VIVIEN LEIGH – favorite known perfume Jean Patou Joy
Vivien Leigh was an English stage and film actress born as Vivian Mary Hartley on November 5, 1913. She died of tuberculosis on July 8, 1967. Her mother was Gertrude Mary Francis and her father, Ernest Richard Hartley, was an English broker. She was their only child.
When she was a teenager, her father enrolled her into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Later, she met Herbert Leigh Holman, who was 13 years older than she was. Despite his misgivings about her interest in theater, they were married in December 1932. Ten months later, Suzanne, her only child, was born. Vivien adopted the stage name Vivien Leigh.
Born: November 5, 1913 in London, England.
Died: July 8, 1967 in London, England.
Birth Name: Vivian Mary Hartley.
Spouse: Herbert Leigh Holman (1932-1940); Laurence Olivier (1940-1961). She had one daughter.
Height: 5’ 31/2” (1.61 m)
Net Worth: $10 million
Zodiac Sign: Cancer
Trivia:
- Was the first British actress to receive an Academy Award.
- Won her second Oscar for her role as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire.
- Had a near-photographic memory.
- Spoke fluent French.
- Suffered from bipolar disorder.
- During the filming of Gone With The Wind, she smoked up to four packs of cigarettes a day.
- Katharine Hepburn served as her matron of honor when Vivien married Laurence Olivier.
- Used one of her Oscars as a doorstop in her bathroom.
- She beat 1400 actresses to win the role of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind.
Quotes:
- “I’m not a film star. I’m an actress. Being a film star is such a false life, lived for fake values and for publicity.”
- “I’ve been a godmother loads of times, but being a grandmother is better than anything.”
- “Things are simple when you’re going to die.”
- “Most of us have compromised with life. Those who fight for what they want will always thrill us.”
- “I need something truly beautiful to look at in hotel rooms.”
- “Every single night I’m nervous. You never know how the audience is going to react.”
- “Life is too short to work so hard.”