Shelley Winters biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Actress, writer. Born Shirley Schrift on August 18, 1920 (some sources say 1922), in St. Louis, Missouri. Raised in Brooklyn, New York, theatricality came naturally to Winters, as her mother had been an aspiring opera singer. Her childhood was marked by tragedy, however, when her father was sentenced to prison for an arson he didn't commit. He was later exonerated, but the experience deeply affected Winters. "I developed a whole fantasy world . . . Reality was too unbearable. This ability to fantasize has been a powerful tool in my acting," she later wrote.

In her teens, Winters tried out for the leading role of Gone with the Wind during a casting call in New York in 1938. While she didn't get the part, Winters was encouraged by director George Cukor to finish her schooling and study acting. Working as a model during the day, Winters took acting classes at night. She landed some small stage roles and performed at a number of resorts in the Catskills during the summer.

Big Break

Her first big break came when director Max Reinhardt gave her a comedic part in his English adaptation of Die Fledermaus, which was called Rosalinda. The operetta debuted in the fall of 1942, and Winters' career soon took off. Harry Cohn, the president of Columbia Pictures, saw her in the show and hired her soon after. She crafted the stage name Shelley Winters, drawing inspiration for the name from the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and her mother, Rose Winter.

Moving to Los Angeles, Winters worked as a contract player for Columbia Pictures, making $100 a week. She made her film debut in What a Woman! (1943) starring Rosalind Russell. It was just a bit part, and she was eventually dropped by Columbia after a few more screen appearances.

Determined to succeed, Winters finally got her chance to work with George Cukor on the critically acclaimed drama A Double Life (1947). She gave a great performance as a waitress who meets an untimely end at the hands of a character actor (played by Ronald Colman). This role helped Winters land a new contract with Universal Pictures. "To this day I feel that getting A Double Life was a miracle. So much of a successful career depends on standing on the right corner at the exact right moment," Winters later wrote.

More films soon followed, including 1949's The Great Gatsby with Alan Ladd and 1950's Winchester '73 with Jimmy Stewart. She usually played loose women who often were handed a gruesome fate. Winters wanted more substantial work, and spent time in New York City to study at the Actors Studio in order to learn how to shed her brassy, bombshell image.

Character Actress

Winters played down her sensuality and dyed her hair a dull brown to play a factory girl named Alice in A Place in the Sun. Alice found herself in the middle of a love triangle when she is impregnated by George (played by Montgomery Clift), a young man who had already set his mind on the wealthy Angela (played by Elizabeth Taylor). After trying to force George into doing the honorable thing, Alice becomes a victim to his quest for riches. The film received numerous Academy Award nominations, including one for Winters as Best Actress.

Despite her nomination, Winters found herself in a string of unchallenging roles and forgettable films. She played a love interest to Frank Sinatra in Meet Danny Wilson (1952) and a nightclub singer in Playgirl (1954). Occasionally Winters had the opportunity to shine, often playing a schemer. She got a chance to work with director Charles Laughton, with whom she had studied acting, on The Night of the Hunter (1955) starring Robert Mitchum.

In 1955, Winters returned to Broadway to star in the original production of A Hatful of Rain with Ben Gazzara and Anthony Franciosa, who later became her third husband.