice and dialect coaches and worked alongside many Hollywood actors during her decades-long career.

She worked with Anne Hathaway, Cate Blanchett, Vanessa Redgrave, Emma Stone and Jessica Chastain, and on Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and Stars Wars: Attack of the Clones films.

She also worked with stage productions, including more than 80 of them for the National Theatre in London.

Hollywood stars have paid tribute to the voice coach on social media, including Chastain. 

"My heart is broken," she wrote. "Joan Washington had such a profound impact on me, yes, as an artist, but mostly as a woman. Every day I was excited to go to work and giggle with Joan.

Mad Max and The Favourite actor Nicholas Hoult said he was thankful for Washington's kindness. 

"I can never thank her enough for all her kindness, the lessons she taught me and the memories I'll cherish," Hoult wrote on Twitter. 

Comic and writer Dawn French also praised Washington. 

"Joan Washington will ALWAYS be remembered by those of us who knew her and were taught by her, as a PHENOMENAL WOMAN. So much love to Richard E. Grant and all the family," French said. 

AP/ABC