Vivien Leigh
British actress
Who was Vivien Leigh?
Vivian Mary Olivier (née Hartley; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967), known professionally as Vivien Leigh ( LEE) and styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. 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). For the latter role, she also won the Volpi Cup for Best 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. Vivian Mary Olivier, known professionally as Vivien Leigh and styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress.
Historical significance
She then won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her 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).
