Hollywood is full of legends. Most of them are fake. But the story of the Scarlett O'Hara actress? Honestly, it’s even crazier than the movie itself.
You’ve probably seen the posters. The emerald green dress. The defiant chin. That "tomorrow is another day" fire. Most people think Vivien Leigh was just a lucky girl who walked onto a set and became an icon overnight.
Actually, it was more like a war.
The $100,000 Gamble
David O. Selznick was basically losing his mind. He’d bought the rights to Gone with the Wind, but he didn't have a Scarlett. He spent two years and roughly $100,000 searching. That’s millions in today's money.
He interviewed 1,400 unknown women. 1,400! He sent scouts into the deep South, looking for "the one." He wanted a miracle. Meanwhile, every major star in Hollywood was clawing for the part.
Bette Davis wanted it. Katharine Hepburn basically told Selznick she was Scarlett. His response? "I can't imagine Rhett Butler chasing you for twelve years." Ouch.
The Finalists Nobody Remembers
Before the British girl showed up, a few others almost had it.
- Paulette Goddard: She was the frontrunner. She did more screen tests than anyone. But she had a "scandalous" living situation with Charlie Chaplin (they weren't officially married yet), and Selznick got cold feet.
- Lana Turner: Selznick thought she was too young and "inadequate."
- Joan Bennett: She was a finalist but didn't have that specific "electricity."
Then came the fire.
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Literally. They were filming the "Burning of Atlanta" scene before they even had a lead actress. Selznick’s brother, Myron, walked up to him with a woman in the shadows of the flickering flames.
"Dave," he said. "I want you to meet your Scarlett O'Hara."
It was Vivien Leigh.
Why a British Woman for a Southern Belle?
People were pissed. The United Daughters of the Confederacy weren't just annoyed—they were ready to boycott. How could an Englishwoman play the ultimate symbol of the South?
But Selznick was smart. He pointed out that Leigh’s parents were French and Irish. Just like the character in the book. He argued that a British accent was actually closer to a Southern drawl than a New York accent was.
He wasn't entirely wrong.
Leigh didn't just play the role. She lived it. She worked 16-hour days. She was exhausted. She was lonely. She hated the new director, Victor Fleming, who replaced the "woman's director" George Cukor. Fleming was a "man's man" who reportedly bound Leigh’s breasts tighter to create more cleavage and pushed her until she was on the verge of a breakdown.
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She earned $30,000 for 125 days of work. Clark Gable, the Rhett Butler to her Scarlett, got $120,000 for much less time.
The Secret She Was Hiding
Here is what the history books often gloss over. Vivien Leigh wasn't just "difficult." She was sick.
She had what we now call bipolar disorder. Back then, they called it "mania" or just "nerves." During filming, she would have massive mood swings. One minute she was the most charming woman in the room, the next she was screaming at the crew.
It got worse later in her life. By the time she was filming A Streetcar Named Desire (where she won her second Oscar playing Blanche DuBois), she was struggling to separate herself from her characters. She famously said that playing Blanche "tipped me over into madness."
The Toll of the Green Dress
- Physical Exhaustion: She smoked like a chimney to cope with the stress.
- Tuberculosis: She battled the disease for years, which eventually took her life at only 53.
- Shock Therapy: In her later years, she underwent primitive electro-shock treatments to manage her depression.
She’d go from the hospital to the stage in the same day. That’s not just "acting." That’s a level of grit most people can’t even wrap their heads around.
What We Get Wrong About the Character
People call Scarlett a villain. Or a hero. Honestly? She’s both and neither.
She was a survivor. She was a "bad" person who did "good" things when it mattered. She saved Melanie because she promised Ashley she would, even though she hated Melanie. She used convicts in her sawmill because she was obsessed with never being hungry again.
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Vivien Leigh understood this. She didn't try to make Scarlett "likable." She made her real.
The Legacy Beyond the Red Earth
Vivien Leigh only made 19 films. That’s it. Compare that to someone like Bette Davis or Joan Crawford, and it seems like she vanished.
But she didn't. She chose the theater. She wanted to be a "great actress," not just a "movie star." She spent most of her life on stage in London with her husband, Laurence Olivier. They were the king and queen of the acting world, but behind closed doors, it was a mess of infidelity and mental health struggles.
How to Appreciate Her Work Today
If you want to actually understand why she matters, don't just watch Gone with the Wind. Do this instead:
- Watch Waterloo Bridge (1940): It was her personal favorite. She’s heartbreaking in it.
- Compare her Scarlett to her Blanche: See how she uses that Southern accent. In the first, it’s a weapon. In the second, it’s a shield for a broken woman.
- Read the biography by Kendra Bean: It’s one of the few that actually gets the balance of her talent and her illness right.
Vivien Leigh wasn't just the Scarlett O'Hara actress. She was a woman who burned through her own life to give us some of the most haunting performances ever caught on film.
Next time you see her on screen, look past the green eyes (which were actually blue—they used filters). Look at the desperation. That wasn't just in the script. It was hers.
If you want to dive deeper into the history of Hollywood's Golden Age, your next step is to research the "Selznick International" production archives. They contain the original screen tests and telegrams that reveal just how close the world came to having a very different Scarlett.