Acting

Vivien Leigh

Born November 5, 1913 · Darjeeling, Bengal Presidency, British India [now West Bengal, India]

Died July 7, 1967 · aged 53

Vivien Leigh (born November 5, 1913, Darjeeling, India—died July 8, 1967, London, England) was an English actress renowned for her roles in Hollywood and British theater. She won two Academy Awards for Best Actress, portraying Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939) and Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), both performances that solidified her place among the greatest actresses …

Known For

Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind · 1939

Gone with the Wind

The spoiled daughter of a Georgia plantation owner conducts a tumultuous romance with a cynical profiteer during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era.

A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire · 1951

A Streetcar Named Desire

MovieDramaThriller

A disturbed, aging Southern belle moves in with her sister for solace — but being face-to-face with her brutish brother-in-law accelerates her downward spiral.

Waterloo Bridge

Waterloo Bridge · 1940

Waterloo Bridge

MovieDramaRomance

On the eve of World War II, a British officer revisits Waterloo Bridge and recalls the young man he was at the beginning of World War I and the young ballerina he met just before he left for the front.

Caesar and Cleopatra

Caesar and Cleopatra · 1945

Caesar and Cleopatra

MovieDramaHistory

At the height of the Roman Civil War, an aging Julius Caesar finds himself intrigued by the young Egyptian queen Cleopatra, whom he teaches how to rule Egypt.

That Hamilton Woman

That Hamilton Woman · 1941

That Hamilton Woman

MovieDramaHistory

The story of courtesan and dance-hall girl Emma Hamilton, including her relationships with Sir William Hamilton and Admiral Horatio Nelson and her rise and fall, set during the Napoleonic Wars.

Ship of Fools

Ship of Fools · 1965

MovieDramaRomance

A varied group of passengers boarding a ship bound for pre-WWII Germany represents a microcosm of early-1930s society.

Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina · 1948

MovieDramaRomance

In Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets charming cavalry officer Vronsky, to whom she's immediately attracted— but in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.

That's Entertainment! III

That's Entertainment! III · 1994

That's Entertainment! III

MovieDocumentaryMusic

Some of MGM's musical stars review the studio's history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain.

Filmography

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Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind · 1939

Gone with the Wind

The spoiled daughter of a Georgia plantation owner conducts a tumultuous romance with a cynical profiteer during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era.

Scarlett O'Hara

A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire · 1951

A Streetcar Named Desire

MovieDramaThriller

A disturbed, aging Southern belle moves in with her sister for solace — but being face-to-face with her brutish brother-in-law accelerates her downward spiral.

Blanche DuBois

Waterloo Bridge

Waterloo Bridge · 1940

Waterloo Bridge

MovieDramaRomance

On the eve of World War II, a British officer revisits Waterloo Bridge and recalls the young man he was at the beginning of World War I and the young ballerina he met just before he left for the front.

Myra

Caesar and Cleopatra

Caesar and Cleopatra · 1945

Caesar and Cleopatra

MovieDramaHistory

At the height of the Roman Civil War, an aging Julius Caesar finds himself intrigued by the young Egyptian queen Cleopatra, whom he teaches how to rule Egypt.

Cleopatra

That Hamilton Woman

That Hamilton Woman · 1941

That Hamilton Woman

MovieDramaHistory

The story of courtesan and dance-hall girl Emma Hamilton, including her relationships with Sir William Hamilton and Admiral Horatio Nelson and her rise and fall, set during the Napoleonic Wars.

Emma, Lady Hamilton

Ship of Fools

Ship of Fools · 1965

MovieDramaRomance

A varied group of passengers boarding a ship bound for pre-WWII Germany represents a microcosm of early-1930s society.

Mary Treadwell

Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina · 1948

MovieDramaRomance

In Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets charming cavalry officer Vronsky, to whom she's immediately attracted— but in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.

Anna Karenina

That's Entertainment! III

That's Entertainment! III · 1994

That's Entertainment! III

MovieDocumentaryMusic

Some of MGM's musical stars review the studio's history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain.

(archive footage) (uncredited)

21 Days

21 Days · 1940

MovieDramaRomance

After Larry Darrent accidentally kills his lover's blackmailing husband, someone else is arrested for the crime. When he is found guilty, Larry and Wanda have just three weeks together before he must give himself up— or let an innocent man go to the gallows.

Wanda

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone · 1961

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone

MovieDramaRomance

An aging actress travels to Rome with her husband; after he suddenly dies during the flight, she begins a passionate affair with a young gigolo.

Karen Stone

Fire Over England

Fire Over England · 1937

Fire Over England

MovieHistoryDrama

In 1588, relations between Spain and England are at the breaking point. With the support of Queen Elizabeth I, British sea raiders such as Sir Francis Drake regularly capture Spanish merchantmen, bringing gold from the New World.

Cynthia

The Deep Blue Sea

The Deep Blue Sea · 1955

The Deep Blue Sea

MovieDramaRomance

A woman is unhappy in her marriage to a boring, stiff judge, so she takes up with a wild-living RAF pilot, who ends up being more than she can handle.

Hester Collyer

Dark Journey

Dark Journey · 1937

MovieThrillerWar

British double agent Madeleine Goddard meets and falls in love with German spy Baron Karl Von Marwitz during World War I.

Madeleine Goddard

That's Entertainment, Part II

That's Entertainment, Part II · 1976

That's Entertainment, Part II

MovieDocumentaryMusic

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.

(archive footage)

The Skin of Our Teeth

The Skin of Our Teeth · 1959

The Skin of Our Teeth

MovieTV MovieComedy

Production of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-winning play about mankind's triumph over chaos, which wildly altered dramatic conventions in freely shifting between modern-day New Jersey and the ice age. Meet George and Maggie Antrobus (married only 5,000 years); their two children, Gladys and Henry (perfect in every way!); and their maid, Sabina (the ageless vamp) as they overcome ice, flood, and war — by the skin of their teeth.

Sabina

A Yank at Oxford

A Yank at Oxford · 1938

A Yank at Oxford

MovieDramaRomance

A brash young American aristocrat attending Oxford University gets a chance to prove himself and win the heart of his antagonist's sister.

Elsa Craddock

Storm in a Teacup

Storm in a Teacup · 1937

Storm in a Teacup

MovieComedyRomance

A local politician in Scotland tries to break the reporter who wrote a negative story about him, and who is also in love with his daughter.

Victoria Gow

Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies

Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies · 1988

Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies

MovieDocumentaryCrime

Famous Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies

(archive footage) (uncredited)

St. Martin's Lane

St. Martin's Lane · 1938

St. Martin's Lane

MovieComedyDrama

Pickpocket Libby is protected by aging street performer Charles, who takes her into his troupe. Libby's dancing leads her to meet songwriter Harley and launch a stage career, while Charles is seemingly spurned by the waif he has helped.

Liberty

Ivanov

A play by Chekhov, starring Vivien Leigh and John Gielgud; it was Leigh’s final performance before her death in 1967.

Anna Petrovna

Rebecca

Rebecca · 1950

A play version of Daphne du Maurier’s book starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier

Mrs. de winter

Private Lives

Private Lives · 1940

A play by Noël Coward recorded for radio starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier.

Amanda Prynne

Look Up and Laugh

Look Up and Laugh · 1935

Look Up and Laugh

MovieComedyMusic

Gutsy lass Gracie rallies fellow stall-holders at Birkenhead Market to prevent its takeover and demolition by a department store chain. She invokes the Market's foundation by Royal Charter just before an inadvertent gas leak provides an explosive climax.

Marjorie Belfer

Antony and Cleopatra

Antony and Cleopatra · 1962

Antony and Cleopatra

MovieDramaHistory

Vivien Leigh and Peter Finch perform an abridged audio play of Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" for the Living Shakespeare series, 1962.

Cleopatra

1939: Secrets of Hollywood's Golden Year

1939: Secrets of Hollywood's Golden Year · 2023

1939: Secrets of Hollywood's Golden Year

SeriesDocumentary

This two-part documentary series explores 1939, the greatest year in Hollywood history, telling the behind-the-scenes stories of films like Gone With The Wind, Wuthering Heights, Stagecoach and The Wizard of Oz.