Gene Eliza Tierney was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 19, 1920. Her parents were well-to-do, her father a successful insurance broker and her mother a former school teacher. Her lavish childhood was spent in New York and also at times in Connecticut with her wealthy grandparents. She was educated at the finest schools on the East Coast and went to finishing school in Switzerland. After two years in Europe, she returned to America where she completed her education.
By 1939 she was performing on Broadway and her indulgent and wealthy father helped her career by setting up a corporation the purpose of which was to promote her theatrical pursuits. In her first appearance, she is seen carrying a water bucket across the stage. One critic said, “Miss Tierney is, without a doubt, the most beautiful water carrier I have ever seen!”
But Gene was an actress of substance as well as beauty and she was soon spotted by Darryl F. Zanuck who signed her to a contract with 20th Century-Fox. Her first movie role was in the film,”Hudson’s Bay” in 1941. During that same year she appeared in “The Return of Jesse James” and within a few years, after several masterful performances under her belt, she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Ellen Brent in “Leave Her To Heaven.” Perhaps her best known role is as Laura Hunt in Otto Preminger’s masterful thriller, “Laura.”
Gene Tierney suffered from depression and received many shock treatments in the 1950s. The pressures of a failed marriage to designer Oleg Cassini, the birth of a mentally retarded daughter in 1943 and several unhappy love affairs resulted in her downward spiral and hospitalization. She had an affair with John F. Kennedy, whom she met while filming “Dragonwyck” in 1946. Kennedy broke it off because of his political aspirations, but Gene also had affairs with Tyrone Power and Prince Aly Khan.
True happiness eluded this beautiful film legend who died on November 6,1991, just two weeks shy of her 71st birthday.
What are some of YOUR favorite Gene Tierney films? Please share.