Vivien Leigh

Did You Know?

For much of her life, Vivien Leigh suffered from mental illness. After a breakdown in the 1950s she was sent to Netherne Hospital in Surrey for a week and underwent the controversial ECT treatment.

Birth name:

Vivian Mary Hartley

Height:

5' 3½" (1.61 m)

Spouse:

Laurence Olivier (31 August 1940 - 2 December 1960) (divorced)

Herbert Leigh Holman (20 December 1932 - February 1940) (divorced) 1 child

Remembered For?

Scarlett O'Hara, Blanche Dubois, two Oscars, life as Lady Olivier, life after Lady Olivier, bouts of hysteria and depression, the affair with Peter Finch, and her perculiar 'poetic' nervousness.




That Scarlett Woman!

Vivien Leigh's rise to stardom can be traced back to December 10,1938, when Atlanta - simulated by a group of old sets - was going up in flames a second time. The long delayed filming of Gone With The Wind (1939) was finally underway, even though the Scarlett O'Hara role remained to be cast - an extraordinary risk for director David O.Selznick to run. Between setting up the takes, Myron Selznick, one of Hollywood's foremost agents approached his brother, beckoning from the shadows of the old Pathe back-lot a slender young woman with beautiful eyes. Myron uttered:
'Dave, I want you to meet Scarlett O'Hara.'

That, at least, is the story of how Vivien Leigh came to be cast in the role coveted or claimed at one time or another by every rising, established or waning female star in Hollywood. Perhaps the only exceptions were Barbara Stanwyck (who was aware her screen persona made her unsuitable for the part) and Hedy Lamarr (whose Viennese accent cancelled her out).

The carefully orchestrated search ended in a coup de theatre with the relevation that an English actress, with only a few films to her credit, was to play the Southern heroine of the the novel that, since 1936, had outsold the bible in the USA. The fact that Vivien Leigh was not American failed to outrage the many Scarlett O'Hara fans in the Deep South; the unforgivable miscasting would have been to let a Yankee play the role!



Gone With The Wind
(1939)




After diction lessons, Vivien Leigh successfully added the right touch of molasses to her clipped English delivery. She was also coached (first officially and later privately) by George Cukor, Selznick's original choice to direct Gone With The Wind. She battled constantly with Victor Fleming (the director who replaced George Cukor after three weeks), failed to make friends with her co-star Clark Gable, threw tantrums on the set and off, and won an Oscar.

The Truth about Scarlett?

Her achievement still stands, even if there remains doubt as to how she came to play the role. Another version of the story is that Victor Saville, the British director who directed Leigh in Storm in a Teacup (1937) rang her London flat one day and said:

'Vivien, I've just read a great story for the movies about the bitchiest of all bitches, and you're just the person to play the part.'

Resolved to try for the part of Scarlett, Leigh followed Laurence Olivier - then her paramour, later her husband - to California, where he was to play Heathcliff in Samuel Goldwyn's production of Wuthering Heights (1939).





Vivien Leigh
(1939)




It seems she was probably seen by - and made a strong impression on - David O. Selznick and Cukor, and was kept under wraps while the continuing search for Scarlett gathered a million dollars worth of publicity. She was then made to appear, like a rabbit out of Myron Selznick's hat, to snatch the part.

The English Rose of Hollywood

At 26 she became a priceless commodity in the industry. David O. Selznick, the sole proprietor of her contract, doled her talents out parsimoniously: first to MGM for Waterloo Bridge (1940), then to Alexander Korda, who had originally discovered Leigh in Britain, for That Hamilton Woman (1941). There followed an absence from screen dictated by war and sickness. She reappeared as Bernard Shaw's Egyptian kitten of a queen in Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), looking ravaged and mature enough to play Shakespeare's Cleopatra.

She was Tennessee Williams' own choice for the part of Blanche DuBois in his play A Streetcar Named Desire. The play was filmed in 1951, and this time Leigh's Southern drawl was so convincing that it seemed to issue from a dark bruised recess of her being. A sense of inevitable decline is captured in the curtain line: 'After all, I've always depended on the kindness of stranger' - a melancholy echo of that other famous exit line 'After all, tomorrow is another day', which summed up the headstrong, vixenish, egotistical Scarlett.

Candy Pen

Edible Pen by Dave Hakkens , a student at the Design Academy Eindhoven, in the Netherlands, who has made an edible pen. Very good & funny idea. "I first wanted to make something so I could chew on my pen without making it dirty. When looking at the pen I noticed that you only use the ink, the other stuff is just there to hold filling more comfortable. Isn’t it possible to eat the whole cover? That was my goal, a pen where you can chew on and entirely eat. First gathered at a lot of pens and looked what makes it good to chew on. With that information I made 3 different molds and started testing out different types of candy, the breaking point and which chew the best. When I found the shape and candy I made a final model in peppermint flavor. The candy which is used doesn’t stick on anything and doesn't melt when it's in your hans. (To get an idea: It has the same texture as candy bracelets.) It contains 22 pieces and is filled with edible ink. The only thing which isn't edible is the small point where you write with. When finished you throw it away or put in in a new re-fill pen. "

Famous make up

Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"





Salma Hayek in Frida (2002)





Elizabeth Taylor





Uma Thurman / Mia Wallace in "Pulp Fiction"





Marilyn Monroe in "Gentlemen prefer blonds"





Anjelica Huston in "Addams Family"







Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's"





Anne Hathaway in "Alice in Wonderland"





Kirsten Dunst in "Marie Antoinette"

Gisele Bundchen

"I am not used to doing naked shoots, but when you trust the photographer and the crew you know it won't be vulgar."

Two days after the news from her split from Victoria's Secret, she was announced as the new face of Yves Saint-Laurent, as well as the spokesperson of "Liberté", a new fragrance launched by Cacharel. She will also launch her own lingerie collection in a partnership with European giant company H&M. (May 2007).

In May of 2007 Gisele moved in to a Georgian-style townhouse in Manhattan's trendy West Village, which she bought in 2004 for $16.5 million.

#35 on Forbes Magazine 2007 Top 100 Celebrity List, with earnings of $33 million between June of 2006 and June of 2007.

Gisele was invited to host the Brazilian version of the reality-show "America's Next Top Model" (2003), but she refused. According to her sister and public relations, Patricia Bundchen, she doesn't want to pursue a career on television.

Gisele Caroline Bundchen was born July 20th, 1980, in Horizontina, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She is not the only beauty in her family; in fact, her five other sisters Raquel, Graziela, Gabriela, Patricia, and Rafaela are also aspiring models. A natural phenomenon, Gisele stands tall at 5'11", with dark blue eyes, a freckled face and wavy brown hair. The road to becoming today's most sought-after model came by chance for Gisele, after she was spotted by an Elite Modeling Agency agent while eating a Big Mac at a Sao Paulo McDonald's with her friends at the age of 14. Despite her father's disagreement with her career choice, Gisele moved to the city.

She was considered for a role on the movie Charlie's Angels (2000). The director McG wanted someone outside from the United States to play the role of Alex Munday, which Lucy Liu eventually filled.

She ranked as #65 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement. (2005)

Gisele appeared in over 7,000 magazine covers around the world. The only woman who made more covers was Princess Diana.

Gisele made her first international fashion show for british designer Alexander McQueen, who once named her as "The Body".

The 2004 TV ad of her line of shoes was shoot on Brazilian famous "Sambódromo", on Rio de Janeiro.

She was featured as #6 in Maxim Magazine's "Hot 100 of 2002" supplement. (2002)

In 1995, she entered the "Elite Look Modeling Competition", and her career has taken off ever since. Gisele has since been in campaigns for major fashion houses such as Ralph Lauren, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Valentino, Celine, Gianfranco Ferre, and Chloe. As for magazine covers, she has graced the covers of Vogue USA, Vogue Italia, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Arena,, Allure, and she is currently on the cover of the September edition of Rolling Stone. Gisele left the Elite Modeling Agency and switched to IMG Model Management not long ago, which was considered to have been a controversial act. Her Brazilian agent is presently Monica Monteiro. Surprisingly, Gisele is a big fan of sweet popcorn, candy and McDonald's sundaes, a vice that does not show on her more than statuesque figure. It is for this figure that Vogue credited Gisele's work in the fashion industry as "The Return of the Sexy Model," as her physique marks the end of the waif-look that Kate Moss made so famous. Nonetheless, Gisele's chest size has been questioned, but she denies to have had implants. Real or not, Gisele adamantly refuses to ever fully reveal her breasts, whether for a fashion show or for a pictorial.

She and Leonardo DiCaprio were chosen by People Magazine as the "Most Beatiful Couple in the World", in 2004.

Her father, Valdir Bundchen, is a Brazilian university teacher and writer, with two books published.

Her older sister, Raquel, is a Brazilian federal judge.

Her mother, Vânia Bundchen, starred with her in a Victoria's Secret ad for mother's day.

Her father also made a commercial with her, for credit card company Credicard.

She was chosen by Brazilian magazine IstoÉ Gente as the "most powerful woman in Brazil". (13 March 2006).

She ranked #43 on New York Magazine's list of the "123 Reasons to Love New York City", because she lives in New York.

After Gisele carried one bag made by British designer Luella Bartley on the catwalk, all the papers ran pictures of her with it, and this created a phenomenon. The company thought they might sell a few, but suddenly they had waiting-lists everywhere for what was already being called the "Gisele". The success of the Gisele bag propelled Luella into the highly lucrative accessories market.

Gisele will be the face of a new campaign to protect the Amazon's Xingu River from deforestation and pollution. The campaign is called "Y Ikatu Xingu", wich means "clean and good Xingu water", in the native Kamaiura language. Gisele wants "to tell the world that the Amazon's waters are in danger". The Xingu River extends about 1,700 miles through the southern Amazon, including Brazil's first indian reservation, the 2.8 million-hectare (6.92 million-acre) Xingu National Park. The region was visited by her and ex-boyfriend 'Leonardo Dicaprio' in 2004.

In May of 2006, she signed another multi-million dollar deal, this time with american giant Apple. She will star in a new advertising campaign to promote the new MAC (Macintosh) line.

#1 on E! Channel's countdown of the World's Sexiest Supermodels (2006).

She was ranked #36 on VH1's "100 Hottest Hotties" (2005)

#1 On Forbes Magazine list of the World's Most Entrepreneurial Supermodels (2005)

#1 On VH1 countdown of "Today's Hottest Supermodels" (2005)

Her curvaceous figure prompted Vogue magazine to refer to her body of work as the "return of the sexy model", since she seems to have marked the end of a trend of "waif" models such as Kate Moss.

One thing is for sure: the only thing fake about her body is her belly-button piercing and the tattoo she has on the inside of her left wrist. She has been romantically linked to male model Scott Barnhill, billionaire Joao-Paulo Diniz and actor Josh Hartnett. Gisele is currently dating Leonardo DiCaprio. Although she does think that it would be interesting, she refused a role in the upcoming Charlie's Angels. She currently earning $7,000 an hour and $5 million a year, Gisele has redefined the term supermodel and for now, enjoying her reign as the most beautiful girl in the world.

Originally wanted to be a professional volleyball player

Speaks Portuguese

Spokesmodel of Celine, Victoria's Secret, ZARA, Dolce & Gabbana, Bvlgari, Strenesse, Christian Dior, Missoni & Ralph Lauren.

Appeared on the covers of major magazines, such as Vogue, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, W, Rolling Stone, marie claire, ELLE, and i-D.

She has five sisters: Raquel, Graziela, Gabriela, Rafaela and Patrícia (who was born in the same day, but is not an identical twin).

Measurements: 36C-24-35 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

She has officially announced that she and Leonardo DiCaprio had broken up. [July 2002]

In 2004, she and her boyfriend, Leonardo DiCaprio, visited the "Xingu", a famous Brazilian Indian Reserve. The visit was made almost anonymously.

As supporter of soccer club Grêmio, a soccer team from her hometown, Gisele announced in 2005 she will help promote the image of her favorite team, a former world champion, which is now in the second division of Brazilian League.

She is 5 minutes older than twin sister Patrícia.

She is one of the world's top fashion models.

Her name is actually pronounced Giseli (The e at the and of her name is not silent). She has said it doesn't matter to her now how people pronounce her name.

Her mother, Vânia Bundchen, is of German descent.

She was discovered by a modeling scout when she was fourteen while on a school trip to Porto Alegre.

She began modeling in New York City in the year 1996.

She created her own brand of footwear for women called "Ipanema."

She designed a limited edition necklace sold to raise money for St. Jude Children's Hospital cancer treatment efforts.

She has a Yorkshire terrier, Vida (meaning "life" in Portuguese).

The Forbes magazine named her the best paid model of all time.

She appeared most often on the cover of American Vogue. She did four covers only in 1999. She is also the second model who most appeared on the cover of British Vogue, after Kate Moss.

Her personal fortune is valued at 150 million dollars, and she is in the Guinness Book of Records as "the world's richest supermodel".

After Brazilian clothier C&A hired her and started their TV commercials, the sales had an increase of 30%.

In the year 2001 she turned down a 20 million dollar offer from Clonaid to became their spokesperson.

Forbes magazine named her the best paid and powerful supermodel in the world, with earnings of 15.2 million dollars a year. She also makes millions with her sandals line.

She is considered the biggest supermodel in the world, casually called "übermodel".

Her last name is pronounced as "Bindchen".

She was ranked #21 on E! Television's 2006 101 Hottest Celebrity Bodies

She is the owner of a hotel in Rio Grande do Sul State, south of Brazil, the Palladium Executive Flat.

She has received the "Model of the Year" award and has been named "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" by Rolling Stone and the "perfect body in the world" by The Sunday Times.

Her other homes include an penthouse apartment in Manhattan's Tribeca district, a Los Angeles mansion and a country house near Woodstock, New York.

In the year 2003 she donated $150,000 - her fee for one fashion show in São Paulo Fashion Week - to help fight hunger in her native Brazil (January 27, 2003).

Ranked No. 77 on Forbes Magazine 2005 Top 100 Celebrity List.

She shares a birthday with "Lost" (2004) actor Josh Holloway.

She turned down a role in Charlie's Angels (2000), because of her busy agenda.

She is one of Jay Leno's favorite guests.

She was chosen by People Magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World.

Elle magazine bosses surveyed the nation's leading stylists and asked them to name the star whose hair is a favourite for their clients. More than 50 per cent gave Gisele the title of best hair in Hollywood, while Sienna Miller came in at number two and Nicole Richie's short bob was voted number three. Natalie Portman's pixie cut came in fourth.

In August of 2006 she signed four new big deals: with Italian Stefanel stores and Mexican Liverpool, Koren-based company Tug and American Express, in which she will be the spokesperson of the "Red" credit card.

Gisele is the new face of the American Express RED campaign. She will star in the next high profile campaign with Keseme Ole Parsapet, a Maasai warrior from Kenya. The RED initiative was launched by U2 front man Bono and Robert Shriver Chairman Of Debt, Trade Africa. Consumers can help make an ethical impact in the fight against HIV and AIDS in Africa. Vogue online reported that Gisele, who was photographed by Nick Knight, said RED is an amazing project.

She loves almonds.

She hates salami.

Economist Fred Fuld has developed a stock indice to measure the performance of the companies represented by Gisele at the Dow Jones Industrial Average. According to Fuld, the Gisele Bundchen Stock Index was up 15% during the period between May of 2007 and July of 2007, substantially outperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was up 8.2%.

Girlfriend of Tom Brady [2007].

She married Tom Brady in 2009