Biography of Vivien Leigh

Author: Song Gang, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: Vivian's beauty is endlessly desirable, yet it never breeds jealousy or annoyance. She is a creature of nature, and merely being close to her beauty brings happiness to the point of tears. When classmates voted for "Who is the most beautiful person," Vivian always received the most votes. To fulfill a promise she made to herself as a child—"I must become a great actress"—Vivian devoted her entire being. Performance on stage or screen is an inseparable part of her life, and even if this success requires a heavy price, the stubborn and resilient she never allows herself a single moment of regret. A poet once wrote such verses for his beloved: "You are the direction for the next generation of girls, the source of my illness and poetry." Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor—these four names all deserve to be celebrated with the above verses. However, upon closer examination, they are distinct. So, let's read this book—different faces, different palm lines, different backdrops. The author, with a thoughtful heart, records every important day in their lives, collects poems they wrote themselves, and includes songs written about them by others. In the end, their life stories bear witness to a clear-eyed wish from a Yi Shu novel: "First, I want a lot of love. If not, it doesn't matter. I want a lot of money. If money isn't available, it doesn't matter. I want health. Having only health is also good." The author, with a thoughtful heart, tells the story of each actress from childhood to the end of their lives—describing their sudden bursts of brilliance and warmth, the author always lingers on—always trying to portray them as perpetually happy. Yet, they were merely once fortunate.