Vivian Mary Hartley's Net Worth as of 2024
$10 Million
Vivian Mary Hartley was born on the 5th November 1913, in Darjeeling, India, and was an actress who appeared in 20 film and television productions over a period of 30 years. Leigh gained fame for the role of Scarlett O’Hara in the movie “Gone with the Wind” (1939), for which she won an Oscar. Leigh was active in the entertainment industry from 1920 to 1967, when she passed away.
How rich was the actress? Authoritative sources estimated that the overall size of Vivien Leigh’s net worth was as much as $10 million, as of the data presented in the middle of 2017.
Vivien Leigh Net Worth $10 Million
To begin with, Vivien Leigh was the daughter of rich stockbroker Ernest Hartley and Gertrude Yackjee. She was born in India where she spent the first six years of her life. In 1920, the family left Darjeeling and returned to England. Leigh was sent to a Catholic boarding school for the next eight years. Then, she studied drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Vivien had appeared on stage with her mother when she was three, but it wasn’t until 1934 that she worked in her first film – “Things Are Looking Up”. The film producer Alexander Korda saw her in the play “The Mask of Virtue” (1935) and gave her a contract for ten British films and she starred in six of them, and then went to Hollywood in 1938. Myron Selznick was thrilled by the actress Vivien, who was still unknown in the USA. She was offered the famous role of Scarlett O’Hara, even though Leigh had to take speech lessons to learn the southern US state’s accent. In addition, she took singing and ballet lessons to improve voice and attitude. During the filming of “Gone With The Winds”, the script was constantly rewritten; there had never been such a large scale production in Hollywood that brought such enormous work to the producers, the three directors, the actors and technical crew. In 1940, she received an Oscar for her role as the Best Actress, afterward which the actress returned to England, her net worth and reputation well established.
In 1947, Leigh signed the contract for shooting “Anna Karenina”. Although she was severely depressed and psychotic, and suffered from excessive alcohol consumption, she loved the role of Anna. In the autumn of 1949, Leigh played the role of Blanche in the Hollywood adaptation of the play “A Streetcar Named Desire” alongside Marlon Brando. Thus, Leigh won her second Oscar as the Best Actress.
From 1950 on, Leigh was often sick and suffered several nervous breakdowns. She went into psychiatric treatment, and she was often forced to stop shooting because of her health. She also suffered from severe memory problems and could no longer perform regularly in the theatre. In the years 1960 – 1961, Vivien Leigh sank deeper and deeper into depression. She also drank a lot, but still managed to be successful on the stage. In 1960, she began the shooting “The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone” and for her portrayal in the film, she received good reviews, which helped her health so much that she wanted to perform again. In 1963, she was honoured with a Tony Award for starring in the musical “Tovarich”, the performances, however, turned out to be so exhausting that she suffered burnout, and had to go into a psychiatric clinic again. From then on, she was taken care of and accompanied by a nurse. In 1965, she toured with the play “Ivanov” by Anton P. Chekhov through England and the US, adding steadily to her net worth.
Finally, in the personal life of the actress, Leigh and Herbert Leigh Holman married in 1932, and the following year their daughter Suzanne was born, but they divorced in 1940. Shortly afterwards, she married actor Laurence Olivier, but they divorced in 1960. From then until her death she was in a relationship with John Merivale. On the 7th July 1967, John Merivale found her dead on the floor of her bedroom in London, England – the cause of death was tuberculosis. Her ashes were scattered on the pond of their last residence, Tickerage Mill.
