Vivien Leigh

Born: 1913-11-05

Vivien Leigh (born Vivian Mary Hartley, and also known as Lady Olivier after 1947; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967) was an English stage and film actress. She won two Academy Awards for Best Actress, for her iconic performances as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939) and Blanche DuBois in the film version of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), a role she had also played on stage in London's West End in 1949. She also won a Tony Award for her work in the Broadway musical version of Tovarich (1963). After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progressed to the role of heroine in Fire Over England (1937). Lauded for her beauty, Leigh felt that her physical attributes sometimes prevented her from being taken seriously as an actress. Despite her fame as a screen actress, Leigh was primarily a stage performer. During her 30-year career, she played roles ranging from the heroines of Noël Coward and George Bernard Shaw comedies to classic Shakespearean characters such as Ophelia, Cleopatra, Juliet, and Lady Macbeth. Later in life, she performed as a character actress in a few films. At the time, the public strongly identified Leigh with her second husband Laurence Olivier, who was her spouse from 1940 to 1960. Leigh and Olivier starred together in many stage productions, with Olivier often directing, and in three films. She earned a reputation for being difficult to work with, and for much of her adult life she suffered from bipolar disorder as well as recurrent bouts of chronic tuberculosis, which was first diagnosed in the mid-1940s and ultimately claimed her life at the age of 53. Although her career had periods of inactivity, in 1999 the American Film Institute ranked Leigh as the 16th greatest female movie star of classic Hollywood cinema. Description above from the Wikipedia article Vivien Leigh, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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Gone with the Wind

as Scarlett O'Hara
Released: 1939-12-15

The spoiled daughter of a Georgia plantation owner conducts a tumultuous romance with a cynical...

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A Streetcar Named Desire

as Blanche DuBois
Released: 1951-09-19

A fading southern belle moves in with her sister in New Orleans where her ferocious...

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That Hamilton Woman

as Emma, Lady Hamilton
Released: 1941-04-03

The story of courtesan and dance-hall girl Emma Hamilton, including her relationships with Sir...

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Ship of Fools

as Mary Treadwell
Released: 1965-07-29

Passengers on a ship traveling from Mexico to Europe in the 1930s represent society at large in...

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Waterloo Bridge

as Myra
Released: 1940-05-17

On the eve of World War II, a British officer revisits Waterloo Bridge and recalls the young man...

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Caesar and Cleopatra

as Cleopatra
Released: 1945-12-11

The aging Caesar finds himself intrigued by the young Egyptian queen. Adapted by George Bernard...

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Fire Over England

as Cynthia
Released: 1937-03-05

The film is a historical drama set during the reign of Elizabeth I (Flora Robson), focusing on...

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Anna Karenina

as Anna Karenina
Released: 1948-01-22

Stefan and Dolly Oblonsky have had a spat and Stefan has asked his sister, Anna Karenina, to...

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That's Entertainment, Part II

as (archive footage)
Released: 1976-05-16

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time...

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The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone

as Karen Stone
Released: 1961-12-28

Critics and the public say Karen Stone is too old -- as she approaches 50 -- for her role in a...

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21 Days Together

as Wanda
Released: 1940-01-07

After Larry Darrent accidentally kills his lover's blackmailing husband, someone else is...

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Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2018-07-27

A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling...

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That's Entertainment! III

as (archive footage)
Released: 1994-07-01

Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of...

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Dark Journey

as Madeleine Goddard
Released: 1937-07-02

Madeline Goddard, is a British double agent who meets and falls in love with a German spy Baron...

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Storm in a Teacup

as Victoria Gow
Released: 1937-02-25

A local politician in Scotland tries to break the reporter who wrote a negative story about him,...

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The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1996-03-17

A documentary reflecting on women in film and the entertainment industry through the ages led...

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Glorious Technicolor

as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: 1998-12-07

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

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Hollywood: The Selznick Years

as Scarlett O'Hara (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: 1961-12-31

Henry Fonda hosts this retrospective on the career and films of iconic filmmaker David O....

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1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2009-07-02

This documentary focuses on 1939, considered to be Hollywood's greatest year, with film clips...

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Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: 1983-02-25

Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas,...

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St. Martin's Lane

as Liberty
Released: 1938-10-18

On the sidewalks of the London theater district the buskers (street performers) earn enough...

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A Yank at Oxford

as Elsa Craddock
Released: 1938-02-18

A brash young American aristocrat attending Oxford University gets a chance to prove himself and...

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Hollywood: Style Center of the World

as Self
Released: 1940-05-29

This short promotes the premise that movies often create a demand for the fashions seen in them....

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The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1988-10-01

This documentary revisits the making of Gone with the Wind via archival footage, screen tests,...

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Hollywood: The Dream Factory

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1972-01-10

A documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading...

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Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1975-08-06

Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American...

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Lee Marvin: A Personal Portrait by John Boorman

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1998-01-01

John Boorman met Lee Marvin in London when the latter was making The Dirty Dozen and immediately...

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Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

as Self
Released: 1940-07-31

This 1940 presentation features highlights of earlier (1928 onward) Oscar ceremonies including...

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The Deep Blue Sea

as Hester Collyer
Released: 1955-11-01

A woman is unhappy in her marriage to a boring, stiff judge, so she takes up with a wild-living...

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Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1990-10-22

The life and career of two-time Oscar winner Vivien Leigh, who battled tuberculosis and...

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Sir John Mills' Moving Memories

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2000-08-01

A film biography with a difference, Sir John Mills' Moving Memories charts the life of one of...

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Gentlemen's Agreement

as Phil Stanley
Released: 1935-01-01

A young doctor realises that his father is a quack and changes places with a down-and-out.

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Things Are Looking Up

as Schoolgirl
Released: 1935-06-09

Scatterbrain circus lady has to cover for her sour schoolmistress sister.

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Jornal Português (1938-1951)

as Herself (archive footage)
Released: 2005-12-12

The newsreel series Jornal Português (1938-1951) was produced for the Secretariat of National...

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Vivien Leigh, autant en emporte le vent

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2020-01-03

In "Gone with the Wind" she was an unforgettable Scarlett O'Hara. Beauty, two-time Oscar winner,...

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Look Up and Laugh

as Marjorie Belfer
Released: 1935-08-13

Gutsy lass Gracie rallies fellow stall-holders at Birkenhead Market to prevent its takeover and...

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Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love

as Herself (Archive Footage)
Released: 2001-09-13

A portrait of the 30 year relationship between Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. With comments...

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Melanie Remembers: Reflections by Olivia de Havilland

as Herself (archive footage)
Released: 2004-11-09

This documentary is featured in the 4-disc Collector's Edition DVD set, released in 2004, for...

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The Skin of Our Teeth

as Sabina
Released: 1959-01-01

Production of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-winning play about mankind's triumph over chaos, which...

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The Ed Sullivan Show

as Singer
First aired: 1948-06-20

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...

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