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Vivien Leigh
Playing Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind and Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire.
Two acting Oscars · British theatre
- Born
- 5 November 1913
- Birthplace
- Darjeeling, British India
- Died
- 8 July 1967
More people
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh was a British actor whose two best-actress Oscars came from strikingly different portraits of women in the American South. Alongside film stardom, she sustained a demanding stage career.
Early life
An international childhood
Born Vivian Mary Hartley in India, she was educated in England and continental Europe.
Drama school
She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before beginning professional work.
Career
- 1935
London breakthrough
The play The Mask of Virtue brought attention to her acting and helped open film opportunities.
- 1939
Hollywood stardom
She won the role of Scarlett O’Hara after a much-publicised search.
- 1940s–1950s
Stage partnership
She performed Shakespeare and other plays, frequently alongside Laurence Olivier.
- 1963
Broadway recognition
The musical Tovarich earned her a Tony Award.
Selected work
Gone with the Wind
Her Scarlett O’Hara drove the Civil War-era epic.
A Streetcar Named Desire
She carried Blanche DuBois from the London stage to Elia Kazan’s film.
Ship of Fools
Her last film placed her in an ensemble aboard an ocean liner.
Beyond work
Relationships
She married Laurence Olivier in 1940 after her first marriage to Leigh Holman ended.
Health
Bipolar disorder and recurring tuberculosis affected her life and career; she died of tuberculosis in 1967.
Sources & photo credit
Biography ↗Life and work ↗Photo: Fawcett Publications. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
