Shoes

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Gender

Female

Birthday

1913-11-05

Place of Birth

Darjeeling, Bengal Presidency, British India [now West Bengal, India]

Vivien Leigh

Biography

Vivien Leigh (born November 5, 1913, Darjeeling, India—died July 8, 1967, London, England) was an English actress renowned for her roles in Hollywood and British theater. She won two Academy Awards for Best Actress, portraying Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939) and Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), both performances that solidified her place among the greatest actresses of classic cinema. Leigh was the only child of Ernest Hartley, a British broker, and Gertrude Yackjee, who had Anglo-Indian and Armenian ancestry. She spent her childhood between England and Europe, attending convent schools before enrolling at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London in 1932, setting the stage for her acting career. Her film debut came in Things Are Looking Up (1934), followed by roles in British films such as Fire Over England (1937), where she starred alongside Laurence Olivier. Their professional collaboration soon became a high-profile romance, capturing public fascination. Leigh’s breakthrough role was Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939), a part for which she beat hundreds of actresses in a legendary casting search. The film became one of the most celebrated in cinematic history, and her performance earned international acclaim, securing her first Academy Award. Leigh continued to star in films such as Waterloo Bridge (1940) and That Hamilton Woman (1941), frequently working with Olivier, whom she married in 1940. Their union lasted 20 years, during which they became one of the most revered couples in theater and film, starring together in Shakespearean productions and three films. In 1951, she won her second Academy Award for A Streetcar Named Desire, where her portrayal of Blanche DuBois was deeply personal, reflecting her own struggles with mental health. Leigh suffered from bipolar disorder, which profoundly affected her career and personal relationships. She also battled chronic tuberculosis, first diagnosed in the mid-1940s, which ultimately led to her death on July 8, 1967, at the age of 53. After divorcing Olivier in 1960, she found companionship with actor John Merivale, who remained by her side until her passing. Despite periods of career instability, Leigh remains one of the most celebrated actresses of her time. In 1999, the American Film Institute (AFI) ranked her as the 16th greatest female movie star of classic Hollywood cinema. She also won a Tony Award for Tovarich (1963), proving her talent extended beyond film. Her beauty, talent, and dedication made her an enduring icon, and her performances continue to be studied and celebrated worldwide.

Known for

The Ed Sullivan Show

The Ed Sullivan Show

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

See more
Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind

The spoiled daughter of a Georgia plantation owner conducts a tumultuous romance with a cynical profiteer during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era.

See more
Small World

Small World

Presents a filmed, intercontinental conversation that links moderator Edward R. Murrow in New York with three internationally known figures located in different parts of the world. What set this apart from other televised interview/discussion programs was the fact that its participants could not see each other but could hear one another via telephone lines and radio.

See more
A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire

A disturbed, aging Southern belle moves in with her sister for solace — but being face-to-face with her brutish brother-in-law accelerates her downward spiral.

See more
Faye

Faye

Through honest reflection, complemented by insight from colleagues and friends, Faye Dunaway contextualizes her life and filmography, laying bare her struggles with mental health while confronting the double standards she was subjected to as a woman in Hollywood.

See more
Glorious Technicolor

Glorious Technicolor

The history of color photography in motion pictures, in particular the Technicolor company's work.

See more
That Hamilton Woman

That Hamilton Woman

The story of courtesan and dance-hall girl Emma Hamilton, including her relationships with Sir William Hamilton and Admiral Horatio Nelson and her rise and fall, set during the Napoleonic Wars.

See more
Caesar and Cleopatra

Caesar and Cleopatra

At the height of the Roman Civil War, an aging Julius Caesar finds himself intrigued by the young Egyptian queen Cleopatra, whom he teaches how to rule Egypt.

See more
Iconic Couples of Hollywood

Iconic Couples of Hollywood

See more
Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel

Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel

Profiles the life of performer Hattie McDaniel, the first Black American to win an Oscar, and her unapologetic resilience in the face of critics.

See more
Waterloo Bridge

Waterloo Bridge

On the eve of World War II, a British officer revisits Waterloo Bridge and recalls the young man he was at the beginning of World War I and the young ballerina he met just before he left for the front.

See more
Vivien Leigh: A Delicate Balance

Vivien Leigh: A Delicate Balance

Explores the many facets of Vivien Leigh's life and performances through rarely-seen home movies, personal photographs and interviews with her family and friends. An episode of A&E Biography, a series that recounts the life stories of various historical figures and celebrities.

See more
Ivanov

Ivanov

A play by Chekhov, starring Vivien Leigh and John Gielgud; it was Leigh’s final performance before her death in 1967.

See more
Charmed Lives: A Family Romance

Charmed Lives: A Family Romance

Sir Alexander Korda, one of the world's most flamboyant movie tycoons, rose from obscurity in rural Hungary to become a legendary filmmaker. With him were his brothers, Zoltan and Vincent, all living charmed lives in circles that included Vivien Leigh, Sir Laurence Olivier, Marlene Dietrich, H.G. Wells and Merle Oberon, who was soon to be Alex's wife. But along with Alex's flair for success lies an equally powerful impulse for destruction.

See more
21 Days

21 Days

After Larry Darrent accidentally kills his lover's blackmailing husband, someone else is arrested for the crime. When he is found guilty, Larry and Wanda have just three weeks together before he must give himself up— or let an innocent man go to the gallows.

See more