Vivien Leigh - Biography - IMDb Vivien Leigh Biography Showing all 87 items Jump to: Overview (5) | Mini Bio (2) | Spouse (2) | Trade Mark (4) | Trivia (55) | Personal Quotes (14) | Salary (5) Overview (5) 5' 3½" (1.61 m) Mini Bio (2) If a film were made of the life of Vivien Leigh, it would open in India just before World War I, where a successful British businessman could live like a prince. In the mountains above Calcutta, a little princess is born. Because of the outbreak of World War I, she is six years old the first time her parents take her to England. Her mother thinks she should have a proper English upbringing and insists on leaving her in a convent school - even though Vivien is two years younger than any of the other girls at the school. The only comfort for the lonely child is a cat that was in the courtyard of the school that the nuns let her take up to her dormitory. Her first and best friend at the school is an eight-year-old girl, Maureen O'Sullivan who has been transplanted from Ireland.

In the bleakness of a convent school, the two girls can recreate in their imaginations the places they have left and places where they would some day like to travel. After Vivien has been at the school for 18 months, her mother comes again from India and takes her to a play in London. In the next six months Vivien will insist on seeing the same play 16 times. In India the British community entertained themselves at amateur theatricals and Vivien's father was a leading man. Pupils at the English convent school are eager to perform in school plays. It's an all-girls school, so some of the girls have to play the male roles. The male roles are so much more adventurous. Vivien's favorite actor is Leslie Howard , and at 19 she marries an English barrister who looks very much like him. The year is 1932. Vivien's best friend from that convent school has gone to California, where she's making movies. Vivien has an opportunity to play a small role in an English film, Things Are Looking Up (1935). She has only one line but the camera keeps returning to her face.

The London stage is more exciting than the movies being filmed in England, and the most thrilling actor on that stage is Laurence Olivier . At a party Vivien finds out about a stage role, "The Green Sash", where the only requirement is that the leading lady be beautiful. The play has a very brief run, but now she is a real actress. An English film is going to be made about Elizabeth I. Laurence gets the role of a young favorite of the queen who is sent to Spain. Vivien gets a much smaller role as a lady-in-waiting of the queen who is in love with Laurence's character. In real life, both fall in love while making this film, Fire Over England (1937). In 1938, Hollywood wants Laurence to play Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights (1939). Vivien, who has just recently read Gone with the Wind (1939), thinks that the role of Scarlett O'Hara is the first role for an actress that would be really exciting to bring to the screen. She sails to America for a brief vacation. In New York she gets on a plane for the first time to rush to California to see Laurence.

They have dinner with Myron Selznick the night that his brother, David O. Selznick , is burning Atlanta on a backlot of MGM (actually they are burning old sets that go back to the early days of silent films to make room to recreate an Atlanta of the 1860s). Vivien is 26 when Gone with the Wind (1939) makes a sweep of the Oscars in 1939. So let's show 26-year-old Vivien walking up to the stage to accept her Oscar and then as the Oscar is presented the camera focuses on Vivien's face and through the magic of digitally altering images, the 26-year-old face merges into the face of Vivien at age 38 getting her second Best Actress Oscar for portraying Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). She wouldn't have returned to America to make that film had not Laurence been going over there to do a film, Carrie (1952) based on Theodore Dreiser 's novel "Sister Carrie".

Laurence tells their friends that his motive for going to Hollywood to make films is to get enough money to produce his own plays for the London stage. He even has his own theater there, the St. James. Now Sir Laurence, with a seat in the British House of Lords, is accompanied by Vivien the day the Lords are debating about whether the St James should be torn down. Breaking protocol, Vivien speaks up and is escorted from the House of Lords. The publicity helps raise the funds to save the St. James. Throughout their two-decade marriage Laurence and Vivien were acting together on the stage in London and New York. Vivien was no longer Lady Olivier when she performed her last major film role, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961). Raised right eyebrow and cat-like smile Often played women who will go to great lengths to achieve their desires Perhaps best known for her Oscar-winning roles in Gone with the Wind (1939) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) Black hair and soft green eyes Trivia (55) Ranked #48 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.

[October 1997] Suffered from bipolar disorder (referred to as "manic depression" at the time of her diagnosis). Lived with John Merivale from 1959 until her death in 1967. A heavy smoker, Leigh was smoking almost four packs a day during filming of Gone with the Wind (1939). Gertrude Hartley, while awaiting the birth of her child in Darjeeling, spent 15 minutes every morning gazing at the Himalayas in the belief that their astonishing beauty would be passed to her unborn child. After cremation at Golders Green, London, her ashes were scattered on the mill pond at her home, Tickerage Mill, at Blackboys in Sussex. Scarlett O'Hara might have been played by an actress called 'April Morn', a stage name she briefly considered before settling on Vivien Leigh. Laurence Olivier 's first wife, Jill Esmond , named Vivien as co-respondent in her February 1940 divorce from Olivier on grounds of adultery.

Vivien would name Joan Plowright - Olivier's next and last wife - as co-respondent in her 1960 divorce from Olivier, also on grounds of adultery. The producer of the 1935 play "The Mask of Virtue" suggested to her that she change the 'a' in her first name to an 'e' from "Vivian" to "Vivien". According to legend, Myron Selznick introduced Vivien to his brother - Gone with the Wind (1939) producer David O. Selznick - with the words, "Hey, genius! Meet your Scarlett.". Married Laurence Olivier at San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara on August 31, 1940, with Katharine Hepburn as matron of honor; they honeymooned on actor Ronald Colman 's yacht. A lover of cats, especially Siamese. Claimed that when she tested for Gone with the Wind (1939), the costume was still warm from the actress who preceded her. Was offered the supporting role of Isabella in Wuthering Heights (1939), but decided to gamble and hold out for the lead role of Cathy.

Director William Wyler thought she was crazy to pass up the opportunity, telling her, "You will never get a better part than Isabella for an American debut." Shortly after, she landed the plum role of Scarlett O'Hara. Pictured on one of four 25¢ US commemorative postage stamps issued March 23, 1990 honoring classic films released in 1939. The stamp features Clark Gable and Leigh as Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind (1939). The other films honored were Beau Geste (1939), Stagecoach (1939) and The Wizard of Oz (1939). Her favorite role was that of Myra Lester, which she played in Waterloo Bridge (1940). She took her then husband's first name (Leigh) as her last name when she began acting professionally. Godmother of actress Juliet Mills and Suzanna Leigh . Reportedly used one of her two Oscars to doorstop her bathroom. Kept Laurence Olivier 's photograph beside her bed and on her dressing table even after they divorced. Until her death, she was addressed as "Lady Olivier". She desperately wanted to play the second Mrs.

De Winter in Rebecca (1940) opposite her husband Laurence Olivier , but producer David O. Selznick thought the role would dilute her value as a Scarlett O'Hara type and cast Joan Fontaine instead. His decision severely strained her professional relationship with Selznick; neither she nor Olivier ever appeared in one of his films again. Fontaine won her first Academy Award nomination in the role. Had an affair with actor Peter Finch that nearly ended her marriage to Laurence Olivier . The movie The V.I.P.s (1963) is based on an incident from Leigh's and Olivier's marriage, when she was about to leave him for Finch but Olivier wooed her back. Although she was a British subject for her whole life, her ancestry was French and Irish. Won Broadway's 1963 Tony Award as Best Actress (Musical) for "Tovarich". Was named #16 Actress on The American Film Institute's 50 Greatest Screen Legends. She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6773 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.

She was supposed to star in the Paramount film Elephant Walk (1954) with Peter Finch and Dana Andrews , but after appearing in a few scenes she was replaced by Elizabeth Taylor . The reasons for Leigh's dismissal were rumored to be her difficult nature, having just been diagnosed as a manic-depressive. Further complications may have erupted because of an affair she had with co-star Finch while she was still married to Laurence Olivier , and Leigh and Olivier were still married in 1954. Laurence Olivier wrote in his autobiography, "Confessions of an Actor", that sometime after World War II, Leigh announced calmly that she was no longer in love with him, but loved him like a brother. Olivier was emotionally devastated. What he did not know at the time was that Leigh's declaration -- and her subsequent affairs with multiple partners -- was a signal of the bipolar disorder that eventually disrupted her life and career. Leigh had every intention of remaining married to Olivier, but was no longer interested in him romantically.

Olivier himself began having affairs (including one with Claire Bloom in the 1950s, according to Bloom's own autobiography) as Leigh's eye and amorous intentions wandered and roamed outside of the marital bedchamber. Olivier had to accompany Leigh to Hollywood in 1950 in order to keep an eye on her and keep her out of trouble, to ensure that her manic-depression did not get out of hand and disrupt the production of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). In order to do so, he accepted a role in William Wyler 's Carrie (1952) that was shot at the same time as Streetcar. The Oliviers were popular with Hollywood's elite, and Elia Kazan and Marlon Brando both liked "Larry" very much (that was the reason that Brando gave in his own autobiography for not sleeping with Leigh, whom he thought had a superior posterior -- he could not raid Olivier's "chicken coop" as "Larry was such a nice guy".) None of them knew the depths of the anguish he was enduring as the caretaker of his mentally ill wife.

Brando said that Leigh was superior to Jessica Tandy -- the original stage Blanche DuBois -- as she was Blanche. Ironically, Olivier himself had directed Leigh in the role on the London stage. Peter Finch was discovered by Laurence Olivier in 1948 when Olivier and his theatrical company, which included wife Leigh, were conducting a tour of Australia, Olivier signed the young Aussie to a personal contract and Finch became part of Olivier's theatrical company. He then proceeded to cuckold his mentor and employer by bedding Leigh. Olivier was personally humiliated but ever the trouper, he kept the talented Finch under contract after having brought him back to England, where Finch flourished as an actor. Finch and Leigh carried on a long affair, and since Leigh was bipolar and her manic-depression frequently manifested itself in nymphomania, some speculate that Olivier subconsciously might have been grateful for Finch as he occupied Leigh's hours and kept her out of worse trouble and Olivier from even worse embarrassment. Their on-again, off-again affair reportedly reached a crisis point on the movie Elephant Walk (1954), when they had renewed their affair.

However, the instability of their relationship allegedly triggered a nervous breakdown in Leigh, and Olivier had to step in to take care of her. Her performance as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939) is ranked #3 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. Eventually, Vivien needed shock therapy to control her manic depression. Sometimes, she would go on stage just hours after her treatments, without missing a beat in her performance. Was obsessed with hiding her large hands. Gloves were a favorite cover-up, she owned more than 150 pairs. Interestingly enough, one of the frequent descriptions of Vivien's most famous character Scarlett O'Hara in the novel Gone with the Wind (1939) is that she has extremely small hands. Her father was a full-blooded Englishmen, while her mother was of French and Irish ancestry. Despite her legendary stature, Leigh made fewer than twenty films in her career. Was close friends with Rachel Kempson , the mother of Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave . Had four great-grandchildren: Ashua, Amy, Sophie and Tessa. The great-grandchildren, the girls in particular, bear a striking resemblance to Suzanne.

Was the first British actress to receive an Academy Award. She won the Best Actress Oscar for Gone with the Wind (1939) in February 1940. As of 2013, she is only one of six actors who have a 2-0 winning record when nominated for an acting Oscar. The others are Luise Rainer for The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and The Good Earth (1937); Helen Hayes for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931) and Airport (1970); Kevin Spacey for The Usual Suspects (1995) and American Beauty (1999); Hilary Swank for Boys Don't Cry (1999) and Million Dollar Baby (2004); and Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009) and Django Unchained (2012). When making Gone with the Wind (1939), super macho director Victor Fleming wanted Scarlett, for at least once in the film, to look like his hunting buddy Clark Gable 's type of woman.

So, when wearing the stunning low-cut burgundy velvet dress with rhinestones that Scarlett wears to Ashley Wilkes' birthday party in the second half of the film, to achieve the desired cleavage for Fleming, Walter Plunkett had to tape Vivien Leigh's breasts together. After Joan Crawford quit filming Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), Leigh was offered her role which she turned down. Olivia de Havilland , Leigh's co-star in Gone with the Wind (1939) was then offered and accepted the role. The nickname Vivling was given to her by her father. It's a combination of her name and the word darling. Was offered the role of Alice Aisgill in Room at the Top (1959), which she turned down. Simone Signoret was cast instead and she went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar for her performance. Stepmother of Tarquin Olivier . Returned to work sixteen months after giving birth to her daughter Suzanne Farrington in order to begin performing in the stage production entitled "The Green Sash". She died after collapsing at home from complications from an attack of tuberculosis on July 7, 1967.

That evening lights of West End theater marquees were kept dark for an hour in her honor. Became pregnant twice (in 1944 and 1955) during her marriage to Laurence Olivier ; she suffered miscarriages on both occasions. For her performance as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), she won the first British Academy Award for Best Actress at the newly inaugurated BAFTA Awards ceremony in 1953. Is one of 14 Best Actress Oscar winners to have not accepted their Academy Award in person, Leigh's being for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). The others are Katharine Hepburn , Claudette Colbert , Joan Crawford , Judy Holliday , Anna Magnani , Ingrid Bergman , Sophia Loren , Anne Bancroft , Patricia Neal , Elizabeth Taylor , Maggie Smith , Glenda Jackson and Ellen Burstyn . Was the 14th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Actress Oscar for Gone with the Wind (1939) at The 12th Academy Awards on February 29, 1940.

Along with Glenda Jackson and Dame Maggie Smith she is one of only three British actresses to have won an Academy Award on two occasions: Leigh won Best Actress for Gone with the Wind (1939) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) while Jackson won Best Actress for Women in Love (1969) and A Touch of Class (1973) and Smith won Best Actress for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and Best Supporting Actress for California Suite (1978). Although Elizabeth Taylor - who won Best Actress for BUtterfield 8 (1960) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) - was born in London, her parents were American and she was raised in the United States from the age of three. Is one of 11 actresses who won the Best Actress Oscar for a move that also won the Best Picture Oscar (she won for Gone with the Wind (1939)). The others are Claudette Colbert for It Happened One Night (1934), Luise Rainer for The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Greer Garson for Mrs.

Miniver (1942), Louise Fletcher for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Diane Keaton for Annie Hall (1977), Shirley MacLaine for Terms of Endearment (1983), Jessica Tandy for Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Jodie Foster for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Hilary Swank for Million Dollar Baby (2004). Gave birth to her only child at age 19, a daughter named Suzanne Mary Holman (aka Suzanne Farrington ) on October 10, 1933 in a London nursing home. Child's father is her now ex-first ex-husband, Herbert Holman. Had three grandsons: Neville Farrington (born December 4, 1958), Jonathan Farrington (born May 13, 1961) and Rupert Farrington (born August 31, 1962). Her only child, daughter Suzanne Farrington , died on March 1, 2015 at age 81.

Although she is British, she won both her Oscars for portraying American southern belles. Personal Quotes (14) [to critics about her reviews for "The Mask of Virtue" (1935), her second play on the London stage] It's much easier to make people cry than to make them laugh. Some critics saw fit to say that I was a great actress. I thought that was a foolish, wicked thing to say because it put such an onus and such a responsibility onto me, which I simply wasn't able to carry. Scorpios burn themselves out and eat themselves up and they are careless about themselves - like me. I swing between happiness and misery and I cry easily. I am a mixture of my mother's determination and my father's optimism. I am part prude and part non-conformist and I say what I think and don't dissemble. I am a mixture of French, Irish and Yorkshire, and perhaps that's what it all is. [when asked to take over Joan Crawford 's role in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)] No, thank you.

I can just about stand looking at Joan Crawford's face at six o'clock in the morning, but not Bette Davis '. [on Alexander Korda ] Alex was like a father to us - we went to see him with every little problem we had. We usually left convinced that he had solved it - or that we'd got our own way. All day long you're really leading up to the evening's performance. To time everything correctly, you have to take care of yourself - which is a very difficult thing to do, because it's highly emotional Am I finished with Hollywood? Good heavens, no! I shall certainly go back there if there is a film to make. Actresses go on for a long time and there are always marvelous parts to play. [on Warren Beatty ] He has the kind of magnetic sensuality you could light torches with. I'm not a film star; I am an actress. Being a film star is such a false life, lived for fake values and for publicity. Most of us have compromised with life. Those who fight for what they want will always thrill us. Who could quarrel with Clark Gable ? We got on well.

Whenever anyone on the set [of Gone with the Wind (1939)] was tired or depressed, it was Gable who cheered that person up. Then the newspapers began printing the story that Gable and I were not getting on. This was so ridiculous it served only as a joke. From that time on, the standard greeting between Clark and myself became, "How are you not getting on today?" I cannot let well enough alone. I get restless. I have to be doing different things. I am a very impatient person and headstrong. If I've made up my mind to do something, I can't be persuaded out of it. Comedy is much more difficult than tragedy - and a much better training, I think. It's much easier to make people cry than to make them laugh. Salary (5) Vivien Leigh: Producing Gone With The Wind Publicity photo of Vivien Leigh with cocktail ring. Vivien Leigh Casting On December 10, 1938, shooting began on Gone With The Wind with the Burning of Atlanta scene, although no one had been cast to play the role of Scarlett.

That night, David Selznick's brother, Myron, came onto the set escorted by a strikingly beautiful and mysterious woman. That woman was Vivien Leigh and her entrance was no accident. She had come to Hollywood from England ostensibly to be with Laurence Olivier, one of Myron's clients, who she would marry a year and a half later. She had also come to Hollywood to pursue the part of Scarlett. Although both Selznicks might have heard about Leigh, David O. Selznick had never met her. Selznick began serious consideration of Leigh the following Monday morning. Call sheets (1) record that her screen tests were made on December 21 and 22. She signed her contract on January 16, 1939, and principal photography began on January 26. The casting choice was controversial. In response to widespread protests that someone other than a Southern woman had been chosen, Selznick's publicity department, headed by Russell Birdwell, went to work to persuade the public that Leigh was right for the part. He wrote numerous letters to gossip columnists ( 2 - 3 ) and crafted a biography of Vivien Leigh distributed to magazines and newspapers in justification of the casting decision.

Biography The following is Vivien Leigh's biography, as written by Russell Birdwell: From Russell Birdwell Selznick International Pictures Culver City, California Vivien Leigh, whose father is French and mother Irish, will play the role of Scarlett O'Hara, whose father was Irish and mother French. The selection of Miss Leigh by David O. Selznick, president of Selznick International Pictures, Inc., yesterday brought to a close the two-year controversy over the selection of a Scarlett for Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With The Wind." Choice of Miss Leigh was based upon tests directed by George Cukor, who will direct the picture. Clark Gable already has been announced for the role of Rhett Butler, and with the screenplay by Sidney Howard and Oliver H.P. Garrett completed, Selznick has the stage set for the beginning of production. The picture, to be filmed entirely in Technicolor, goes before the cameras within the next two weeks. In her physical characteristics as well as her ancestry, Miss Leigh resembles the heroine of Miss Mitchell's book. She is five feet three, weighs 103 pounds, has green eyes, brown hair with a touch of red, and even possesses Scarlett's pointed chin.

Miss Leigh is a newcomer to American production, but has had some experience in English studios. For Alexander Korda she played in "Fire Over England" and "Storm in a Teacup." More recently, she was seen in "A Yank at Oxford," produced by MGM in London. Prior to her recent screen work, Miss Leigh had a great deal of experience on the stage, having played leads in "The Mask of Virtue," "The Happy Hypocrite," "Henry VIII," "Bats in the Belfry," "Because We Must" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream." She has been under contract to Alexander Korda, but under the terms of her contract for Selznick, and by arrangement with Mr. Korda, she will be under exclusive contract for the future to Selznick Inter-national, except for one picture yearly which she will make in England for Mr. Korda. In private life, Miss Leigh is Mrs. Leigh Holman, wife of a London barrister and mother of a five-year-old daughter, Suzanne. Miss Leigh was born in Darjeeling, India, at the foot of Mt.

Everest, on November 5, 1913, daughter of Ernest Richard Hartley, stock broker, of French decent, and Gertrude Robinson Hartley, born in Ireland. She was schooled in Paris, London, Switzerland, Italy and Germany. At the age of fifteen, as a student in Mlle. Manileve's school in Paris, Miss Leigh was taught dramatics by an actress of the Comedie Francaise. She was given a chance to try her talent in school productions of Victor Hugo's plays, and her aptitude brought urgings to continue her dramatic studies. Three years later Miss Leigh entered the Academy of Dramatic Art in London to study for her career. A year later she met and married Holman, returning to school after the honeymoon. Before she got the chance to play her first professional acting role, Miss Leigh found herself concerned with the more important real-life role of a mother. Once the care of little Suzanne was well arranged, however, Miss Leigh went out to prove to herself that her earlier ambitions had been justified. Starting slowly, Miss Leigh took what small parts she could get.

She was given her first big opportunity on the stage when Sydney Carroll gave her a role in his production, "The Mask of Virtue" at the Ambassadors Theatre. In making her Hollywood debut for Selznick International, she goes into the most widely-discussed role in the history of motion pictures. Literally thousands of actresses and non-professionals were considered for the role. The search included the efforts of talent scouting units in all parts of the country, especially the South. Due to the importance of the role, most of the major stars in motion pictures have at one time or another been considered, but Selznick continued to hope for a girl who was not identified in the minds of the public with other roles, a girl who would not have to subordinate a previously established personality in the creation of Scarlett O'Hara. Some months ago it was announced that January fifteenth had been set as a deadline for the selection, and as the time limit drew to a close the choice narrowed down to a few players.

Miss Leigh appeared at the studio, hoping, but little daring to believe that she would be considered for the role, at the moment when the fire scenes were being made for the sequence dealing with the burning of Atlanta, and was introduced to Selznick at the moment when the fire was at its height. He was immediately impressed by her physical resemblance to the Scarlett of Miss Mitchell's creation, and acting tests were promptly arranged. Miss Leigh's name is pronounced as though spelled "Lee." From the Archives: Vivien Leigh, 'Gone With the Wind' Star, Dies at 53 - LA Times From the Archives: Vivien Leigh, 'Gone With the Wind' Star, Dies at 53 leigh Clarence Sinclair Bull / Getty Images Vivien Leigh was an Academy Award winner for her role as Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind." Vivien Leigh was an Academy Award winner for her role as Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind." (Clarence Sinclair Bull / Getty Images) Harry TrimbornTimes Staff Writer Vivien Leigh, the tiny, frail actress from the Himalaya Mountains who won enduring fame for her fiery film performance as Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind," died Saturday in London.

The 53-year-old two-time Academy Award winner was found dead in bed in her apartment in the fashionable Belgravia district. Dispatches from London gave no official cause of death. However, Miss Leigh was stricken a month ago with a recurrence of tuberculosis, an illness that had plagued her for nearly a quarter of a century. She had appeared to be recovering from the latest attack. Second Oscar in 'Streetcar' Miss Leigh won the first Oscar in 1940 for her portrayal of Scarlett. She won the second Oscar 12 years later for her performance in "A Streetcar Named Desire." Her last American film was "Ship of Fools," released in 1965. George Cukor, who directed Miss Leigh in the first part of the famed Civil War epic, said he had received a telegram from her Friday congratulating him on his birthday. "It was a most charming telegram," he said. "This is very sad news, very tragic, very upsetting." Actress Olivia de Havilland, the only survivor of the four principal stars of "Gone With the Wind," burst into tears when informed of Miss Leigh's death. "Oh, my God. How did she die?" said Miss de Havilland.

"I don't think I can say anything." Miss Leigh's death brought similar exclamations of shock and sorrow from around the world from persons who had known or worked with the 5-foot-3, 100-pound actress, honored as one of Britain's greatest contemporary women performers. leigh (Los Angeles Times) Marquee Light Extinguished All theaters in London's West End extinguished their marquee lights for an hour Saturday night in honor of her memory. Sir Laurence Olivier, Miss Leigh's husband for 20 years until their divorce in 1960 and a key link in the chain of events that gave the actress the role of Scarlett, went to Miss Leigh's apartment when he learned of her death. He left 30 minutes later without comment. Miss Leigh's recent tuberculosis attack came as the red-haired actress was to start rehearsals for the London stage production of Edward Albee's play, "A Delicate Balance." It also came as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was preparing for the sixth national release (on Oct. 11) of "Gone With the Wind," the most popular — and biggest money-maker film — of all time.

In its five previous releases since 1939, the film earned more than $35 million. Miss Leigh received a flat fee of $20,000 for the role of Scarlett. "I wouldn't have objected to just a little bit of the percentage (of the film's income)," she later remarked ruefully. Her selection for the Scarlett role has become embedded in the folklore of Hollywood. When producer David O. Selznick decided to film the Civil War novel by the late Margaret Mitchell, a worldwide search was launched for a woman to play the role of the tempestuous Southern belle. Sought Fiery Star "The girl I select," said Cukor, who was later replaced as director by Victor Fleming, "must be possessed of the devil and charged with electricity." She needed also to be the physical counterpart of the diminutive, slender heroine in the film version of Miss Mitchell's novel starring Clark Gable as Rhett Butler. The quest triggered feminine dreams of glamor, wealth and fame around the world. And at least 1,400 women who felt they matched the requirements, physical and psychological, submitted applications to the studio.

Even such famous and established stars as Carole Lombard and Paulette Goddard were in the running. But the part went to a relatively unknown English actress of 26 who flew to Hollywood to visit her sweetheart, Sir Laurence, then starring in the film, "Wuthering Heights." Olivier introduced her to agent Myron Selznick, who in turn introduced her to Myron's brother, the producer, with the comment: "Meet Scarlett O'Hara." Olivier later took Miss Leigh to the Selznick lot, where about 100 Hollywood notables had gathered to watch the filming of the flaming destruction of Atlanta by Union troops. Production of the epic had gotten under way despite the absence of a star for the top feminine role, a factor that heightened excitement among the hopefuls. Miss Leigh later recalled the moment of her selection in a magazine article: "Mr. Selznick, watching me in the flickering light, decided I was Scarlett's physical type." Her selection brought groans of disappointment from the other contenders, and the threat of a boycott of the film from the Ocala, Fla., Daughters of the Confederacy. They protested that only a native Southerner should have the role.

Miss Leigh found Scarlett an unsympathetic character. "A silly girl, in the sense that all self-centered people are silly and blind," she said in appraisal in the closing days of filming. But Scarlett earned Miss Leigh an Oscar. Miss Leigh, a versatile actress equally at ease with light frothy roles, played other unsympathetic Southern women in her later important American films. She portrayed the faded, neurotic Blanche du Bois in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and an alcoholic in "Ship of Fools." Despite her long battle against tuberculosis, Miss Leigh frequently displayed off-screen high spirits that would have won Scarlett's approval. Ousted by Lords In 1953, she draped a cobra (its poisonous fangs removed) around her neck in a visit to India. Several years later she was ejected from Britain's House of Lords after interrupting a debate to protest the planned demolition of the St. James Theater. Miss Leigh was born November 5, 1913, in Darjeeling, a city in India at the foot of Mt. Everest. Her father, Ernest E. Hartley, was a Calcutta stockbroker of French descent. Her mother was Irish.

She was educated in a Bavarian convent and at finishing schools in England and continental Europe. At 19 she married London barrister Herbert Leigh Holman. The couple had one child, Suzanne. They were divorced in 1940. Studying or working at her profession since she was 14, Miss Leigh made her London stage debut in 1935. She met Olivier, who is now married to actress Joan Plowright, when they performed in Shakespeare's "Hamlet" in 1935. They later appeared together in numerous plays. She appeared in more than 10 films. Born Vivian Mary Hartley (she changed the A to E in the first name "because it sounded more feminine"), she used her first husband's middle name for her career. But it will be as Scarlett O'Hara that she will be remembered. 1000+ images about Vivien Leigh on Pinterest | Scarlet, Portrait and Marlon brando Pinterest • The world’s catalog of ideas Vivien Leigh (5 .11. 1913 – 8 July 1967) was a British stage and film actress.

She won two Best Actress Academy Awards for her performances as "southern belles": Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939) and Blanche DuBois in the film version of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), a role she had also played on stage in London's West End in 1949. She won a Tony Award for her work in the Broadway version of Tovarich (1963). 113 Pins284 Followers Gone with the Wind (1939) Starring: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard - Three Movie Buffs Review Reviewed on: December 15th, 2001 Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh in Gone with the Wind. The landmark film of the 20th century. This love story between Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler is to America what Romeo and Juliet are to England. A hopelessly tragic couple. Scarlett and Rhett are very much in love with each other. The only problem is that it doesn't occur at the same time. Rhett finds himself immediately attracted to Scarlett. First for lust, then for spirit and finally for love.

Scarlett finds herself repulsed by Rhett at first, then attracted to him out of boredom, then attracted to him out of convenience, then attracted to him for money and then finally for love. However, by the time Scarlett realizes her love and emotional need for Rhett it is too late. Thus the famous line 'Frankly my dear I don't give a damn.' After several viewings of this film it can get a bit long and even a tad slow in places. Yet this movie has two of the most in depth, well developed characters ever! Rhett Butler is an independent, confident man with a questionable past. When all the 'southern gentlemen' want to go to war, Rhett is not afraid to disagree, even though he's in the minority. He drinks, smokes, whores and gambles. He is a war hero and gets sent to prison. A real manly mans man if ever there was one. However he has a weakness. Of course it's the young, naive Scarlett. No it's not just lust. Watch the scene where Melanie attempts to console a crying Rhett who thinks Scarlett blames him for a miscarriage.

Clark Gable gives his finest dramatic performance here and for the record, he deserved the Oscar. Scarlett O'Hara is the most famous female American literary character. Due in a large part to this film and Vivien Leigh's interpretation. The most noticeable difference from the novel, by Margaret Mitchell, is that the first line begins 'Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful..." Well Vivien Leigh's Scarlett most certainly is. She is though, far more than eye candy. Unlike the teenage girls in today's movies, who all act as if they have the sexual maturity of a divorced 40-year-old, Scarlett is very immature. She ignorantly flirts with every man in sight trying in vain to get the attention of Ashley. A man who does not fall for her flirting and does not love her. After surviving the fall of Atlanta and making the 'As god as my witness' soliloquy, she turns cold and manipulative. You can actually watch Scarlett grow and change as the film progresses. By the end of the movie she finally gains clarity in to her life and where love can actually be found. Right where it has been through most of the movie. In the arms of Rhett.

But of course this is a tragic love story and these lovers just don't have good timing. Did you enjoy Eric's review? +37 Reviewed on: December 15th, 2002 Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind. First of all, Eric has done a good job summing up the characters of Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara and their torrid, yet doomed, love affair. I agree with every major point he has made. Now let me just say that this movie is all that and so very much more. This is a monumental, if highly romanticized, conjuring up of The Old South, immediately before, during and after the civil war as seen through the life of the volatile Miss O'Hara. It can be divided into three main sections. First there is the day of the Barbecue at Twelve Oaks where we are introduced to most of the main characters. This is highlighted by Rhett and Scarlett's first scene together where he responds to her charge that he is no gentleman by informing her that she is no lady either. After all, isn't she in love with Ashley Wilkes, who that very evening will announce his engagement to the meek Melanie Hamilton?

As fate would have it, the war begins this very day and soon Scarlett finds herself leaving Tara to live in Atlanta. Thus begins the second, and most spectacular section of the film, the siege and burning of Atlanta. Melanie gives birth to Ashley's child on the day the city falls to the Yankees, but of course Rhett shows up in time to save the day. Then he unceremoniously dumps them in the Georgia countryside and runs off to join the dying Cause. Scarlett makes it home to Tara only to find the Yankees have been there already and nothing is the same. With the war's end and Scarlett's return to Atlanta we begin the third and final section of the movie. This deals with carpetbaggers and the KKK as well as her marriage to Rhett. Four hours of pure soap opera. This movie is the definitive saga of all time. The cast is outstanding but Hattie McDaniel deserves special mention for her wonderful role as the indomitable Mammy. She, in fact, became the first black actor to win an Oscar as best supporting actress. This movie is still unparalleled in scope and grandeur. Did you enjoy Patrick's review?

+40 Reviewed on: December 15th, 2003 Vivien Leigh will never be tired or hungry again as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. "Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it, when captured by her charms, as the Tarelton Twins were...." So begins Margaret Mitchell's love song to the Old South, Gone with the Wind, quite simply one of the greatest movies ever made, as my brothers have noted. As Patrick pointed out, this movie is pure soap opera. But what a Soap Opera! And what Soap Opera ever had characters like these! Clark Gable and Vivien Liegh created, with this movie, two of the greatest characters ever presented in any film. And like all good Soap Opera characters they struggle to express their love for each other throughout the movie, never reaching the same point in their relationship at the same time. And the love story of these two incredible people is told against the backdrop of one of the most turbulent times in American History, the Civil War. Sure, it's a romanticized version of the war, but if you're watching this movie for historical accuracy, you are watching for the wrong reasons.

Emotionally stirring, is another way I would describe this movie. If you can't feel, and feel deeply, for Scarlett as she raises that hand in the air, swearing that, "...she will never be tired or hungry again...", you must possess a heart made of stone. And again, when Rhett cries to Mammy when Scarlett is injured, or again when Scarlett finally comes to her senses and confesses her love to Rhett only to be told, in the film's most legendary line, 'Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.' This is a movie that tugs at the emotions. My only complaint with this movie is the lamentable Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes. What he possesses that could possibly attract Scarlett's love is never made clear in this movie, at least not as far as I am concerned, and certainly not when you compare him to Gable. Howard is not at all how I pictured the Ashley Wilkes from the original novel, where he is described as being, the best shot, best horsemen, and able to drink with the best of them....only he chooses not to do those things, but instead pursues more civilized hobbies. You just have to accept that Scarlett does love him.

I also can not complete any review of Gone with the Wind without commenting that one of my favorite writers of all time, F. Scott Fitzgerald, worked on the screenplay. Of course, he was just one of 12 writers working in true Hollywood fashion on the same movie, and he receives no screen credit, but he did work on it, mainly with the task of polishing the dialogue. The only scene of his which remains intact is the morning when Ashley leaves to return to the war and Scarlett presents him with a golden sash. It's not a particularly significant scene, but it does color it slightly differently when you think that the greatest prose writer of the 20th century wrote it. There's no way to sum up this movie without becoming a cliché, so I won't even try, except to say, watch it. Did you enjoy Scott's review?

+38 Vivien Leigh: Award-winning actress best remembered for 'Gone with the Wind,' 'Streetcar Named Desire' - CSMonitor.com Vivien Leigh: Award-winning actress best remembered for 'Gone with the Wind,' 'Streetcar Named Desire' Latest News Vivien Leigh (center right) starred in the 1939 film 'Gone with the Wind.' New Line Cinema/AP View Caption of Academy Award-winning actress Vivien Leigh of “ Gone with the Wind ” and “ A Streetcar Named Desire ” was born on Nov. 5, 1913 and so would have celebrated her 100th birthday yesterday. Leigh was born in India with the name Vivian Hartley and made her film debut in 1935 when she starred in “Things Are Looking Up,” “Look Up and Laugh,” and “The Village Squire.” The actress was cast as heroine Scarlett O’Hara in the 1939 film version of “Gone with the Wind” after a long search by the production company behind the film. Leigh was one of two British actors to portray the four Southern main characters, with actor Leslie Howard, who portrayed Ashley Wilkes, also hailing from England.

Leigh won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in the film. Recommended: 10 romantic movies for Valentine's Day Leigh is also often remembered for her role as Blanche DuBois in the 1951 film adaptation of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” She secured a second Best Actress Oscar for this part. The actress also starred as the title character in a 1948 film version of “Anna Karenina” and as Cleopatra in the 1945 film “Caesar and Cleopatra.” Photos of the Day Photos of the Day 01/17 She also starred in stage productions in London and on Broadway, with appearances including starring opposite her future husband Laurence Olivier in a British production of “Hamlet” performed in Denmark and playing Juliet in a 1940 Broadway production of "Romeo and Juliet." She appeared again as Cleopatra on Broadway in two plays which played in repertory in 1951, a production of “Caesar and Cleopatra” and a production of “Antony and Cleopatra,” respectively. Olivier starred as Caesar in the first and Mark Antony in the second.

Leigh won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1963 for her role in “Tovarich.” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” actress Julia Ormond portrayed Leigh in the 2011 film “My Week with Marilyn,” which centered on the production of the 1957 film “The Prince and the Showgirl.” Actress Michelle Williams played Marilyn Monroe, while actor Kenneth Branagh portrayed “Prince” director and star Laurence Olivier. Next up Get the Monitor stories you care about delivered to your inbox. Daily Rent Vivien Leigh Movies on DVD and Blu-ray - DVD Netflix Thrillers Vivien Leigh Born Vivian Mary Hartley on Nov. 5, 1913, in India, Vivien Leigh attended convent school in England after World War I and became interested in acting after attending a play with her mother. Her early work in British cinema began with The Village Squire (1935) and continued until 1938. After a legendary casting call, Leigh was selected to play Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939), for which she won her first Best Actress Oscar.

Leigh worked sparingly in the 1940s in such films as Anna Karenina (1948) and experienced a career revival with A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), for which she received her second Best Actress Oscar. After winning a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for "Tovarich," Leigh took her final film role in Ship of Fools (1965). She struggled with alcoholism and mental illness and was a heavy smoker, which resulted in her death on July 7, 1967, from tuberculosis. Vivien Leigh/Scarlett O'Hara - Gone With The Wind Fansite Gone With The Wind Fansite Websites ***Vivien Leigh***Scarlett O'Hara***Vivien Leigh***Scarlett O'Hara*** Vivian Mary Hartley was born on November 5, 1913, in Darjeeling, India, a strange place for one of the world's most celebrated actresses to be born. She was to live in this beautiful country for the next six years. Her parents wanted to go home to England but because of World War I they opted to stay in India.

At the end of the war the Hartleys headed back to their home country, where Vivien's mother wanted her daughter to have a convent education. She was one of the youngest in attendance, and it was not a happy experience for her. One of the few consolations was her friendship with a classmate who also became a successful actress, Maureen O'Sullivan While there her mother came for a visit and took her to a play on London's legendary West Side. It was there that Vivien decided to become an actress. At the end of her education, she met and married (Herbert) Leigh Holman in 1932 and together had a child named Suzanne in 1933. Though she enjoyed motherhood, it did not squelch her ambition to be an actress. Her first role in British motion pictures was as Rose Venables in 1935's The Village Squire (1935). That same year Vivien appeared in Things Are Looking Up (1935), Look Up and Laugh (1935) and Gentlemen's Agreement (1935).

In 1938, Vivien went to the US to see her lover, Laurence Olivier, who was filming Wuthering Heights (1939) (she had left Herbert Leigh in 1937). While visiting Olivier, Vivien had the good luck to happen upon the Selznick brothers, who were filming the burning of Atlanta for the film, Gone with the Wind (1939), based on Margaret Mitchell's novel. The role of Scarlett O'Hara had yet to be cast and she was invited to take part in a screen test for the role. There had already been much talk in Hollywood about who was to be cast as Scarlett. Some big names had tried out for the part, such as Norma Shearer, Katharine Hepburn and Paulette Goddard. In fact, most in the film industry felt that Goddard was a sure bet for the part. However, four days after the screen test, Vivien was informed that she had landed the coveted slot. Although few remember it now, at the time her casting was controversial, as she was British and many fans of the novel it was based on felt the role should be played by an American.

The film became one of the most celebrated in the annals of cinema. Not only did it win Best Picture during the Academy Awards, but Vivien won for Best Actress. Already she was a household name. In 1940, people saw Vivien marry Olivier and the next year they appeared together in That Hamilton Woman (1941). By the time of the filming of Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), her life had begun to unravel. She had suffered two miscarriages, contracted tuberculosis, and was diagnosed as a manic depressive. However, she gave another excellent performance in that film and her public was still enthralled with her, although the film was not a financial success. She rebounded nicely for her role as Blanche DuBois for her second Oscar-winning performance in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) opposite Marlon Brando in 1951. She wasn't heard from much after that. She made a film in 1955 (The Deep Blue Sea (1955)). In 1960, her marriage fell apart, as Olivier left her to marry actress Joan Plowright.

She appeared on-screen again until 1961 in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961), co-starring Warren Beatty. Vivien's final turn on the screen came in Ship of Fools (1965), and that was a small part. She died at the age of 53 after a severe bout of tuberculosis on July 7, 1967. Source: Katie Scarlett O'Hara Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler is that selfish, headstrong woman that we all love (or hate). She was born in 1845, to Gerald O'Hara, an Irishman, and Ellen Robillard, a "Coast Aristocrat of French descent." She strived to be like her kind, gentle mother, but turned out more like her bold father. She grew to love her plantation, Tara, just like her father did. "For anyone with a drop of Irish blood in them, the land that they live on is like their mother." Scarlett was taught how to be a 'lady" by her mother and mammy. Although her two sisters, Suellen and Careen, caught on quite easily, Scarlett was a bit harder to teach.

For example, her playmates as a child were not the neighborhood girls, but the boys with whom she played tag and climbed trees. As she got older, most of these boys became her beaux. Scarlett was able of making any man fall in love with her, and this was handy because "She was constitutionally unable to endure any man being in love with any woman not herself." On the day that the war started, Scarlett agreed to marry Charles Hamilton. Not because she loved him, but out of spite. She loved Ashley Wilkes, who got married to Melanie Hamilton the day after her wedding. Melanie then became Scarlett's sister-in-law, and loved her like a real sister. But Scarlett did not like Melly, for she thought that she didn't have any sense, and she was jealous of her marrige to Ashley. About 2 months after their wedding, Charles died at camp. Scarlett then took herself and her newborn baby, Wade Hampton Hamilton, to Atlanta to visit Melanie and her Aunt Pittypat. She then began to associate with Rhett Butler, which was horrifying because she was a widow. He then began to court her. During the war, Scarlett was desperate to get out of Atlanta.

There was no one to help her except for Rhett Butler. He got her out, as well as Melanie and her newborn baby, Wade, and Prissy, a servant. But he left her a few miles away from home because he wanted to go join the army. Terrified, Scarlett made her way home, to find that Tara was not burnt, but her mother passed away the day before, and her father had lost his mind. Scarlett then became the head of Tara and promised "As God as my witness, I'll never be hungry again!" After the war, Scarlett needed $300 dollars to pay the taxes on Tara, so she tried to get the money from Rhett while he was in jail, but he refused. But she did find money. Scarlett married Frank Kennedy, who was previously engaged to her sister, Suellen. Scarlett then took control of Frank's lumber mills and his store. Frank was horrified of this unlady-like act, but too timid to tell her so. A little later, Scarlett's father died from a failed attempt at jumping a fence with his horse. His neck broke. Scarlett and Frank eventually had a baby girl, named Ella Lorena Kennedy.

When Ella was newborn, Scarlett and the whole community (other than Frank) thought that Ella was a very ugly baby. A year or two after their marriage, Scarlett was attacked in Shantytown while driving through there alone. That night, Frank and a few other men went to "clean up that area where she got attacked." Frank died in this Ku Klux Klan raid. Scarlett did not know Frank was in the clan, and did not want him to be. The day of Frank's funeral, Rhett Butler proposed to Scarlett. Scarlett agreed, partly for his money. They married a year later. They had a child named Eugenie Victoria "Bonnie Blue" Butler, and after this Scarlett and Rhett began to have many fights. A few years after, Scarlett was caught "embracing" (hugging) Ashley, but it was just a friendly hug. Nobody but Melanie believed her. That night, she came home to a drunken Rhett, and all his true feelings for her came out. Scarlett thought that Rhett loved her, but he left for London with Bonnie for 3 months, and he only came back because Bonnie was missing her.

Scarlett then suffered from a miscarriage by falling down the stairs, and became very ill. A little while after, Bonnie died from attempting to jump a bar with her pony, but she fell off and broke her neck. Shortly after, Melanie died. Her last words were "Be kind to Captain Butler. He loves you so." Scarlett then realized two things. That Melanie was her only real friend, and that she didn't really love Ashley; she loved Rhett. Then she ran home to tell him that. But Rhett said he was leaving and loved her no more. Scarlett was heartbroken, but she realized that she still had Tara, and that she could think of some way to get him back. "After all, tomorrow is another day." Source: Umm.... 'Gone With The Wind' by Margaret Mitchell? Haha. But I wrote this character bio myself. Create a free website

Question: What role did Vivien Leigh play in the 1939 film ‘Gone With the Wind’?
Answer: Scarlett O’Hara