«Oscars» in the carrier and psychological disorder in the private life of Vivien Leigh

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"I'll think about it tomorrow" this is my first association with the name of Vivien Leigh. I repeated this phrase many times at the end of the day, when there was still a good dozen of unresolved issues.

The beautiful Scarlett O'Hara is the image that Vivien Leigh flawlessly personified and which brought the actress fame to the whole world. Her beauty, penetrating look and excellent ability to reincarnate made her an idol for many not only during her life, but also after it.

In 1913, Vivien Leigh (Vivian Mary Hartley) was born in the family of an English official in India. Having financial support and thanks to the parents who were taking care of the daughter's upbringing, she studied at prestigious boarding schools in Europe, and later enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

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The first marriage of the actress was very early: right after school she married a lawyer, who was for 14 years older than her. Soon the couple had a daughter and the husband believed that this was the way to tie the wife to the house. He was categorically against the acting career of Vivian, and she, on the contrary, did not cease to dream about stage and cinema. Thant lifestyle killed her sense of inner freedom, resembling a boarding school with a bunch of prohibitions, so Vivien was unhappy.

She was helped by friends who introduced the future actress for one role. So Vivienne began to combine life at home and in the theater.

After the role in the play of «The Mask of Virtue", the actress was noticed in the theater of London. We can say that this was the beginning of her success.

In family life, everything was not so cloudless, as in the career — Vivian fell in love with actor Lawrence Olivier, but they managed to get a divorce from their existing spouses only in 6 years. The affair with a famous British actor played on Vivienne's hand — her name constantly was in the press and the girl began to be invited to different roles. In 1939, Vivien played in «Gone with the Wind», she won the hearts of millions and became famous throughout the world. Official recognition of her talent came with getting an "Oscar". She was only 26 then.

Vivien’s fame eclipsed the fame of Olivier, but the actress loved her husband so much that she destroyed any evidence of her celebrity, tore up the laudatory newspaper articles, and the Oscar statue were used to keep doors open.

Apparently, a rich acting life, lack of sleep and a tight schedule of filming significantly affected the woman’s health. In a marriage with Olivier, she had two pregnancy disruptions, after which Vivien lost her nerves and was overwhelmed by a deep depression. Depression developed into hysteria and, in addition, she had tuberculosis of the lungs. Too much stress on the nervous system led to a mental disorder. And with all this, during breaks between crises, she managed to appear in films.

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Uncontrolled fits of rage with throwing of objects and fights changed for humility and putting everything in order. Vivien absolutely did not remember what she had done the day before. By all indications she had a bipolar disorder, which, with all the cruelty of that time, was treated in the clinic by wrapping the body with an ice cold sheet, using an electric shock and keeping up conversations. It was scary.

Despite the actress’s unstable state and the fact that it was difficult to work with her because of this, Vivien received the second Oscar. The disease progressed, Vivien did not get better, the relationship with her husband spoiled every day, and Olivier started the affair on the side. And on her birthday he made Vivien a chic gift in the form of a Rolls-Royce and said he was asking for a divorce. It is not necessary to say how much this act overshadowed the life of the actress. Even after the divorce, she kept his photo and hoped for the return of a loved one.

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She desperately continued to act in films and play in Broadway performances, she wanted to be in the industry until she was 90, but life arranged things in a different way. Her tuberculosis aggravated again and frequent attacks ended in the hospital. As a result of one of such attacks she died at the age of 53 years. This happened in 1967.

Quite short, but very bright life with a lot of challenges and difficulties. On one hand, it's a pity, on the other one — everyone goes his own way. Her way was like that.