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Who Was Vivien Leigh?
Vivien Leigh was an internationally acclaimed actress whose talents and beauty earned her a place in Hollywood history. Educated in convent schools across Europe, Leigh was inspired by her schoolmate Maureen O’Sullivan to pursue acting. She achieved global fame and won an Academy Award for her unforgettable portrayal of Scarlett O’Hara in David O. Selznick’s production of Gone with the Wind.
Early Life
Vivien Leigh was born Vivian Mary Hartley on November 5, 1913, in Darjeeling, India, to an English stockbroker and his Irish wife. The family relocated to England when she was six years old. Even as a young girl, Leigh displayed precocious ambition. At age seven, she declared to her classmate Maureen O’Sullivan that she would one day be famous—a prediction that proved true, albeit under a different name.
Leigh’s formative years were spent studying in England, France, Italy, and Germany, where she became fluent in French and Italian. Her passion for acting led her to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). However, her career was briefly put on hold when, at 19, she married lawyer Leigh Holman and gave birth to a daughter. Leigh later adopted her husband’s surname and adjusted the spelling of her first name to “Vivien” to craft the sophisticated stage name that would later become iconic.
Film and Stage Debuts
In 1935, Leigh made her debut both on stage and in film. Her first play, The Bash, received a lukewarm reception but caught the attention of producer Sydney Carroll, who cast her in a London production. She also secured the lead role in the film Things Are Looking Up (1935).
Initially typecast as a coquettish ingénue, Leigh sought more challenging roles, particularly in Shakespearean productions at London’s Old Vic Theatre. It was here that she met Laurence Olivier, a celebrated actor who shared her passion for the craft. Despite both being married, the two began a professional collaboration and a widely publicized romantic relationship that would shape their personal lives and acting careers
Vivien Leigh’s journey from an ambitious young girl to a celebrated actress exemplifies her extraordinary dedication to her craft and her unwavering pursuit of excellence in both film and theater.
Gone with the Wind and the Legacy of Vivien Leigh
In the late 1930s, American director George Cukor was on a determined search for the ideal actress to embody Scarlett O’Hara in his film adaptation of Gone with the Wind. “The girl I select must be possessed of the devil and charged with electricity,” Cukor famously declared. By the time Vivien Leigh, a relatively unknown British theater actress, arrived in California for a two-week vacation, several of Hollywood’s most celebrated stars—among them Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis—had already auditioned for the coveted role. Leigh’s screen test, however, proved exceptional, securing her the role of a Southern belle navigating the hardships of the American Civil War.
Casting Leigh was considered a significant gamble. Her limited profile in Hollywood and her British background were unusual choices for such a quintessentially American role. Yet the risk paid off spectacularly. Gone with the Wind became one of the most anticipated films of its era, breaking box-office records and earning 13 Academy Award nominations, including eight wins. Among these was Leigh’s first Oscar for Best Actress, cementing her status as an icon of cinema. To this day, the film remains one of Hollywood’s most enduring masterpieces.
A Tumultuous Personal Life
Amid her professional triumphs, Leigh’s personal life was equally dramatic. After finalizing divorces from their respective spouses, Leigh married Laurence Olivier in 1940, forming a power couple celebrated across stage and screen. Despite their success, the couple often avoided excessive media attention, partly due to the increasing strain caused by Leigh’s worsening mental health. Her battles with manic depression frequently disrupted her career and personal relationships.
In 1944, a personal tragedy struck when Leigh suffered a miscarriage during rehearsals for Caesar and Cleopatra. The incident exacerbated her existing health issues, including insomnia, bipolar disorder, and tuberculosis. In a bid to alleviate her struggles, she underwent electroshock therapy, a treatment then in its infancy, which often left her physically scarred. Despite these challenges, Leigh persevered, taking on numerous notable roles throughout the 1940s, though none matched the magnitude of her portrayal of Scarlett O’Hara.
A Second Career-Defining Role
Leigh’s career resurgence came in 1949 with her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire on the London stage. Her nuanced performance earned widespread acclaim, leading to her casting in the 1951 film adaptation directed by Elia Kazan. Starring opposite Marlon Brando, Leigh delivered a hauntingly powerful portrayal of a woman whose fragile psyche teeters on the edge of collapse. Critics often suggested that her real-life struggles with mental illness lent authenticity to the role, though Leigh later admitted the part had pushed her “into madness.”
The role earned her a second Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as accolades from the New York Film Critics Circle and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Many consider her performance in A Streetcar Named Desire to be the pinnacle of her career.
Final Years and Legacy
Despite her professional triumphs, Leigh’s battle with bipolar disorder continued to cast a shadow over her life. Another miscarriage in 1953 led to a severe breakdown, forcing her to abandon the filming of Elephant Walk and further damaging her reputation within the industry. Her marriage to Olivier deteriorated under the strain, ending in divorce in 1960.
Leigh eventually found solace with actor Jack Merivale and enjoyed a resurgence in the 1960s, earning a Tony Award for her performance in the musical Tovarich and acclaim for her role in the film Ship of Fools (1965). However, her health remained fragile, and in 1967, Leigh succumbed to complications from tuberculosis at the age of 53.
In a gesture of respect, London’s theater district dimmed its lights for an hour to honor her passing. Her remarkable career, marked by both triumph and tragedy, left an indelible mark on the worlds of film and theater.
In 2013, the Victoria and Albert Museum acquired Leigh’s personal archives, including her diaries and photographs, offering deeper insight into her extraordinary life. As the museum’s director noted, the collection not only chronicles her illustrious career but also provides a window into the broader cultural and social dynamics of her time, ensuring that Leigh’s legacy endures.