Vivien Leigh

ActorUnited Kingdom1913–1967

ActorUnited Kingdom

1913–1967

Bipolar disorderHistorically documented[1]

Vivien Leigh was a British stage and film actor best known for playing Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind and Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for both performances and also had an extensive theatre career in Britain, including major work with Laurence Olivier. [2]

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Career and work

Leigh became internationally famous for playing Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, a performance that earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1940. She later won a second Best Actress Oscar for playing Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire. [3][4]

Alongside her film career, Leigh worked extensively on stage, often with Laurence Olivier. Later in her career she won the 1963 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for Tovarich. [5][2]

What has been publicly discussed

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Sources used for this profile

The following sources contain information that supports the claims made on this page.

Lyndsy SpenceWhere Madness Lies: The Double Life of Vivien Leigh
Breakdown, diagnosis, treatment and recurrent illness.
British Film Institute“Remembering Vivien Leigh”
Career and illness context.
Academy Awards1940
Gone with the Wind Oscar.

View all 9 sources

Academy Awards1952
A Streetcar Named Desire Oscar.
Tony Awards1963
Tovarich.
Publishers Weeklyreview of Where Madness Lies
1953 breakdown, hospitalization and diagnosis.
Laurence OlivierConfessions of an Actor
Olivier’s account of Leigh’s diagnosis.
Los Angeles TimesVivien Leigh biography coverage
ECT and bipolar disorder.
Kirkus ReviewsWhere Madness Lies
Recurrent episodes and later ECT.

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