By Jagmohan Singh Barhok
Vivien Leigh was the only child of her parents Ernest Richard and Gertrude Mary. Her father Her father was born in Scotland in 1882, while her mother, a devout Roman Catholic, may have been of Irish or Indian ancestry. Vivien had her early schooling in India and she later moved to London where she spent years in drama and acting education. Her first passion was drama and stage-performance. Later she tried her luck in films and bagged the role of heroine in “Fire Over England” (1937) surprising many in the industry.
Hollywood was in the midst of a widely publicized search to find an actress to portray Scarlett O’Hara in David O. Selznick’s production “Gone with the Wind” (1939), when Leigh made a request to Myron Selznick (David’s brother) that she be considered to play the part of Scarlett O’Hara. And before long she was chosen to act opposite Clark Gable in “Gone With The Wind” as Scarlett O’Hara and Gable as Rhett. The film produced at a cost of $ 3.85 million collected more than $ 390 million, a record in the film history making the actress a celebrity of the highest rank. The film won Academy Awards in eight categories including the Best Actress Award for Vivian Leigh. Vivien won another Academy honor as Best Actress for her role in “A Streetcar Named Desire” in 1951. Married twice to Herbert Leigh and British actor Laurence Olivier, the beautiful actress died prematurely on 8 July, 1967 in London.
