Vivien Leigh became famous overnight in the role of "Scarlett". But the actress, unfortunately, led a life just as tragic as that of her character in 'Gone with the Wind'. We remember the moving life of the Hollywood star.
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00:00 In 1939, the then 26-year-old Vivian Leigh became famous overnight in the legendary role
00:07 of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind.
00:10 But the actress' life was as tragic as her characters.
00:14 At the age of 19, Vivian married Herbert Lee Holman, who was 13 years her senior.
00:21 Their daughter was born in 1933.
00:25 The divorce came just eight years later, after which the actress gave her daughter Suzanne,
00:30 seen here years later at her own wedding, to her mother.
00:33 That same year, Vivian married the actor Laurence Olivier, with whom she had previously had
00:38 an affair.
00:40 The Oscar winner became pregnant, but fate struck during the filming of Caesar and Cleopatra.
00:46 The actress had a serious fall and subsequently lost her unborn child.
00:51 She suffered a miscarriage.
00:54 As successful as her Hollywood career was, her private life was just as fateful.
01:00 In addition, during her most successful period, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, then
01:06 still referred to as manic-depressive.
01:09 Above all, her dramatic miscarriage affected her mental health and she suffered from severe
01:14 depression.
01:16 Before her second pregnancy and the fateful filming, she also contracted tuberculosis.
01:22 For the rest of her life, Vivian struggled with this along with her mental illness.
01:28 Her love life was also about to get out of control again.
01:33 Her second marriage also failed.
01:36 In 1960, Laurence Olivier filed for divorce after the two actors had been separated for
01:41 several years.
01:43 Since he wanted to marry the actress Joan Plowright, the marriage had to be declared
01:48 over on paper.
01:50 Vivian Leigh consoled herself during her broken marriage to actor Peter Finch.
01:55 She then found new love in actor John Maravalli, with whom she lived until the end of her life.
02:02 In 1963, the actress suffered from burnout and had been regularly cared for by a nurse
02:07 since then.
02:09 At the same time, Vivian Leigh was also a patient in a psychiatric clinic.
02:15 The following year, the Gone with the Wind star recovered and returned to work.
02:20 But filming her last film, Ship of Fools, was strenuous.
02:25 In 1967, Vivian became seriously ill again and continued to lose weight until finally
02:31 passing away in the summer.
02:34 On July 8, 1967, John Maravalli found her dead.
02:39 The cause of death was her previous tuberculosis disease.
02:44 The legendary Hollywood star was only 53 years old.
02:48 Through the role of Scarlett O'Hara, Vivian Leigh will forever be remembered.
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03:04 (eerie music)