Honestly, if you’ve ever sat through the four-hour whirlwind that is Gone with the Wind, you probably can’t imagine anyone but Vivien Leigh in those green velvet curtains. She just is Scarlett. But the story of who played Scarlett O'Hara isn't just a one-name answer. It was a chaotic, multi-year circus that nearly broke David O. Selznick’s sanity and involved basically every famous woman in the 1930s.
It’s one of those Hollywood legends that feels like it’s been exaggerated over time, but the reality is actually weirder. Think about it: a British actress playing the ultimate Southern Belle? In 1939, that was a massive scandal. People were genuinely ticked off.
The Search for the Perfect Scarlett
David O. Selznick didn't just want an actress; he wanted a phenomenon. He launched a "National Talent Search" that cost roughly $100,000—which was a fortune back then—just to find his leading lady. They interviewed over 1,400 women.
Most of them were total amateurs who thought they had the "look," but they couldn't act their way out of a paper bag. Selznick’s casting director, Katherine Brown, was reportedly exhausted. She spent months traveling through the South, visiting women's colleges and debutante balls, only to find "giggling girls" who didn't have the fire required for the role.
While the search for an unknown was happening, every big star in Hollywood was clawing for the part.
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- Paulette Goddard was actually the frontrunner for a long time. She did more screen tests than anyone else.
- Bette Davis was offered a deal but turned it down because she didn't want to work with Errol Flynn (who was being considered for Rhett Butler at the time).
- Katharine Hepburn famously told Selznick, "I am Scarlett O'Hara!" to which he supposedly replied, "I can't imagine Rhett Butler chasing you for twelve years."
How Vivien Leigh Stole the Role
The "official" story is pure cinema. Selznick had already started filming the "Burning of Atlanta" scene without having a Scarlett. He was using doubles. Myron Selznick, David’s brother, showed up at the set with a young woman whose face was lit by the orange glow of the fire.
"Hey, genius," Myron reportedly said. "Meet your Scarlett O'Hara."
That woman was Vivien Leigh. She was British, relatively unknown in America, and she had just traveled across the ocean to be near her lover, Laurence Olivier. While the "fire" story is a great marketing bit, the truth is a little more calculated. Leigh had been eyeing the role for months. She had read the book and told her agent she was going to be the one.
She won the part because she had the "fire" Selznick was looking for. She could be manipulative, charming, and desperate all in one breath. But the backlash was real. The United Daughters of the Confederacy weren't exactly thrilled that a "foreigner" was playing their Southern icon.
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Leigh eventually won them over with her performance—and a very, very convincing accent coach.
Who Played Scarlett O'Hara in the Sequels and Beyond?
Most people stop at 1939, but the character didn't die there. In 1994, a miniseries called Scarlett was produced, based on the sequel novel by Alexandra Ripley.
Joanne Whalley took on the impossible task of filling Vivien Leigh’s shoes. She was also British, which is a funny coincidence. While the miniseries didn't have the cultural impact of the original film, Whalley’s portrayal was a bit more grounded and focused on Scarlett’s journey to Ireland to find her roots. It’s a different vibe entirely—less "fiddle-dee-dee" and more "I’m an adult woman with a lot of problems."
There have also been stage adaptations.
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- Jill Paice originated the role in the 2008 West End musical Gone with the Wind.
- Morgan Brittany (who looked eerily like Vivien Leigh) played Scarlett in the 1980 TV movie The Scarlett O'Hara War, which was actually a dramatization of the casting search itself.
Why the Casting Still Matters
The obsession with who played Scarlett O'Hara exists because the character is so polarizing. She isn't a "good" person by modern standards. She’s selfish, she’s a product of a slave-holding society, and she’s incredibly stubborn. But she’s also a survivor.
Vivien Leigh captured that duality in a way that remains the gold standard for acting. She worked sixteen-hour days for months, reportedly living on coffee and cigarettes, and pushed herself to a breaking point. When you see that famous "God as my witness" scene, that’s not just acting; that’s a woman who was physically and mentally drained, mirroring the character she was portraying.
It’s also worth noting the limitations of the era. The 1939 film is a romanticized, deeply problematic version of the Civil War. While we talk about the actresses who played the lead, we have to acknowledge that the character of Scarlett exists in a narrative that often ignored the brutal reality of the people she lived alongside.
Actionable Takeaways for Film Buffs
If you’re interested in diving deeper into this specific piece of Hollywood history, here’s how to actually see the "Search for Scarlett" in action:
- Watch the Screen Tests: Many of the original screen tests for actresses like Paulette Goddard, Joan Bennett, and Jean Arthur are available on YouTube or in the special features of the Gone with the Wind Blu-ray. It’s fascinating to see how they interpreted the character differently.
- Read "The Making of Gone with the Wind": There are several books by film historians (like Aljean Harmetz) that detail the memos Selznick sent during the casting process. They reveal just how much he obsessed over every detail of Scarlett’s appearance.
- Compare the Portrayals: If you can find the 1994 Scarlett miniseries, watch it back-to-back with the 1939 film. Seeing Joanne Whalley’s version versus Vivien Leigh’s version shows how much "Scarlett" as a concept changed over 50 years.
The role of Scarlett O'Hara remains the ultimate "get" in Hollywood. It’s the benchmark for a "difficult" female lead. While Leigh is the definitive face of the character, the dozens of women who almost had the part—and the few who played her later—all contribute to the legacy of a character who refused to be forgotten.
The most important thing to remember is that Scarlett was never meant to be liked; she was meant to be reckoned with. And Vivien Leigh made sure we did exactly that.