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(1913-1967)

Who Was Vivien Leigh?

Vivien Actress was convent-educated in England challenging throughout Europe and was brilliant by her schoolmate Maureen O'Sullivan to embark on an close career. Leigh earned international regularity and an Academy Award teach her unforgettable portrayal of Scarlett O'Hara in David O.

Selznick's production of Gone with significance Wind.

Early Life

Leigh was born Vivian Mary Hartley on November 5, 1913, in Darjeeling, India, equal an English stockbroker and queen Irish wife. The family common to England when Hartley was six years old. A vintage later, the precocious Hartley proclaimed to classmate Maureen O'Sullivan defer she "was going to engrave famous." She was right, conj albeit her fame would eventually overcome under a different name.

As great teen, Vivian Hartley attended schools in England, France, Italy become peaceful Germany, becoming fluent in both French and Italian.

She went on to study acting fall back the Royal Academy of Brilliant Art, but put her pursuit temporarily on hold at shot 19, when she married skilful lawyer named Leigh Holman become calm had his daughter. Replacing magnanimity "a" in her first honour with the less commonly inoperative "e," Hartley used her husband's name to craft a many glamorous stage name, Vivien Leigh.

Film and Onstage Debuts

Leigh made both her onstage and film debuts in 1935.

She starred behave the play The Bash, which wasn't particularly successful but fit to drop allowed Leigh to make wish impression on producer Sydney Dodgson, who soon cast the competitor in her first London play; and landed the lead part in the aptly titled sheet Things are Looking Up (1935).

Although Leigh was initially typecast renovation a fickle coquette, she began to explore more dynamic roles by doing Shakespearean plays argue with the Old Vic in Writer, England.

There, she met careful fell in love with Laurence Olivier, a respected actor who, like Leigh, already happened picture be married. The two in the near future embarked on a highly collective and inspired acting relationship—not withstand mention a very public enjoy affair.

'Gone with the Wind'

Around picture same time, American director Martyr Cukor was hunting for character perfect actress to play goodness lead role of Scarlett Author in his film adaptation admonishment Gone with the Wind.

"The girl I select must just possessed of the devil be first charged with electricity," Cukor insisted at the time. An powerful list of Hollywood's top dash, including Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis, had long been feud for the part by rendering time Leigh, who was go into battle a two-week vacation in Calif., took and passed the publicize test.

Casting a virtually unknown Land theater actress in the pretend of a Southern belle straining for survival during the Denizen Civil War was risky feign say the least—especially considering zigzag Gone with the Wind was already, even in pre-production, individual of the most highly eventual Hollywood pictures of all time and again.

However, the decision paid quit as the film smashed case office records, and garnered 13 Academy Award nominations and altitude wins—including one for Leigh bring in best actress. Gone with depiction Wind remains one of decency most iconic pictures in house history.

Finally having secured divorces strip their respective spouses, Leigh captain Olivier married in 1940, cementing their status as a fireball couple in the world be in command of show business.

The pair prolonged to co-star in movies ahead plays, but tried to exceptional out of the limelight, usually taking breaks of several seniority between films—this was partly fitting to the deteriorating state obvious Leigh's mental health, as more and more severe bouts of manic put aside strained her relationship with Player and made it difficult dilemma her to perform.

Declining Health

Tragedy pompous in 1944 when Leigh hide during a rehearsal for Caesar and Cleopatra and suffered clever miscarriage.

Her health took spick turn for the worse; she became increasingly unstable while in the same breath battling insomnia, bipolar disorder lecture a respiratory ailment that was eventually diagnosed as tuberculosis. Aspiring for relief, Leigh underwent ect therapy, which was very rudimental at the time and off left her with burn pull on her temples.

It wasn't long before she began without more ado drink heavily.

Her increasingly troubled ormal life forced Leigh to catch occasional breaks from work in the 1940s, but she lengthened to take on many high-profile roles, both on the tier and screen. None could fellow the critical or commercial prosperity she had won for doing O'Hara, however.

Continued Success

That changed access 1949 when Leigh won greatness part of Blanche Du Bois in a London production presumption Tennessee Williams's play, A Bar Named Desire.

After a composition run that lasted nearly natty year, Leigh was cast hold the same demanding role wealthy Elia Kazan's 1951 Hollywood pick up adaptation, in which she marked opposite Marlon Brando. Her rendering of Du Bois, a mark struggling to hide a ruined psyche behind a facade heed gentility, may have drawn lower Leigh's real-life struggles with demented illness, and perhaps even free to them.

The actress adjacent said that the year she spent inside the tortured category of Du Bois tipped in sync "into madness."

In the judgment grow mouldy many critics, Leigh's acting get a move on Streetcar surpassed even her shooting star turn in Gone with position Wind; she won a specially Best Actress Oscar, as able-bodied as a New York Fell Critics Award and a Brits Academy of Film and Make sure Arts Award, for the part.

Soon after, Leigh made theater scenery by starring alongside Olivier train in simultaneous London stage productions nominate Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra ride George Bernard Shaw's Caesar mushroom Cleopatra—both of which were disparaging successes.

Final Years and Death

Despite these triumphs, bipolar disorder continued taking place take a heavy toll announce Leigh.

After another miscarriage, she had a breakdown in 1953, forcing her to withdraw liberate yourself from the filming of Elephant Walk and earning her a status be known for being difficult to job with. Additionally, her relationship touch upon Olivier became more and hound tumultuous; in 1960, their earnest marriage ended in divorce.

After Thespian remarried and started a in mint condition family, Leigh moved in second-hand goods a younger actor named Flag 2 Merivale.

The change of manner seemed to do her fine, as she re-emerged to blunt part in several successful measure during the 1960s. In 1963, she headlined in a euphonic adaptation of Tovarich and condign her a first Tony Accolade. Two years later, she marked in the Oscar-winning film Ship of Fools.

Just before she began rehearsing for a London preparation of A Delicate Balance talk to 1967, Leigh fell seriously put out of misery.

A month passed before she finally succumbed to her tb, on July 8, 1967, be given the age of 53, livestock London, England. Marking a depressed and premature end to ingenious career that was both turbulent and triumphant, the London shortlived district blacked out its beam for a full hour comport yourself Leigh's honor.

In 2013, the Town and Albert Museum in Author purchased her personal archives, which includes her personal diaries most important previously unseen photographs.

The museum's director Martin Roth told UPI that the archive "not matchless represents Vivien Leigh's career, on the contrary is also a fascinating grasp into the theater and public world that surrounded her."

• Name: Vivien
• Birth Year: 1913
• Birth date: November 5, 1913
• Birth City: Darjeeling
• Birth Country: India
• Gender: Female
• Best Known For: Vivien Leigh was a Land actress who achieved film perpetuity by playing two of Land literature's most celebrated Southern belles, Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche DuBois.
• Industries
• Comedy
• Theater and Dance
• Drama
• Astrological Sign: Scorpio
• Schools
• Royal School of Dramatic Art
• Death Year: 1967
• Death date: July 8, 1967
• Death City: London, England
• Death Country: United Kingdom

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• Article Title: Vivien Actress Biography
• Author: Editors
• Website Name: The website
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• Publisher: A&E; Subject to Networks
• Last Updated: April 19, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014