Trivia
- Vivien’s admission test for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts consisted of auditioning as Lydia in a love scene from The Rivals.
- Suffered from manic depression.
- A heavy smoker, Leigh was smoking almost four packs a day during filming of Gone with the Wind (1939).
- It was Vivien who suggested Marilyn Monroe for the part in the film version of The Sleeping Prince ( better known as the The Prince and The Showgirl ). Vivien had seen her in How To Marry A Millionaire and found her to be funny and sexy.
- After cremation at Golders Green, London, her ashes were scattered on the mill pond at her home, Tickerage Mill, at Blackboys in Sussex.
- ‘April Morn’ was a stage name she briefly considered before settling on Vivien Leigh.
- Shopping was one of her greatest hobbies. A plastic dummy of Vivien was kept at Balmain’s so that outfits could be fitted in her absence.
- According to legend, Myron Selznick introduced Vivien to his brother - Gone with the Wind (1939) producer David O. Selznick - with the words, “Hey, genius! Meet your Scarlett.”
- Married Laurence Olivier at San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara on August 31st, 1940, with Katharine Hepburn as maid of honor; they honeymooned on actor Ronald Colman’s yacht.
- A lover of cats, especially Siamese. At one point she had 16 of them running around her homes. Her cat “Poo Jones” was with her when she died.
- Claimed that when she tested for Gone with the Wind (1939), the costume was still warm from the actress who preceded her.
- Was offered the supporting role of Isabella in Wuthering Heights (1939), but decided to gamble and hold out for the lead role of Cathy. Director William Wyler thought she was crazy to pass up the opportunity, telling her, “You will never get a better part than Isabella for an American debut.” Shortly after, she landed the role of Scarlett O’Hara.
- Pictured on one of four 25¢ US commemorative postage stamps issued 23 March 1990 honoring classic films released in 1939. The stamp features Clark Gable and Leigh as Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind (1939). The other films honored were Beau Geste (1939), Stagecoach (1939), and The Wizard of Oz (1939).
- Her favorite role was that of Myra Lester, which she played in Waterloo Bridge (1940).
- She took her then husband’s first name (Leigh) as her last name when she began acting professionally.
- Son-in-law’s name is Robin Farrington.
- Has three grandsons: Neville Farrington (b. December 4 1958), Jonathan Farrington (b. May 13 1961) and Rupert Farrington (b. Aug 31 1962)
- Godmother of actress Juliet Mills.
- She could cry on cue.
- Reportedly used one of her two Oscars as a doorstop and the other to hold down tissues in the bathroom.
- Kept Laurence Olivier’s photograph beside her bed and on her dressing table even after they divorced. Until her death she was addressed as “Lady Olivier.”
- She desperately wanted to play the second Mrs. De Winter in Rebecca (1940) opposite her husband Laurence Olivier, but producer David O. Selznick thought the role would dilute her value as a Scarlett O’Hara type and cast Joan Fontaine who won her first Academy Award nomination in the role.
- Had an affair with actor Peter Finch that nearly ended her marriage to Laurence Olivier. The movie The V.I.P.s (1963) is based on an incident from Leigh’s and Olivier’s marriage, when she was about to leave him for Finch but Olivier wooed her back.
- She was offered a play about Eva Peron.
- Won Broadway’s 1963 Tony Award as Best Actress (Musical) for “Tovarich.”
- Was named #16 Actress on The American Film Institutes 50 Greatest Screen Legends
- Is portrayed by Morgan Brittany in The Scarlett O’Hara War (1980) (TV) and by Mel Martin in Darlings of the Gods (1989) (TV)
- She was supposed to star in the Paramount film Elephant Walk (1954) with Peter Finch and Dana Andrews, but after appearing in a few scenes she was replaced by Elizabeth Taylor. The reasons for Leigh’s dismissal were rumored to be her difficult nature, having just been diagnosed as a manic-depressive. Further complications may have erupted because of an affair she had with co-star Finch while she was still married to Laurence Olivier, and Leigh and Olivier were still married in 1954.
- She has at least 3 great granddaughters: Amy, Sophie and Ashua
- Vivien’s mother made her return her first engagement ring (from Leigh Holman) because she thought the green stone would bring bad luck in the marriage. She exchanged it for a classic diamond wedding band.
- Her performance as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939) is ranked #3 on Premiere Magazine’s 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
- Eventually, Vivien needed electro-convulsive therapy (EMT) to control her manic depression. Sometimes she would go on stage just hours after her treatments, without missing a beat in her performance.
- When Vivian was a baby her mother gave birth to twins though neither of them survived.
- Was obsessed with hiding her large hands. Gloves were a favorite cover-up.
- Her father was a full-blooded Englishmen, while her mother was of French and Irish -and some say Indian- descent.
- Vivien had an inner-ear problem that made balance tricky and because of this she never excelled at any sports.
- Was close friends with Rachel Kempson, the mother of Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave.
- Her mother Gertrude created a beauty business ‘The Academy of Beauty Culture’ in 1934, which she would run for three decades.
- Great grandchildren are: Ashua, Amy, Sophie and Tessa.
- Was the first British actress to win an Academy Award. She won the Best Actress Oscar for Gone with the Wind (1939) in February 1940.
- As of 2008, she is only one of six actors who have a 2-0 winning record when nominated for an acting Oscar.
- When making Gone with the Wind (1939), to achieve the desired cleavage for director Victor Fleming, Walter Plunkett had to tape Vivien Leigh’s breasts together.
- She was fluent in French and German and as a result could dub many of her own films when translated into these foreign markets.
- At her wedding to Leigh Holman, Vivien slipped her wedding ring off to show it around to which her mother Gertrude replied, “Vivian! That’s terribly unlucky. You must never do that!”
- Vivien collected china.
- She never traveled abroad without her Rolls Royce. The number plate on the car was “VLO”
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