Vivien Leigh

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Vivian Mary Hartley (1913-1967), otherwise known as Vivien Leigh, was a famous actress. She is perhaps most famously known for her portrayal as the resilient but lovable Scarlett O’Hara in ‘Gone with the Wind’ in 1939 and as Blanche DuBois in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ in 1951, for both of which she won Best Actress at the Academy Awards. She attended schools in England, France, Italy and Germany at a young age and later studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). At 19, she married Leigh Holman, a lawyer, whose name she would later use to create her stage name, Vivien Leigh. She made her onstage and film debuts in 1935 starring in the play ‘The Bash’ and ‘Things are Looking Up’. She later moved to more theatrical plays doing Shakespeare at the Old Vic in London where she met and fell in love with fellow actor, Laurence Olivier. Despite both being married, they embarked on a public love affair and married in 1940. The 31p stamp was issued by Royal Mail on the 8th October 1985 to commemorate the British Film Year and to celebrate famous British Hollywood icons. Never before were individual popular celebrities represented on stamps. The stamp shows Leigh in her portrayal of Scarlett O’Hara, and is taken from the photograph by Angus McBean in 1938. Special thanks to Museum Volunteer Lenka Cathersides for helping with the research of Vivien Leigh.