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Jean Simmons

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Jean Merilyn Simmons, OBE (born January 31, 1929 in Crouch Hill, London, England) is an Oscar-nominated British actress.

Contents

Career

She was plucked from school to play Margaret Lockwood’s younger sister in “Give Us the Moon” in 1944. She went on to appear in some prestigious British productions (notably as Estella in David Lean's "Great Expectations" in 1947, as a sultry native beauty in Powell and Pressburger’s “Black Narcissus” in 1947 and as Ophelia in Olivier's 1948 "Hamlet", for which she was nominated for an Academy Award). Whilst filming “So Long at the Fair” in 1949, she fell in love with and married her co-star Stewart Granger. The couple then moved to Hollywood the following year.

Simmons found out shortly after her arrival in the States that RKO head Howard Hughes had purchased the remaining six months of her Rank Studio contract. When Hughes claimed that an oral agreement with Rank precluded her from being loaned out to any other studio, she sued RKO. The legal battle raged for over a year. When the suit was finally settled, RKO had a three-year contract for her services but was obligated to pay her $250,000 in addition to her legal fees. Furthermore, Simmons won the right to work on loan to other studios at a substantial salary.

Simmons soon became a major Hollywood star, appearing opposite leading men including Richard Burton ("The Robe", 1953), Marlon Brando ("Guys and Dolls", 1955 – Simmons picking up a Golden Globe for her performance in this film), Paul Newman ("Until They Sail", 1957) and Gregory Peck ("The Big Country", 1958).

In 1960, Simmons divorced Granger and married Richard Brooks, who directed her and Burt Lancaster that same year in "Elmer Gantry", an acclaimed adaptation of the Sinclair Lewis novel. She had a memorable role in Stanley Kubrick’s “Spartacus” that same year.

She subsequently appeared in mostly unexceptional films, though “The Happy Ending” in 1969 for her husband yielded another Oscar nomination, and she began featuring in high-profile TV productions, such as "The Dain Curse" in 1978, "The Thorn Birds" in 1983 (for which she won an Emmy and received an Golden Globe nomination) and "North and South" in 1985. Becoming depressed at the lack of quality parts being offered her, Jean became addicted to alcohol. In 1986, she sought professional treatment.

In the Disney TV remake of "Great Expectations" (1989), Simmons essayed the role of Miss Havisham to great acclaim. In 1995, she was featured with other powerhouse actresses in the ensemble film "How to Make an American Quilt" as Em, the wife of a philandering artist.

In 1991, Simmons assumed the role of gothic matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard in the short-lived NBC revial of "Dark Shadows".

Simmons also appeared on stage, most notably as Desiree in the London premiere of Stephen Sondheim's 'A Little Night Music' (1974) performing the signature tune ‘Send in the Clowns', and she headlined the American national tour as well.

Her husband Brooks died in 1992.

Most recently, she has provided one of the voices for the English language version of Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle in 2005.

Honours

Private life

She was married twice:
  1. Stewart Granger (1950-1960); (one child)
  2. Richard Brooks (1960-1977); (one daughter Kate Brooks)

Filmography

External links

 

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