# Vivien Leigh on stage and screen

This short description is INTENTIONALLY "none" &#x2D; please see WP:SDNONE before you consider changing it!
British actress Vivien Leigh (1913–1967) was born in Darjeeling, India; her family returned to England when she was six years old. In addition to her British schooling, Leigh was also educated in France, Italy, and Germany, and became multilingual. Classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, her film debut was in an uncredited role in the 1935 comedy Things Are Looking Up.
While studying Shakespearean drama at The Old Vic, she met Laurence Olivier, who would become her most frequent artistic collaborator. Even though her film roles brought her global name recognition and acclaim, the bulk of her work was in theatrical productions, frequently with Olivier as her director and/or co-star. Many of their productions on the British stage were based on the works of William Shakespeare. In 1943, as part of the Old Vic Spring Party, they toured North Africa for three months entertaining British troops. In 1961, they were part of The Old Vic Tour of Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South America.
She appeared in 19 theatrically released films, twice winning the Academy Award for Best Actress, both times for her dramatic depictions of women from the American South. Her first Oscar was in 1939, for her performance in Gone with the Wind as Margaret Mitchell's protagonist Scarlett O'Hara. She won the role after a two-year search for the ideal actress had eliminated many of Hollywood's top talents. Her second Oscar was in 1951, for A Streetcar Named Desire. Playwright Tennessee Williams saw her on the London stage, and after conveying his impressions to co-producer Irene Mayer Selznick, Leigh was signed for the role of Blanche DuBois in the 1949 London production of the play. After playing the role of DuBois for 326 performances, Leigh was flown to Los Angeles to begin filming the movie version.
Her star was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960.

## Stage

| Title | Date | Theatre | Role | Director | Notes/Playwright(s) |
| The Green Sash | 1935 | Q Theatre | Giusta | Matthew Forsyth | Debonnaire Sylvester T. P. Wood |
| The Mask of Virtue | 1935 | Ambassadors Theatre | Henriette Duquesnoy | Maxwell Wray | Carl Sternheim and Ashley Dukes |
| Richard II | 1936 | Oxford University Dramatic Society | Queen Anne | John Gielgud Glen Byam Shaw | William Shakespeare |
| The Happy Hypocrite | 1936 | His Majesty's Theatre | Jenny Mere | Maurice Colbourne | Clemence Dane |
| Henry VIII | 1936 | Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park | Anne Boleyn | Robert Atkins | William Shakespeare |
| Because We Must | 1937 | Wyndham's Theatre | Pamela Golding-Ffrench | Norman Marshall | Ingaret Giffard |
| Bats in the Belfry | 1937 | Ambassadors Theatre | Jessica Morton | A. R. Whatmore | Diana Morgan and Robert MacDermot |
| Hamlet | 1937 | Kronborg Castle, Elsinore | Ophelia | Tyrone Guthrie | William Shakespeare |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 1937 | Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park | Titania | Tyrone Guthrie | William Shakespeare Jeanne de Casalis |
| Serena Blandish | 1938 | Gate Theatre | Serena Blandish | Esme Percy | S. N. Behrman and Enid Bagnold |
| Romeo and Juliet | 1940 | 51st Street Theatre, New York City, also San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C. | Juliet | Laurence Olivier | William Shakespeare |
| The Doctor's Dilemma | 1942 | Haymarket Theatre | Jennifer Dubedat | Irene Hentschel | George Bernard Shaw |
| "Old Vic Spring Party — A Revue" | 1943 | 3-month tour of North Africa entertaining troops | Herself and as Scarlett O'Hara | John Gielgud | works by Lewis Carroll and Clemence Dane |
| The Skin of Our Teeth | 1945 | Phoenix Theatre | Sabina | Laurence Olivier | Thornton Wilder |
| The Skin of Our Teeth (revival) | 1946 | Piccadilly Theatre | Sabina | Laurence Olivier | Thornton Wilder |
| Richard III | 1948 | Old Vic Company Tour of Australia and New Zealand | Lady Anne | Laurence Olivier | Thornton Wilder |
| The School for Scandal | 1948 | Old Vic Company Tour of Australia and New Zealand | Lady Teazle | Laurence Olivier | Richard Brinsley Sheridan |
| The Skin of Our Teeth (revival) | 1948 | Old Vic Company Tour of Australia and New Zealand | Sabina | Laurence Olivier | Thornton Wilder |
| The School for Scandal | 1949 | New Theatre for the Old Vic Company | Lady Teazle | | Richard Brinsley Sheridan |
| Richard III | 1949 | New Theatre for the Old Vic Company | Lady Anne | Laurence Olivier | Thornton Wilder |
| Antigone | 1949 | New Theatre for the Old Vic Company | Antigone | Laurence Olivier | Sophocles |
| A Streetcar Named Desire | 1949 | Aldwych Theatre | Blanche DuBois | Laurence Olivier | Tennessee Williams |
| Caesar and Cleopatra | 1951 | St James's Theatre | Cleopatra | Michael Benthall | George Bernard Shaw alternated nightly with Antony and Cleopatra |
| Antony and Cleopatra | 1951 | St James's Theatre | Cleopatra | Michael Benthall | William Shakespeare alternated nightly with Caesar and Cleopatra |
| Caesar and Cleopatra | 1951 | Ziegfeld Theatre, New York City | Cleopatra | Michael Benthall | George Bernard Shaw alternated nightly with Antony and Cleopatra |
| Antony and Cleopatra | 1951 | Ziegfeld Theatre, New York City | Cleopatra | Michael Benthall | William Shakespeare alternated nightly with Caesar and Cleopatra |
| The Sleeping Prince | 1953 | Phoenix Theatre | Mary Morgan | Laurence Olivier | Terence Rattigan |
| Twelfth Night | 1955 | Stratford-upon-Avon | Viola | John Gielgud | William Shakespeare |
| Macbeth | 1955 | Stratford-upon-Avon | Lady Macbeth | Glen Byam Shaw | William Shakespeare |
| Titus Andronicus | 1955 | Stratford-upon-Avon | Lavinia | Peter Brook | William Shakespeare |
| South Sea Bubble | 1956 | Lyric Theatre | Lady Alexandra Shotter | William Chappell | Noël Coward |
| Titus Andronicus | 1957 | European Tour, followed by Stoll Theatre, London | Lavinia | Peter Brook | William Shakespeare |
| Duel of Angels | 1958 | Apollo Theatre | Paola | Jean-Louis Barrault | Jean Giraudoux Christopher Fry |
| Look After Lulu! | 1959 | Royal Court Theatre, then New Theatre | Lulu d'Arville | Tony Richardson | Georges Feydeau translated by Noël Coward |
| Duel of Angels | 1960 | Helen Hayes Theatre, New York City | Paola | Robert Helpmann | Jean Giraudoux Christopher Fry |
| Twelfth Night | 1961 | Old Vic Company Tour of Australia, New Zealand and South America | Viola | Robert Helpmann | William Shakespeare |
| Duel of Angels | 1961 | Old Vic Company Tour of Australia, New Zealand and South America | Paola | Robert Helpmann | Jean Giraudoux |
| Lady of the Camellias | 1961 | Old Vic Company Tour of Australia, New Zealand and South America | Marguerite Gautier | Robert Helpmann | Alexandre Dumas |
| Tovarich | 1963 | Broadway Theatre, New York City | Grand Duchess Tatiana I | Peter Glenville | Robert E. Sherwood |
| La Contessa | 1965 | Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester | Contessa Sanziani | Robert Helpmann | Paul Osborn and Maurice Druon |
| Ivanov | 1966 | Shubert Theatre, New York City | Anna Petrova | John Gielgud | Anton Chekhov |

## Films

| Title | Year | Role | Director | Notes |
| Things Are Looking Up | 1935 | Schoolgirl uncredited | Albert de Courville Stafford Dickens | Gaumont British Picture Corporation |
| The Village Squire | 1935 | Rose Venables | Reginald Denham | British and Dominions Imperial Studios |
| Gentlemen's Agreement | 1935 | Phil Stanley | George Pearson | British and Dominions Imperial Studios |
| Look Up and Laugh | 1935 | Marjorie Belfer | Basil Dean | Associated Talking Pictures |
| Fire Over England | 1937 | Cynthia | William K. Howard | London Film Productions |
| Dark Journey | 1937 | Madeleine | Victor Saville | London Film Productions |
| Storm in a Teacup | 1937 | Victoria Gow | Ian Dalrymple Victor Saville | London Film Productions |
| A Yank at Oxford | 1938 | Elsa Craddock | Jack Conway | MGM-British |
| St. Martin's Lane | 1938 | Libby | Tim Whelan | released in US as Sidewalks of London Mayflower Pictures |
| Gone with the Wind | 1939 | Scarlett O'Hara | Victor Fleming | Academy Award for Best Actress David O. Selznick producer First American film |
| Waterloo Bridge | 1940 | Myra Lester | Mervyn LeRoy | MGM |
| 21 Days | 1940 | Wanda Wallen | Basil Dean | aka 21 Days Together, Three Weeks Together and The First and the Last, originally filmed in 1937; release delayed until after Gone with the Wind London Film Productions |
| That Hamilton Woman | 1941 | Emma, Lady Hamilton | Alexander Korda | Alexander Korda Films |
| Caesar and Cleopatra | 1945 | Cleopatra | Gabriel Pascal | Gabriel Pascal Productions |
| Anna Karenina | 1948 | Anna Karenina | Julien Duvivier | Producers Alexander Korda Herbert Mason |
| A Streetcar Named Desire | 1951 | Blanche DuBois | Elia Kazan | Academy Award for Best Actress Charles K. Feldman |
| The Deep Blue Sea | 1955 | Hester Collyer | Anatole Litvak | London Films |
| The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone | 1961 | Karen Stone | José Quintero | Seven Arts Productions |
| Ship of Fools | 1965 | Mary Treadwell | Stanley Kramer | Stanley Kramer Productions |