The Breakdown of Vivien Leigh

Vivien Leigh's 1953 breakdown was recorded by her friend David Niven. Leigh experienced biopolar episodes before, but her 1953 breakdown was on the heels of cruel statements made by the critic Kenneth Tynan, who was also friends and later employed by her husband Sir Laurence Olivier. Leigh, or Lady Olivier as she was known in 1953, experienced industry pressure over her intense love with Olivier. Forbidden to see him during the filming of Gone with the Wind (1939) the Oliviers were happily reunited onscreen in That Hamilton Woman (1941) and onstage in Shakespearean classics (Romeo & Juliet, Caesar & Cleopatra). Leigh's tuberculosis diagnosis in 1944 when she worked herself to exhaustion in North Africa wasn't known to Niven at the time, who recorded her coughing excessively in her drafty Hollywood home. The Oliviers would divorce in 1960 and Leigh would die seven years later.

"I would rather live a short time with him (Laurence) than a long life without him." -- Vivien Leigh

Sources:

Kendra Bean, Viv & Larry, http://vivandlarry.com/the-oliviers/n... & http://vivandlarry.com/vivien/remembr...

Hugh Vickers, Vivien Leigh (1989)

David Niven, Bring on the Empty Horses (1977)

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