Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier: 20 years of love that began with a cinematic novel

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

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 an 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 in store for them.

Acquaintance

Vivienne first saw Mr. Olivier at the theater when he played Romeo in the production of Romeo and Juliet. Then she just started 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 is Vivian Hartley), and Olivier was already sparkling on the stage of the British theater. Vivian was impressed by his acting and talent. She began to attend all his performances and soon realized that she 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 bore him a son, who was named Tarquin.

After one of the performances, Vivienne made her way backstage and showed admiration for her idol. Numerous compliments and bright appearance of the young actress made an impression on Mr. Olivier, and persistent Mrs. Holman managed to persuade him to attend her performance. Having played amazingly in the production of The Mask of Virtue, the actress impressed the audience, but most importantly, she amazed Lawrence. Since then, the actors have developed strong friendships, they were often seen together.

The beginning of the novel

For a while, 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 was 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 the fans took this romantic gesture favorably, and even began to support their beloved 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 of her daughter.

World famous

Soon after the beginning of their life together, the young people had to part 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 for him. At the same time in Los Angeles for the past two years was casting for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in the film adaptation of the novel "Gone with the Wind." More than 1,400 girls were screened, however none were good enough for the role. Vivienne did not doubt for a second that this role would belong to her, she came to the casting and instantly convinced everyone else of this.

Although Lawrence was against her participation in the filming, the actress, without hesitation, got down to work. Filming was very stressful and exhausting, and Vivienne as a stage actress was difficult and unusual. However, her efforts were fully justified after the premiere of the film. The film was an overwhelming success, and Vivienne received an Oscar for Best Actress and became incredibly popular, famous and in demand. Lawrence, on the other hand, took her success extremely hard. He envied her fame and, instead of supporting his beloved and rejoicing for her, openly showed his disapproval.

Wedding and start of family life

However, Vivienne 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. At the same time, the legal spouses of young people finally agreed to give them a divorce. A few months later, the couple quietly married in secret from the press. The wedding was attended by only two of their friends and witnesses.

Further projects

A few months after the wedding, Mrs. Olivier starred in the movie Waterloo Bridge. He was enthusiastically received by audiences and critics. And Lawrence got the lead role in Alfred Hitchcock's film "Rebbeck", while Vivienne failed to audition. Vivienne sincerely believed that their love in life must necessarily be supported by love on stage, and she was very painfully worried when her beloved Larry was on the screen with someone other than her. Therefore, Hitchcock did not approve her for the role in "Rebecca". As he later remarked, Vivien Leigh showed no desire to participate in the project until she found out that her husband had received the main role. Only after that did she become interested in the 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 Vivien's acting skills began to surpass the game of her husband. Nevertheless, after this film, Winston Churchill was imbued with the ingenious game of the spouses, and especially Mrs. Olivier. They became frequent guests in his house, and after a while Laurence Olivier was knighted, and Vivienne received the title of Lady Olivier.

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

This negatively affected their relationship: Lawrence felt that his wife's fame was increasingly overshadowing his own and began to grow cold towards her, and Vivienne felt the detachment of her lover and began to fall into depression, make her husband scandals, hoping to return his love and not understanding what he was doing only worse. To rehabilitate themselves in the eyes of the press and improve their financial situation, the couple went on a tour of New Zealand and Australia. Their financial situation improved and popularity returned, but the relationship only got worse, the constant showdown of the relationship increasingly alienated them from each other.

The onset of the disease and the collapse of the relationship

After returning to England, Vivien's physical well-being 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 medications (psychotropic drugs), which, as it turned out later, greatly undermined the actress's already unstable psyche. She developed a manic-depressive syndrome: she could sit for hours melancholy in one place, and then jump up with an unhealthy gleam in her eyes and demand to go somewhere immediately. Scandals, tantrums and attacks became more frequent, after which Lady Olivier often did not remember how badly she behaved.

Once Vivienne tried to jump from the plane. Lawrence tried to support his wife, offered her psychiatric treatment, but Vivienne always refused, saying that only his love can help her. And it 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 tantrums, he began to feel weary about her. Filming in the movie "A Streetcar Named Desire" brought Vivienne a second Oscar. But it was then that her psyche and relationship with her husband finally shattered. The fact is that the main character of the film, Blanche Dubois, suffered from complex mental disorders according to the script.

Vivienne had two miscarriages, although she always dreamed of giving her Larry an heir. Later in 1953, Vivienne became even worse, and she had to go to a psychiatric hospital, where, with the consent of her husband, she was treated with electroshock. Home Vivienne returned exhausted and completely unlike the girl with whom Olivier once fell in love. Then he had an affair with the aspiring actress Joan Plowright. And Vivienne had to cope with depression and tuberculosis on her own, 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 on this occasion. Vivienne bravely endured this news and gave her husband consent to divorce.

After parting

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

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

And yet there is a lifetime of love in this world. Lyudmila Kasatkina and Sergey Kolosov more than 60 years were together both in life and in creativity and died almost on the same day.