Legendary love story: Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier: carried away by love

22.04.2019

Laurence Olivier is a British theater and film artist. One of the greatest actors of the 20th century, whose repertoire included both ancient drama, and modern American plays. The Oscar winner, whose filmography includes 85 feature films, has directed 38 theatrical productions and six films during his career.

Childhood and youth

Laurence Kerr Olivier was born on May 22, 1907, in the city of Dorking, located in Surrey (England). The father, who devoted his life to worship, raised his children (the artist has a sister Sybil and a brother Gerard) in an atmosphere of strict religiosity, which is why in his childhood the master of reincarnation was very attached to his mother Agnes Louis. It is known that the death of his mother in 1920 became for Lawrence a real tragedy.

First time future great actor appeared on stage at the age of 9, performing the role of Brutus in the school production of "". Then the eminent artist Ellen Terry was present at the performance, who, at the end of the performance, praised the performance of the young actor. From the biography Hollywood star It is known that four years after the premiere, Lawrence entered St. Edward's School in Oxford.

Laurence Olivier at school

There, during theater festival he, in best traditions Shakespearean times, repeatedly played Katarina in the production of The Taming of the Shrew, as well as Puck in The Dream in summer night" The successes of his son convinced Olivier Sr. that his heir really had the makings of an actor.

In 1924, Lawrence entered the London Central School of Speech and Dramatic Art, after which he was accepted into the Birmingham theater troupe. A year later, the master of disguise became a leading actor, performing the roles of Hamlet and Macbeth on the stage of the Melpomene Temple.

Movies

In 1930, Lawrence made his first appearance on the silver screen. He played the role of Peter Bill in the film “The Temporary Widow,” and a year later he added to his cinematic treasury with the film “Yellow Ticket.” It is worth noting that the actor did not take filming seriously, considering the main work of his life to be the stage on which he shone in the roles of Shakespearean heroes.

Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier in the film Pride and Prejudice

In 1939, he starred in William Wyler's film Wuthering Heights, and a year later, together with Greer Garson, he played the main role in the film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. In 1948, the film “Hamlet” was released, in which Lawrence not only played the main role, but also acted as director and screenwriter. This work received many awards, including an Oscar.

In the period from 1951 to 1955, the eminent artist’s filmography was replenished with a film adaptation of the work “Sister Carrie”, as well as the films “Beggar’s Opera” and “Richard III”. In subsequent years, Olivier starred in a couple of dozen film projects, among which the viewer especially loved “The Prince and the Showgirl” with leading role, "Spartacus", "Jihad" and "Three Sisters".

In 1976, the premiere of the film directed by John Schlesinger “Marathon Man” took place. The plot of the film, which tells about the everyday life of the seemingly unremarkable history student Thomas Levy (), is based on a novel by writer William Goldman. In the film, Lawrence played Dr. Christian Schell.

Three years later, the actor played the role of an expert in occult sciences, Mr. Abraham Van Helsing, in the film adaptation of the novel “Dracula” of the same name. In 1981, the premiere of a free film adaptation took place. ancient greek myths directed by Desmond Davis "Clash of the Titans". In the film, the artist played the role of the lord of thunder and lightning - the god Zeus.

In 1984, fans saw their favorite in the film “Bounty”, in which, in addition to Olivier, actors, and. IN recent years Olivier worked a lot on television throughout his life. The most significant were his roles in the television films “The Ebony Tower”, “Wagner” and “Love Among the Ruins”, in which he played in a creative duet with. Last image, which Olivier played in a feature film, was the role of an elderly soldier in the film “War Requiem” (1989).

Personal life

In August 1940, in the Californian city of Santa Barbara, the wedding of actors Laurence Olivier and. This secret ceremony (only actress Katharine Hepburn and screenwriter Garson Kanin were present as witnesses) was preceded by whirlwind romance and difficult divorces of lovers.

They lived together for 20 years, during which Vivienne turned from an aspiring actress into a movie star suffering from serious illness and depression, and Lawrence became an envious husband who never forgave his wife for her success. Their love story began in 1935. Then on London theater stage The play Romeo and Juliet, in which Olivier had the main role, was a triumph.

The image of the temperamental and sparkling Romeo captivated young actress, who was present at the performance at the time. From that moment on, Vivien strived to get to every performance with the participation of her favorite actor. One day, the young lady managed to get behind the scenes and personally meet the artist.

Their meeting grew into friendship, and then into a whirlwind romance, which began on the set of the film “Flame Over England.” Then the actors played lovers. Over the course of three months of filming, on-screen love grew into real love. Everything was almost perfect, except for one tangible “but” - both actors were not free at that time. Vivienne had a husband and a young daughter, Suzanne, and Olivier was married to actress Jill Esmond and also had a child.

Laurence Olivier and first wife Jill Esmond

Despite the fact that the actors' spouses refused to give the lovers a divorce, they, while still officially married, began to live together. After the artists received a divorce, they secretly got married. Shortly after the wedding, Alexander Korda invited the newlyweds to play the main roles in the film "Lady Hamilton", the plot of which is based on the story forbidden love Admiral Nelson and Ambassador's wife Emma.

Lee managed to endow the image of the calculating Lady Hamilton with such light and innocence that Lawrence, in the role of the brave sea dog I just got lost next to her. Subsequently, with each new collaboration, the difference in the performance and approach of both actors to the role became more and more striking. Olivier thought acting business, Vivien gave her whole soul to this art, living every moment of the hero’s life as her own.

Laurence Olivier and second wife Vivien Leigh

Only the efforts of the charming actress saved their marriage from collapse: the young lady tirelessly praised Olivier and more than once refused lucrative offers to please family well-being. In 1944, their family suffered another misfortune - the cheerful and active Vivienne fell ill with tuberculosis. The doctors prescribed her bed rest and treatment in the hospital, but the young lady did not want to become a voluntary recluse and, ignoring all the doctors’ advice, continued to work.

The disease was aggravated by frequent nervous breakdowns. Lawrence was irritated and frightened by his wife’s fits, during which she often attacked him with her fists. Tired of his wife’s hysterics, actor Olivier began to increasingly look at young actresses. While Lee was getting worse every day, Lawrence became interested in the young theater and film actress Joan Plowright.

On the day Vivienne turned 45, Olivier kindly gave her a Rolls-Royce, and a few days after that he solemnly handed Lee a letter in which he asked for a divorce. In 1961, Lawrence married for the third time, to actress Joan Plowright. She gave birth to three children to the TV star: son Richard (he became a director) and daughters Tamsin and Julia-Kat (they became actresses). The couple lived together until Olivier's death.

Death

In the 80s, Olivier was diagnosed with cancer. For a couple of years, the director struggled with the disease, but in the end the disease won. Lawrence died on July 11, 1989. It is known that in the last hours of his life, his family and close friends were with the famous actor. The theater figure's grave is located next to the burials of writers and Hardy Thomas in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey.

In 2004, Kerry Conran's film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was released. In addition to , and , the film also featured a computer reconstruction of Olivier. Three years after the premiere, in London, on the square near the Royal national theater unveiled a monument to Laurence Olivier. The monument depicts the artist in his best role- Hamlet.

Filmography

1939 – “Wuthering Heights”
1940 – “Rebecca”
1940 – “Pride and Prejudice”
1948 – “Hamlet”
1952 – “Sister Carrie”
1957 – “The Prince and the Showgirl”
1959 – “The Devil’s Disciple”
1960 – “Spartak”
1965 – “Othello”
1969 – “Battle of Britain”
1970 – “Three Sisters”
1976 – “Marathon Man”
1977 – “A Bridge Too Far”
1979 – “Dracula”
1981 – “Clash of the Titans”
1988 – “War Requiem”

The love story of world-famous actors Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier lasted for more than two decades. Their relationship began with love on stage, and developed into all-consuming passion and love in real life. But life is not a theatrical stage, and not everyone manages to pass the tests that are destined for them.

Acquaintance

Vivien first saw Mr. Olivier in the theater when he played Romeo in the production of Romeo and Juliet. Then she had just begun her career as an actress and had not yet taken a pseudonym, under which she subsequently conquered the world of theater and cinema (the real name of the actress Vivian Hartley), and Olivier was already sparkling on the stage of the British theater. Vivian was amazed by his performance and talent. She began to attend all his performances and soon realized that she had dreamed of such a man: handsome and stately, passionate and strong, incredibly talented. And she was not at all embarrassed by the fact that both she and her chosen one at that time were already married and had small children. Vivian was married to a successful lawyer and raised a one-year-old daughter, Suzanne, and Lawrence was married to an actress who just gave birth to his son, who was named Tarquin.

After one of the performances, Vivien snuck backstage and showed admiration for her idol. Numerous compliments and the bright appearance of the young actress impressed Mr. Olivier, and the persistent Mrs. Holman managed to persuade him to attend her performance. Having performed amazingly in the production of “The Mask of Virtue,” the actress impressed the audience, but most importantly, she impressed Lawrence. Since then, the actors have had a strong relationship friendly relations, they began to be seen together often.

The beginning of the novel

For some time, the couple’s relationship did not go beyond friendship, but everything changed on the set of the film “Flame Over England,” where they played lovers. Very soon the passion from the screen transferred to real life and completely captured them. Since then they have always been together. Almost immediately, they publicly declared their love and asked their spouses for a divorce.

Although fans received this romantic gesture favorably, and even began to support their lovers in every possible way, their spouses Herbert and Jill were shocked and depressed, they took the children and refused to divorce their halves. But this did not stop the lovers at all, and soon they began to live together, despite the fact that Vivien’s mother, an ardent Catholic, was categorically against such an act by her daughter.

World famous

Soon after the start life together the young people had to separate again. Larry was cast as Heathcliff in " Wuthering Heights" For this, he went to America, leaving his beloved in England. Left alone, Viv began to miss her soul mate so much that she canceled all upcoming performances and went to America to pick him up. At the same time, casting for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in the film adaptation of the novel "Gone with the Wind" had been taking place in Los Angeles for two years. More than 1,400 girls were screened, but none were good enough for the role. Vivien didn’t doubt for a second that this role would belong to her, she came to the casting and instantly convinced everyone else of it.

Although Lawrence was against her participation in the filming, the actress began work without hesitation. The filming was very intense and exhausting, and it was difficult and unusual for Vivien as a theater actress. However, her efforts were fully justified after the film's premiere. The film was a stunning success, and Vivien received an Oscar for best female role and became incredibly popular, famous and in demand. Lawrence took her success extremely hard. He was jealous of her fame and instead of supporting his beloved and being happy for her, he openly showed his disapproval.

Wedding and beginning of family life

However, Vivien was too in love to attach importance to the peculiar behavior of her chosen one, and Lawrence, thanks to his love for her, was able to overcome envy and the desire to compete. Then the legal spouses of the young people finally agreed to give them a divorce. A few months later, the couple quietly got married in secret from the press. Only two of their friends and witnesses were present at the wedding.

Further projects

A few months after the wedding, Mrs. Olivier played the lead role in the film Waterloo Bridge. It was enthusiastically received by viewers and critics. And Lawrence got the lead role in Alfred Hitchcock's film Rebecca, while Vivienne failed to audition. Vivienne sincerely believed that their love in life must be supported by love on stage, and she was very painfully worried when her beloved Larry was someone other than her on the screen. That's why Hitchcock didn't approve her for the role in Rebecca. As he later noted, Vivien Leigh showed no desire to participate in the project until she learned that her husband had received the main role. Only after that did she become interested in work.

A few months later, the couple starred together in the film Lady Hamilton. And although the film was very popular and loved by the audience, it was impossible not to notice that the level of Vivienne’s acting skills began to surpass her husband’s acting. However, after this film, Winston Churchill was inspired by the brilliant acting of the couple and especially Mrs. Olivier. They became frequent guests in his house, and after some time Laurence Olivier was knighted, and Vivienne received the title Lady Olivier.

A little later, the newlyweds invested a lot of money and effort into the production of “Romeo and Juliet” in memory of how their feelings arose. They were sure that this joint project will be crowned with success. Everything turned out to be completely different: the public did not accept the production, and the critics left merciless negative reviews. And although the audience noted Vivien’s excellent performance, they also noticed that Olivier’s performance was rather weak.

This had a negative impact on their relationship: Lawrence felt that his wife’s fame was increasingly eclipsing his own and began to grow cold towards her, and Vivienne felt her lover’s detachment and began to become depressed, causing scandals for her husband, hoping to return his love and not understanding what she was doing only worse. To rehabilitate yourself in the eyes of the press and improve your financial situation, the couple went on a tour of New Zealand and Australia. Their financial situation improved and their popularity returned, but the relationship only got worse, constant showdowns alienated them more and more from each other.

The onset of illness and the collapse of relationships

After returning to England, Vivien's physical health deteriorated sharply. She was given a disappointing diagnosis - tuberculosis. The doctors insisted on serious treatment and rest, but Vivienne refused, saying that for her work is life. However, she was still forced to take medication ( psychotropic drugs), which, as it turned out later, greatly undermined the already unstable psyche of the actress. She developed manic-depressive syndrome: she could sit melancholy in one place for hours, and then jump up with an unhealthy gleam in her eyes and demand to go somewhere immediately. Scandals, hysterics and attacks became more frequent, after which Lady Olivier often did not remember how badly she behaved.

One day Vivien tried to jump from a plane. Lawrence tried to support his wife, offered her psychiatric treatment, but Vivien always refused, saying that only his love could help her. And this really was so - when Olivier sincerely cared about his wife and said that he loved her, she felt much better, she became the same. But Lawrence found it increasingly difficult to endure his wife’s hysterics; he began to be burdened by her. Filming in the film A Streetcar Named Desire brought Vivienne her second Oscar. But it was then that her psyche and relationship with her husband finally shook. The point is that main character film, Blanche DuBois, according to the script, suffered from complex mental disorders.

Vivien suffered two miscarriages, although she always dreamed of giving her Larry an heir. Later in 1953, Vivienne became even worse and had to go to a psychiatric hospital, where, with the consent of her husband, she was given electric shock treatment. Vivien returned home exhausted and completely different from the girl with whom Olivier had once fallen in love. At the same time, he began an affair with aspiring actress Joan Plowright. And Vivienne had to cope with depression and tuberculosis herself, and, despite this, she did not stop acting in films, and very successfully. In 1960, after 20 years of marriage, Olivier filed for divorce and gave his wife a Rolls-Royce for the occasion. Vivien endured this news steadfastly and gave her husband consent to the divorce.

After the breakup

Even after Olivier left, Vivien always continued to love him and did not hide it. She devoted herself entirely to her work and continued to hope that he would come to his senses and return, even keeping the title of lady, which she inherited from her husband. However, tuberculosis progressed, her physical condition rapidly deteriorated, and in 1967 she died from another severe attack.

Olivier married Plowright and outlived his Viv by 22 years. In his old age, he constantly watched films with Vivienne, cried and bitterly regretted that their love could not stand the test of illness and time.

And yet there is life-long love in this world. They were together for more than 60 years both in life and in creativity and died almost on the same day.

A beautiful girl should choose a smart and wealthy husband. This conventional wisdom is true for many, but not for British actress Vivien Leigh. She took as her life partner the actor Laurence Olivier, her equal not only in talent, but also in extraordinary natural beauty. And it was in vain that the charming Scarlett O’Hara did not believe that absolute beauty does not bring happiness...

Love at first sight

Late 1934, London, Theater Royal. On stage is a fashionable production starring Laurence Olivier. The hall is full of women who came to see the handsome actor. Among them is twenty-year-old Vivian Holman, an English housewife and student at the Academy of Film Arts. This was her first appearance after the birth of her daughter, so Vivian happily responded to her friend’s offer to go to the theater. She had long been bored with the role of a housewife, a young mother and an exemplary wife of a respected lawyer who was 13 years older than her. Stormy temperament and thirst for life turned out to be incompatible with her current situation. She dreamed of the stage, dreamed of becoming a real actress. Now, looking at Laurence Olivier through her monocle, she was captivated by his extraordinary performance, as well as his beauty and article. Here he is, her hero! Vivian, in love, whispered with a breath: “He will be my husband!”, to which a practical friend answered irritably: “You already have a husband!” But she could not even imagine how far Vivian could go in her determination. After the performance, the girl snuck into Olivier’s dressing room and expressed a lot of compliments to the surprised actor. Olivier was flattered and promised in return to come to Vivian’s performance as soon as the premiere took place. And he really came.

Like in the movies

Time passed, and fate brought the actors together on the set of the film “Flame Over England,” where they were supposed to play lovers. Vivien Leigh, who by that time had changed her name to something more sonorous for the actress, was jubilant! After all, she could not get the handsome Olivier out of her head. And now a real romance awaits her, albeit a movie one! The beautiful maid of honor and the brave officer literally burned with passion on the set, but Laurence Olivier, who was also married, did not share Vivienne’s enthusiasm for the possibility of continuing their romance: “We will most likely end up fighting!” However, he clearly underestimated the seductiveness of the young actress. Their romance turned into something more, captured both of them so much that each of them asked their other half for a divorce. However, neither Olivier's wife nor Lee's husband agreed to release the lovers. Despair and frustration forced Vivienne to give the press frank interview, in which she not only admitted to an affair hidden from the public, but also poured out the whole soul of a woman in love who does not have the opportunity to live in a legal marriage with her beloved man. Contrary to expectations, Puritan England sided with the traitors and supported the lovers. From now on, they lived in their mansion openly, without hiding.

Oscar Challenge

Soon Lawrence flew to America - he was invited to play the role of Rhett Butler in the saga " Gone with the Wind" A bored Vivien rushed after him at the first news of Larry’s ill health. She read Margaret Mitchell’s book in one night and said the phrase that went down in history: “Even if Larry doesn’t play Rhett, but I will play Scarlett!” It was in vain that they tried to explain to her that auditions for the main role had been going on for two years already, one and a half thousand applicants had been looked at... As soon as Vivien, with her characteristic stubbornness and pride, written on her impeccably beautiful face, appeared before producer D. O. Selznick, he realized: “Here she is, Scarlett O’Hara!” The role of the American woman brought Vivien worldwide fame and an Academy Award. The whole world applauded her - everyone except Laurence Olivier, who was unable to hide his professional jealousy and resentment from his beloved. After the film's premiere, he said, "I didn't expect her to be able to do this." Deep down, Larry considered Vivien a beautiful fool and a mediocre actress, whom he tried to teach the skill from the height of his talent and professionalism. And of course - Oscar! To console her lover, Vivienne came up with a new use for the golden figurine: she propped it up on the bedroom door in their luxurious London mansion. Olivier relented, and their spouses finally signed divorce papers. This saved a relationship that was already cracking. The couple finally got married, almost secretly, in a small town, with only two witnesses present.

Vivien still loved Olivier - selflessly, to the point of stupor. She should leave the film industry and become a housewife. But she was afraid that then her beloved would become uninteresting. In addition, all her life she was haunted by complexes: she could not give her husband children, and therefore a full-fledged family, which he so often dreamed of when they were alone. Vivienne's two pregnancies ended in miscarriage.

Non-star disease

Vivienne's career blossomed: the public applauded her work in the films Waterloo Bridge and Lady Hamilton. In the latter, by the way, Laurence Olivier played Admiral Nelson, but few people mentioned him, which made the actor fly into a rage and become increasingly jealous of his wife... of her work. No matter how soft and tactful Vivien tried to be, no matter how much she praised the talent of “her Larry,” she could not avoid family scandals. The couple began to sleep in separate bedrooms. The cheerful and optimistic Vivienne began taking antidepressants, and rumors spread throughout Hollywood that the actress was suffering from manic depression. Olivier only supported the gossip that working together with Vivien Leigh was hard labor for fellow actors, and the directors were tired of enduring the eternal hysterics of the “capricious Englishwoman.” It is not surprising that her name soon faded into obscurity. And then a terrible diagnosis thundered: tuberculosis. After treatment at a prestigious clinic, the disease subsided, and Vivienne returned to work. On the set of Caesar and Cleopatra, she found out that she was pregnant. It seemed that life had given her a second chance to improve her relationship with Larry. But, apparently, Vivien was too proud and proud: fate did not take pity on her. After the loss of her child, the actress suffered an emotional breakdown, which greatly affected her. After a long period of insomnia, Vivien begins to hallucinate.

Charter of family life, which has turned into a series of trials, Olivier sends his wife for spa treatment, knowing full well that the humid climate can again provoke an exacerbation of tuberculosis. Most of all, he worries about his well-being: his career took off, he was recognized as the best British actor and was even knighted. Now he is Lord Olivier. Why does he need a crazy wife? And Lady Olivier’s place, instead of Vivien Leigh, who wanders around clinics, is taken by the young actress Joan Plowright, with whom Olivier started an affair.

And Vivienne would never have been released from the clinic if not for her first husband, who forgave her but never stopped loving her. Hearing about Vivien’s trouble, Holman came to the clinic for her and literally snatched her from the clutches of the doctors who were treating the patient with ice. By that time, she was already on the verge of life and death. Next to her was another devoted man: actor John Merivale, who had long been in love with her. But Vivien could not answer his feelings: her heart belonged to Larry. Under the constant care of Merivale, as well as her ex-husband, mother and daughter, Vivienne began to recover... But the news of the divorce killed her.

Divorce is like death

Olivier easily ended seventeen years of marriage with Vivienne: to smooth over the unpleasant news, he gave her a luxurious Rolls-Royce. He did both for Vivien’s anniversary, on her 45th birthday. The poor woman couldn't bear the blow. The last straw was her second Oscar-winning role: in the film A Streetcar Named Desire, she played Blanche DuBois going crazy. Vivienne fell into madness. She locked herself in her house, did not answer calls and did not communicate with anyone. Vivien thought a lot about her life: she perceived her collapsed marriage with Olivier, the inability to have children and her illness as God’s punishment. For leaving her husband and daughter. For becoming an actress despite fate. For achieving fame and recognition. For always snatching from life everything it needed. Vivien often recalled her youth spent in a convent school, where she was placed by her parents who wanted to get rid of their daughter, who had become a burden to their disintegrating marriage. So everything repeats itself.

Vivienne's attacks of tuberculosis returned, but the actress refused medical help. On the same day, July 7, 1967, Scarlett O'Hara, Lady Hamilton, Cleopatra, Anna Karenina and Blanche Dubois died. Great actress Vivien Leigh passed away. On the dressing table next to her bed was a photograph of Laurence Olivier. To last breath Vivienne believed that her beloved would come to his senses and return to her.

The death of his ex-wife seemed to have no effect on the life of Laurence Olivier. New wife She bore him three children, and in his third marriage he was happy. His acting and directing career was a success; he won a long-awaited Oscar, two Golden Globes and two prestigious awards BAFTA. He lived long life, outliving Vivien by thirty years. But in the memory of fans, he was and remains the husband of the brilliant actress Vivien Leigh. They say that before his death he watched her films every day...

However, Vivienne will subsequently visit the grown-up Suzanne, take her with her on trips and even come to her for tea. school teachers. And after the death of her mother, the matured Suzanne will tell how as a child she admired her aristocratic beauty, impeccable manners and style - and at the same time hated her because, more than anything else, she was eternally passionate about her work, friends and husband.

Despite everything, Lawrence and Vivien moved in together. The scandal even benefited Viv’s popularity: her name began to be mentioned more often in the press, and there were also more offers from directors. It was during this tense period that the first alarming signs appeared in the behavior of the 24-year-old actress. Lawrence came to her dressing room before the start of the performance of Hamlet, where she played Ophelia. Vivien, who had never objected to his visits, suddenly began to shout at her lover, and then froze, looking at one point. Then Olivier wrote it off as an ordinary nervous breakdown, although the bad feeling did not leave him for a long time.

In 1938, Lawrence set off to conquer America. Once his attempt to conquer failed, and now came finest hour: the actor was offered the role of Heathcliff in the film adaptation of Wuthering Heights. Vivien was very sad - she could not stay alone for long. The film's director, William Wyler, offered her the minor role of Isabella, but the ambitious actress only agreed to Katie. But since the role had already been given to Merle Oberon, Vivien had to stay in London.

Photo: Splash News/East news

Without thinking twice, she canceled her London performances and followed Lawrence. And again Vivien's lover played the role of her guiding star. At that time, Hollywood was casting actors for the film adaptation. famous novel"Gone with the Wind." Margaret Mitchell's book was incredibly popular, and the film promised to be a success. Of course, provided the right choice actresses for the main role. The film's producer, David Selznick, was searching like an obsessive man for “the one” Scarlett. In February 1938, Vivien Leigh's American agent recommended her candidacy. Selznick watched all of Lee's films released in the UK. " New girl she’s very good, I hope for her,” he said.

As soon as Viv arrived in the United States, she was taken to auditions, after which the producer had virtually no doubts. "She's the real Scarlett - dark horse and looks damn attractive. I’m telling you in the strictest confidence: the field of contenders has narrowed to Paulette Goddard, Jean Arthur, Joan Bennett and Vivien Leigh,” Selznick wrote to his wife.

Photo: Splash News/East news

In the end, the role went to Vivienne. Filming was difficult: the actress was not used to working on camera, preferring the theater. The crazy rhythm of life of filmmakers exhausted her: work sometimes went on seven days a week from morning to night. Vivienne often quarreled with the director and Leslie Howard, who played her on-screen love, Ashley Wilkes. She also missed Olivier: although there was no longer an ocean between them, he worked in New York, and she worked in Los Angeles.

“How I hate acting in films!” Vivien wrote to her abandoned husband Herbert Holman, with whom, despite everything, she maintained friendly relations.

The actress’s torment paid off: the film, released in 1939, became a classic, outliving its creators, and Vivienne herself received an Oscar for Best Actress. However, she never got used to the role of a star diva.

“I’m not a movie star,” said Vivien Leigh. - I'm an actress. It's like being just a movie star fake life, lived in the name of false values and for the sake of fame. Acting lasts a long time and there are always great roles to play.”

Photo: Splash News/East news

In February 1940, Laurence Olivier's official wife finally agreed to give him a divorce. Herbert Holman had no choice but to follow her example. In August of the same year, Olivier and Vivienne got married in the Californian town of Santa Barbara. Only two of their friends, Katharine Hepburn and Garson Kanin, were present at the ceremony.

Vivien was very attached to Lawrence - perhaps even too much. She wanted not only to be his wife in life, but also to constantly play his lovers in the movies. At times it even harmed her career. So, Lee was not accepted for the leading role in Hitchcock’s “Rebecca.” “She didn’t show any enthusiasm until Olivier was given the lead role,” the director complained. As a result, the main male role remained with Vivien's husband, but Joan Fontaine became Rebecca.

In 1941, they played together in the film “Lady Hamilton,” which was extremely popular all over the world, including in the USSR. The film was highly praised by British Minister Winston Churchill, and the actors became his favorites. Vivienne’s beauty did not leave the politician indifferent - until the end of his life he called her a model of femininity, and never missed an opportunity to invite her and her husband to a dinner party.

They were called the most beautiful and lucky couple in Hollywood. They loved each other in life, on stage and in films, together they went through the disapproval of loved ones and the idle speculation of others.
On August 30, 1940, a wedding took place in the Californian city of Santa Barbara. Laurence Olivier And Vivien Leigh. This ceremony, almost secret (since only actress Katharine Hepburn And screenwriter Garson Kanin) was preceded by a whirlwind romance and difficult divorces of lovers.

They lived together for 20 years, during which Vivien turned from an aspiring actress into a movie star suffering from serious illness and depression. But Lawrence could never forgive her for Vivienne’s success.
Vivien Leigh was born in 1913 in India, where her English father served. She told her parents about her desire to become an actress back in early childhood, and they not only did not dissuade their daughter, but, on the contrary, supported her endeavors. Father helped Vivienne to enter the Royal Academy Dramatic Arts in London. Then, at the end of 1931, Vivienne met lawyer Herbert Lee Holman, whom she married in 1932. A year later their daughter was born Suzanne. However, despite the family idyll, Vivien did not give up her dreams of stage and cinema. Screen debut of Vivien Leigh, who, on the advice of a hired agent, changed her last name Holman to a more sonorous one, took place in the film “Things are looking up.” This small role went almost unnoticed and did not earn rave reviews from critics. But things went better in the theater: in 1935, Vivien Leigh played in the play “The Mask of Virtue,” where she attracted the attention of not only spectators and journalists, but also Laurence Olivier, who saw the production.
By then Larry Olivier was already a star English theater: in the 30s he appeared on stage in productions of Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear - both main and minor roles. At the same time, the actor began acting in films, including playing the main role in the film Raoul Walsh"Yellow Ticket" Like Vivien Leigh, Olivier was already married by that time - his first wife was actress Jill Esmond who gave birth to Lawrence's son Tarquina.
“It’s impossible not to fall in love with her”
In 1935, on the London theater stage with triumph there's a performance going on“Romeo and Juliet”, in the role of Romeo - courageous and passionate Laurence Olivier. He has already gained his signature fame as an actor who has radically changed the traditional presentation of Shakespeare's text on stage. He gave his characters more life, sincerity and emotions than was customary in such plays. This is how Vivien Leigh saw him, who at that time was experiencing the beginning of the takeoff of her own career in the theater. The image of the temperamental and sparkling Romeo performed by Olivier firmly settled in the soul of the young actress. This was the prince she was looking for in her girlish dreams.
From this moment on, Vivien strives to get to every performance with the participation of her favorite actor. She even gets behind the scenes and meets Olivier personally. Flattered by the attention beautiful girl, Lawrence reciprocates the actress’s feelings, comes to her performance “The Mask of Virtue” and drowns in the ocean of charm and grace that Vivienne radiates on stage. The eyes of the audience in the entire hall were focused only on her. Soon, a contract concluded with the famous producer Alexander Korda brings the actors together on the set of the film “Flame Over England,” a film about romantic love a royal maid of honor and a desperate naval officer. Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier played the main roles in it.
It's hard to resist when life itself presents an old dream on a silver platter. Over the course of three months of filming, love on the screen grew quite naturally and effortlessly into real life. Vivien and Lawrence did not hide their feelings, often secluded themselves, and their burning eyes betrayed the whole gamut of emotions and love experiences. “It was impossible not to fall in love with her,” Olivier later said about Lee. Everything was almost perfect, except for one noticeable “but”. Both actors were not free. Vivien has a respectable husband and little daughter Suzanne, and Olivier was married to actress Jill Esmond and recently became a happy father...
Test of Glory
Lawrence's wife and the actress's husband, Herbert Lee Holman, refused to give the lovers a divorce, and Vivien's mother was horrified when she learned of her daughter's plans to divorce and marry the actor. Such actions do not suit a good Catholic and a convent girl! However, outwardly tactful, neat and attentive, Vivien Leigh had iron stubbornness, will and a fair amount of willfulness. For the sake of her beloved Larry, she was ready to turn away from her family and church. While still officially married, the actors began to live together.

Olivier was impressed by the performance of the young actress Vivien Leigh; she, of course, had seen Olivier on stage more than once and dreamed of meeting him. Their meeting grew into friendship, and then into a stormy romance, which began on the set of the film “Flame Over England” in 1936 - on the screen the actors played lovers and after that they never parted, despite the fact that their legal spouses for a long time refused to give divorce. “I don’t remember a day of my life when I didn’t remember how my father left my mother for her own sake.” beautiful woman in the world and how my mother continued to love him,” Tarquin told Olivier in an interview. - He was good person, and I don't feel any bitterness. Vivien and Larry were meant to be together, they were an amazing couple."
Despite his success at home, Hollywood still remained an unconquered peak for Olivier. His first attempts to appear on American screens failed, so the actor enthusiastically accepted the offer to play the role. Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights in 1939 and went to America, leaving his young wife in London. However, Vivien Leigh did not have to grieve for long - she went to Los Angeles to audition for Gone with the Wind. Having beaten her competitors, the actress got the role Scarlett O'Hara, which eventually brought her not only worldwide fame, but also an Oscar award. Larry, who was initially against Vivienne's participation in the filming, was very upset about her success, which at that moment overshadowed his own achievements - wounded pride became the reason for the first serious quarrels. Biographer Laurence Olivier later wrote in his book that during this period the actress harassed both Olivier and his colleagues. film set mood swings and unstable behavior - rumors about manic-depressive psychosis, which the actress allegedly suffered from, accompanied her all her life. Some actors and directors talked about how hard it was to work with Lee, while others, on the contrary, denied this and talked about how professional she was on the set. The actress herself, during the filming of Gone with the Wind, wrote to her then-legal spouse Lee Holman, which Hollywood cannot stand and hates acting in films.
I'm going crazy without your love...
In this round, love triumphed over envy, and after Vivienne received a divorce in 1940, the couple secretly got married. Alexander Korda invited the newlyweds to play the main roles in the film “Lady Hamilton,” a story of forbidden love between Admiral Nelson and the ambassador’s wife Emma, too similar to their own. Vivien Leigh managed to endow the image of the calculating Lady Hamilton with such light and innocence that Lawrence, in the role of the brave sea wolf, noticeably faded next to her. Subsequently, with each new performance and film, the difference in performance and approach of both actors to the role became more and more striking. Olivier considered acting to be a business, while Vivienne devoted her whole soul to this art, living every moment of the hero’s life as her own.

The story largely repeated their personal one - the characters in the film live together, despite Emma’s marriage.
Not all of the couple's collaborations were successful. The Broadway production of Romeo and Juliet failed, and both actors received unflattering reviews in the press. Experiences related to work affected the health of Vivien Leigh, who fell ill with tuberculosis in 1944 and later suffered a miscarriage - during 20 years of marriage, she and Larry never had children. It got worse and mental state actress, she fell into depression, accompanied by severe emotional breakdowns. Olivier increasingly became the target of attacks. In 1947, after he was knighted and Vivienne became a lady, the couple went on tour together in Australia and New Zealand. On the tour, the purpose of which was to raise funds for the Old Vic Theater in London - Olivier was appointed its director - the couple played in several performances. Despite the audience's success, the tour was exhausting for both - daily performances affected Vivien Leigh's already weakened physical and moral health. Then even their stage partners noticed how tense the relationship between the lovers had become - they started scandals no longer behind closed doors, but in public.
However, the tour was a success and it helped Olivier and Leigh recover from previous failures. Moreover, the actress had a role ahead of her that would later become the main one in her career. The play was being staged in London Tennessee Williams“A Streetcar Named Desire” - the author and producer of the production, who had seen Vivien in other performances, approved the actress for the role Blanche Dubois, and her husband undertook to stage the play as a director. Both the play and the production became the subject of heated discussions - the author was accused of obscenity and excessive frankness, the actress - that she was not suitable for the role - how could a cold Englishwoman play a passionate American? The public, reading the reviews, sold out over and over again. Articles in the press did not influence global recognition both Tennessee Williams, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for this work, and Vivien Leigh, who was invited to Hollywood to shoot the film version of A Streetcar Named Desire. The main male role - Stanley Kowalski- played in the film Marlon Brando, who previously played in the New York theatrical production plays.
The film brought the actress her second Oscar, but completely undermined both her health and her relationship with Laurence Olivier. Vivien Leigh has said more than once that it was the role of Blanche DuBois that led her to madness and psychiatric clinic, where the actress was forced to go to bed in 1953. This was preceded by a harrowing trip to Ceylon to film the film Elephant Walking. Olivier refused the proposed leading male role and took his place Peter Finch, who supported the actress. In the hot and humid climate, tuberculosis worsened, and on top of everything else, Vivien was sad in the absence of her husband - as a result, the director decided to send Lee home and give her role Elizabeth Taylor. In London, Vivien, who had another attack on the way, was met by Olivier, who immediately took her not home, but to the clinic.
The treatment changed the actress almost beyond recognition. “She was becoming completely different from the woman I had once fallen in love with,” said Olivier. “She was now as foreign to me as one could imagine.” The actor confirmed his words with actions. While Vivienne was trying to cope with the attacks and the reactions of others to them, he started an affair with an actress Joan Plowright. Despite the fact that Olivier himself was the winner of two Oscars, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award, the success and recognition of Vivien Leigh in cinema exceeded his own - it was not easy for the great Larry to come to terms with this. And it was precisely at that moment that the actress needed his support as never before - she had to cope with her illnesses alone. Despite her husband’s inattention and her health deteriorating every day, she continued to act in films and play in the theater.
Laurence Olivier asked for a divorce in 1960, sending Vivien Leigh a telegram and giving her a Rolls-Royce on the occasion of the separation. After the separation was made official, the actor almost immediately married Plowright, who subsequently bore him three children.
Vivien Leigh died in 1967 from another attack of tuberculosis, which in recent years happened to her more and more often and was more severe each time. Until her death, she retained the title of lady, which she inherited from Olivier, and never married again, although she received proposals from a close friend, actor Jack Merivale. “She loved him [Olivier] to the very end, there is no doubt about that,” said Laurence’s son Tarquin. - His photograph was on her night table. He was the love of her life. She is his great passion."
Larry survived ex-wife for 22 years, won another Oscar, two Golden Globes and a couple of British Academy Film Awards. Despite the separation, he felt guilty towards Vivienne. This is recalled by Tarquin’s wife Olivier, who together with her husband visited his father in the last years of his life. “He was watching the film The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961 film starring Vivien Leigh),” she recalled. “I cried and kept repeating: “What went wrong?”