Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
1913 — 1967
Royaume-Uni
British actress born in 1913, Vivien Leigh is world-famous for her role as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). A two-time Oscar winner, she embodied Hollywood glamour while also pursuing a demanding stage career in London.
Famous Quotes
« "I'm not a star. I'm an actress." »
Key Facts
- 1913: Born in Darjeeling, British India
- 1939: Role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, first Academy Award for Best Actress
- 1951: Second Oscar for A Streetcar Named Desire, an adaptation of Tennessee Williams's play
- 1940–1960: Stage career in London's West End alongside her husband Laurence Olivier
- 1967: Died in London of tuberculosis at the age of 53
Works & Achievements
Victor Fleming's film in which Vivien Leigh plays Scarlett O'Hara, a role that earned her her first Academy Award and instant worldwide fame. Considered one of the greatest films in cinema history.
Elia Kazan's film adaptation of Tennessee Williams's play, in which Leigh portrays Blanche DuBois with shattering intensity, earning her second Academy Award for Best Actress.
Alexander Korda's British film in which Vivien Leigh plays Emma Hamilton opposite Laurence Olivier; a pro-British propaganda film that achieved great success during the war.
An adaptation of Tolstoy's novel in which Leigh portrays the tragic Russian heroine, confirming her ability to inhabit characters of great emotional complexity.
A romantic comedy directed by and starring Laurence Olivier, in which Vivien Leigh does not act but served as producer; it reveals her role behind the scenes of British cinema.
One of her final films, in which she portrays an aging woman with poignant clarity, celebrated as one of her finest performances in her later career.
Anecdotes
During the filming of Gone with the Wind in 1939, Vivien Leigh was chosen for the role of Scarlett O'Hara from over 1,400 candidates auditioned over two years. Producer David O. Selznick had never seen her perform when he met her on set the very night the burning of Atlanta was being filmed — he was immediately convinced she was the one.
Vivien Leigh suffered from bipolar disorder at a time when the condition was poorly understood and heavily stigmatized. Despite recurring episodes that disrupted her filming schedules and personal life, she often refused to stop working, honoring her professional commitments with remarkable determination.
Deeply devoted to classical theater, Vivien Leigh played Lady Macbeth and Cleopatra alongside her husband Laurence Olivier in the 1950s. Critics praised her stage commitment, even as she lived in the shadow of the Shakespearean giant that Olivier was — a comparison she carried with grace.
During World War II, Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier took part in tours to boost the morale of British troops. Despite the worldwide fame she had just gained through Hollywood, she remained deeply attached to her British identity and to her country's war effort.
Her performance in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) earned her a second Academy Award, an exceptionally rare achievement for a British actress in Hollywood. Director Elia Kazan later recalled that she had immersed herself so deeply in the character of Blanche DuBois that the filming had worsened her mental fragility.
Primary Sources
I am Scarlett. I know you don't believe it yet, but when you see the film, you'll understand why this role could only ever belong to me.
I never wanted to be a movie star. I wanted to be an actress. Hollywood gave me fame, but the theatre gave me my soul.
Miss Leigh possesses a dramatic intensity and a beauty that transcend the screen. She IS Scarlett O'Hara, and there is no need to look any further.
Vivien carried within her a light and a darkness that very few actors ever know. Her illness was the cruel shadow side of her genius.
Key Places
Vivien Leigh's birthplace in 1913, then part of British India. Her Indian childhood shaped her cosmopolitan personality and lifelong fascination with the exotic.
A country estate acquired with Laurence Olivier in 1944, used as a retreat and a venue for lavish gatherings attended by the British cultural elite.
The legendary home of British theatre where Vivien Leigh performed the greatest classical roles, notably under Laurence Olivier's direction in the 1940s and 1950s.
The filming location for Gone with the Wind in 1939, where Vivien Leigh achieved worldwide stardom and became one of Hollywood's greatest stars.
Vivien Leigh's London residence in her final years, a prestigious address in the Belgravia district where she died in July 1967.
Gallery
The Royal Navy during the Second World War A17072
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — James, P G (Lt), Royal Navy official photographer
Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier disembarking plane, Brisbane 1948
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Item is held by John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, copied and digitised from an image appearing in Th
Porta al carrer Ataülf
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Enfo
Vivien Leigh Gone Wind Restored
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Vivien_Leigh_Gone_Wind2.jpg: Trailer screenshot derivative work: Wilfredor (talk)
Vivien Leigh dessin de l'actrice d'autant en emporte le vent par artiste slmorgan
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — GestionsEmpireLM1nc
Vivien Leigh memorial plaque in St Paul's Church, Covent Garden
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Orange sticker
Vivien Leigh in Laurence Olivier na brzovlaku v Mariboru 1957
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Unknown authorUnknown author
Clark Gable Vivien Leigh Gone With the Wind
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Selznick International Pictures; Fred Parrish, photographer
Blue plaque in Eaton Square- Vivien Leigh - geograph.org.uk - 2074971
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 — Basher Eyre
Engenheiro das usinas hidreletricas, História no Museu da Pessoa (110052)
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Museu da Pessoa