Gene Tierney Biography

Actress. Born November 20, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York. The daughter of a wealthy insurance broker, Gene Tierney grew up with a lavish lifestyle and was educated at the finest schools in Connecticut and Switzerland. The young beauty made her Broadway debut in 1938's Mrs. O'Brien Entertains. After several years on the stage, she went to Hollywood to star opposite Henry Fonda in Fox's 1940 Western The Return of Frank James.

Tierney received her first major role that same year in Tobacco Road. Critics, however, put the young actress in disfavor, and she appeared in a long line of forgettable roles until the 1943 comedy Heaven Can Wait, which signaled an upward turn in her career. The following year, she starred as the enigmatic murder victim in the mystery classic Laura, which would prove to be the most memorable role of Tierney's career. The momentum continued and in 1945 she received an Academy Award nomination for her role as femme fatale Ellen Berent in Leave Her to Heaven. She subsequently starred in The Razor's Edge opposite Tyrone Power and in 1947's The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.

Tierney appeared in smaller supporting roles through the late 1940s, reemerging in 1952's Plymouth Adventure with Spencer Tracy and Never Let Me Go with Clark Gable. She continued to be one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood with such films as Night and the City and The Left Hand of God to her credit. However, the following decades proved difficult for the actress, who battled a troubled emotional life that included hospitalization and shock treatment for depression. She retired several times only to be lured back to Hollywood for such films as Advise and Consent and Toys in the Attic, along with a few television movies.

Tierney was married to Oleg Cassini from 1941 to 1952; they have two daughters, Daria and Christina. She was married Texas oil baron Howard Lee from 1960 until his death in 1981. The actress died of emphysema in 1991.

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