Vivien Leigh combined beauty with talent

An English actress who made only a handful of films in Hollywood, yet became known as the quintessential southern belle thanks to her two most famous, Oscar-winning roles, Scarlett O'Hara in GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) and Blanche du Bois in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951).

One of the most beautiful women ever to grace the screen, the delicate Vivien Leigh suffered from both physical and psychological problems that ultimately crippled her career and ended her life at an early age.

Born Vivian Mary Harley in India, she took her stage name from her first husband, Leigh Holman, whom she later divorced to marry LAURENCE OLIVIER after a much-publicized love affair. (She and Olivier were wed in 1940 and divorced in 1960.)

Because of her stunning beauty, Vivien Leigh had no difficulty finding roles in English films, though she had yet to make her stage debut. Her first movie role was in Things Are Looking Up (1934) and the actress continued making films throughout the 1930s, gaining notoriety when she and Olivier, who were both married, met and fell in love on the set of Fire over England (1937).

Visiting Olivier in Hollywood while he was making Wuthering Heights (1939), Vivien Leigh was taken by her agent, Myron Selznick, to meet producer DAVID O. SELZNICK (the agent's brother) who had yet to cast Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind even though the film had already gone into production.

Taken with Vivien Leigh, Selznick quickly gave her the role almost every major (and many minor) American actress had coveted. Her portrayal of Scarlett turned Vivien Leigh into an international movie star overnight.

Vivien Leigh stayed in Hollywood long enough to make Waterloo Bridge (1940), a touching romance, and, with Olivier, That Hamilton Woman (1941). In the meantime, she also starred on Broadway with Olivier in Romeo and Juliet, which turned into a theatrical debacle.

After returning to England, more stage disasters followed - at least for her. Constantly compared to Olivier and found wanting, her confidence was shaken and her emotional problems grew worse. In and out of hospitals and sanitariums, Vivien Leigh made few movies during the rest of her career, among them Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), Anna Karenina (1948), the previously mentioned A Streetcar Named Desire, The Deep Blue Sea (1955), The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961), and her last film, Ship of Fools (1965).

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Vivien Leigh combined beauty with talent

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