Vivien Leigh on stage and screen

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Vivien Leigh in 1948
Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando in the 1951 film A Streetcar Named Desire

British actress Vivien Leigh (1913–1967) was born in Darjeeling, India; her family returned to England when she was six years old. In addition to her British schooling, she was also educated in France, Italy and Germany, and became multilingual.[1] Classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art,[2] her film debut was in an uncredited role in the 1935 comedy Things Are Looking Up.[3]

While studying Shakespearean drama at The Old Vic, she met Laurence Olivier, who would become her most frequent artistic collaborator.[1] Even though her film roles brought her global name recognition and acclaim, the bulk of her work was in theatrical productions, frequently with Olivier as her director and/or co-star. Many of their productions on the British stage were based on the works of William Shakespeare. In 1943, as part of the Old Vic Spring Party, they toured North Africa for three months entertaining British troops.[4] In 1961, they were part of The Old Vic Tour of Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South America.[5]

She appeared in 19 theatrically released films, twice winning the Academy Award for Best Actress, both times for her dramatic depictions of women from the American South.[6] Her first Oscar was in 1939, for her performance in Gone with the Wind as Margaret Mitchell's protagonist Scarlett O'Hara.[7][6] She won the role after a two-year search for the ideal actress had eliminated many of Hollywood's top talents.[8] Her second Oscar was in 1951, for A Streetcar Named Desire.[7][6] Playwright Tennessee Williams saw her on the London stage, and after conveying his impressions to co-producer Irene Mayer Selznick, Leigh was signed for the role of Blanche DuBois in the 1949 London production of the play.[9] After playing the role of DuBois for 326 performances, Leigh was flown to Los Angeles to begin filming the movie version.[10]

Her star was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960.[6]

Stage[]

Stage credits of Vivien Leigh
Title Date Theatre Role Director Notes/Playwright(s) Ref(s)
1935 Q Theatre Giusta Matthew Forsyth Debonnaire Sylvester
T. P. Wood 		[5]
1935 Ambassadors Theatre Henriette Duquesnoy Carl Sternheim and Ashley Dukes [5]
Richard III 1936 Oxford University Dramatic Society Queen Anne John Gielgud
Glen Byam Shaw 		William Shakespeare [5]
The Happy Hypocrite 1936 His Majesty's Theatre Jenny Mere Maurice Colbourne Clemence Dane [5]
Henry VIII 1936 Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park Anne Boleyn Robert Atkins William Shakespeare [5]
Because We Must 1937 Wyndham's Theatre Pamela Golding-Ffrench Norman Marshall Ingaret Giffard [5]
1937 Ambassadors Theatre Jessica Morton A. R. Whatmore Diana Morgan and [5]
Hamlet 1937 Kronborg Castle, Elsinore Ophelia Tyrone Guthrie William Shakespeare [5]
A Midsummer Night's Dream 1937 Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park Titania Tyrone Guthrie William Shakespeare Jeanne de Casalis [5]
1938 Gate Theatre Serena Blandish Esme Percy S. N. Behrman and Enid Bagnold [5]
Romeo and Juliet 1940 51st Street Theatre, New York City, also San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Juliet Laurence Olivier William Shakespeare [5]
The Doctor's Dilemma 1942 Haymarket Theatre Jennifer Dubedat George Bernard Shaw [5]
"Old Vic Spring Party  — A Revue" 1943 3-month tour of North Africa entertaining troops Herself and as Scarlett O'Hara John Gielgud works by Lewis Carroll and Clemence Dane [4]
The Skin of Our Teeth 1945 Phoenix Theatre Sabina Laurence Olivier Thornton Wilder [5]
The Skin of Our Teeth (revival) 1946 Piccadilly Theatre Sabina Laurence Olivier Thornton Wilder [5]
Richard III 1948 Old Vic Tour of Australia and New Zealand Lady Anne Laurence Olivier Thornton Wilder [5]
The School for Scandal 1948 Old Vic Tour of Australia and New Zealand Lady Teazle Laurence Olivier Richard Brinsley Sheridan [5]
The Skin of Our Teeth (revival) 1948 Old Vic Tour of Australia and New Zealand Sabina Laurence Olivier Thornton Wilder [5]
The School for Scandal 1949 New Theatre for the Old Vic repertory season Lady Teazle Richard Brinsley Sheridan [5]
Richard III 1949 New Theatre for the Old Vic repertory season Lady Anne Laurence Olivier Thornton Wilder [5]
Antigone 1949 New Theatre for the Old Vic repertory season Antigone Laurence Olivier Sophocles [5]
A Streetcar Named Desire 1949 Aldwych Theatre Blanche DuBois Laurence Olivier Tennessee Williams [5]
Caesar and Cleopatra 1951 St James's Theatre Cleopatra Michael Benthall George Bernard Shaw
alternated nightly with Antony and Cleopatra 		[5]
Antony and Cleopatra 1951 St James's Theatre Cleopatra Michael Benthall William Shakespeare
alternated nightly with Caesar and Cleopatra 		[11]
Caesar and Cleopatra 1951 Ziegfeld Theatre, New York City Cleopatra Michael Benthall George Bernard Shaw
alternated nightly with Antony and Cleopatra 		[5]
Antony and Cleopatra 1951 Ziegfeld Theatre, New York City Cleopatra Michael Benthall William Shakespeare
alternated nightly with Caesar and Cleopatra 		[11]
The Sleeping Prince 1953 Phoenix Theatre Mary Morgan Laurence Olivier Terence Rattigan [11]
Twelfth Night 1955 Stratford-upon-Avon Viola John Gielgud William Shakespeare [11]
Macbeth 1955 Stratford-upon-Avon Lady Macbeth Glen Byam Shaw William Shakespeare [11]
Titus Andronicus 1955 Stratford-upon-Avon Lavinia Peter Brook William Shakespeare [11]
South Sea Bubble 1956 Lyric Theatre Lady Alexandra Shotter William Chappell Noël Coward [11]
Titus Andronicus 1957 Tour of Paris, Vienna, Belgrade, Zagreb, Warsaw, followed by Stoll Theatre, London Lavinia Peter Brook William Shakespeare [11]
Duel of Angels 1958 Apollo Theatre Paola Jean-Louis Barrault Jean Giraudoux
Christopher Fry 		[11]
Look After Lulu! 1959 Royal Court Theatre, then New Theatre Lulu d'Arville Tony Richardson Georges Feydeau translated by Noël Coward [11]
Duel of Angels 1960 Helen Hayes Theatre, New York City Paola Robert Helpmann Jean Giraudoux
Christopher Fry 		[11]
Twelfth Night 1961 Old Vic Company Tour of Australia, New Zealand and South America

Viola

Robert (Roberto) Helpmann William Shakespeare [11]
Duel of Angels 1961 Old Vic Company Tour of Australia, New Zealand and South America Paola Robert (Roberto) Helpmann Jean Giraudoux [11]
Lady of the Camellias 1961 Old Vic Company Tour of Australia, New Zealand and South America Marguerite Gautier Robert (Roberto) Helpmann Alexandre Dumas fils [11]
Tovarich 1963 Broadway Theatre, New York City Grand Duchess Tatiana I Peter Glenville Robert E. Sherwood [11]
1965 Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester Contessa Sanziani Robert Helpmann Paul Osborn and Maurice Druon [11]
Ivanov 1966 Shubert Theatre, New York City Anna Petrova John Gielgud Anton Chekhov [11]

Films[]

Screen credits of Vivien Leigh
Title Year Role Director Notes Ref(s)
Things Are Looking Up 1935 Schoolgirl
uncredited 		Albert de Courville
Stafford Dickens 		Gaumont British Picture Corporation [3]
The Village Squire 1935 Rose Venables Reginald Denham British and Dominions Imperial Studios [3]
Gentlemen's Agreement 1935 Phil Stanley George Pearson British and Dominions Imperial Studios [3]
Look Up and Laugh 1935 Marjorie Belfer Basil Dean Associated Talking Pictures [3]
Fire Over England 1937 Cynthia William K. Howard London Film Productions [12]
Dark Journey 1937 Madeleine Victor Saville London Film Productions [13]
Storm in a Teacup 1937 Victoria Gow Ian Dalrymple
Victor Saville 		London Film Productions [14]
A Yank at Oxford 1938 Elsa Craddock Jack Conway Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) [15]
Sidewalks of London 1938 Libby Tim Whelan UK release title St. Martin's Lane
Mayflower Productions 		[3]
Gone with the Wind 1939 Scarlett O'Hara Victor Fleming Academy Award for Best Actress
David O. Selznick producer 		[16]
Waterloo Bridge 1940 Myra Lester Mervyn LeRoy MGM [3]
21 Days 1940 Wanda Wallen Basil Dean aka 21 Days Together, Three Weeks Together and The First and the Last, originally filmed in 1937; release delayed until after Gone with the Wind
London Film Productions 		[17]
That Hamilton Woman 1941 Emma, Lady Hamilton Alexander Korda Alexander Korda Films [18]
Caesar and Cleopatra 1945 Cleopatra Gabriel Pascal Gabriel Pascal Productions [18]
Anna Karenina 1948 Anna Karenina Julien Duvivier Producers Alexander Korda
Herbert Mason 		[18]
A Streetcar Named Desire 1951 Blanche DuBois Elia Kazan Academy Award for Best Actress
Charles K. Feldman 		[19]
The Deep Blue Sea 1955 Hester Collyer Anatole Litvak London Films [18]
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone 1961 Karen Stone José Quintero Seven Arts Productions [20]
Ship of Fools 1965 Mary Treadwell Stanley Kramer Stanley Kramer Productions [18]

Bibliography[]

  • Bean, Kendra (2013). Vivien Leigh: An Intimate Portrait. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : Running Press Book Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7624-5099-2.

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Vivien Leigh". Biography. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  2. ^ Bean 2013, p. 167.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Bean 2013, p. 247.
  4. ^ a b Bean 2013, pp. 89–91.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Bean 2013, p. 249.
  6. ^ a b c d "Vivien Leigh". Hollywood Walk of Fame. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Academy Awards Search | Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences". awardsdatabase.oscars.org. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  8. ^ "The Search for Scarlett: Girls Tested for the Role of Scarlett". Gone with the Wind Online Exhibit. University of Texas at Austin: Harry Ransom Center. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014.
  9. ^ Bean 2013, pp. 124–126.
  10. ^ Bean 2013, p. 131.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Bean 2013, p. 250.
  12. ^ "Fire Over England". UCLA Film and Television Archive. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Dark Journey". AFI Catalog of Featured Films. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Storm in a Teacup". AFI Catalog of Featured Films. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  15. ^ "A Yank at Oxford". UCLA Film and Television Archive. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Gone with the Wind". UCLA Film and Television Archive. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  17. ^ "21 Days Together". AFI Catalog of Featured Films. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  18. ^ a b c d e Bean 2013, p. 248.
  19. ^ "A Streetcar Named Desire". UCLA Film and Television Archive. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  20. ^ Bean 2013, p. 245.
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