Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney Biography

 Date of Birth
19 November 1920, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Date of Death
6 November 1991, Houston, Texas, USA (emphysema)

Birth Name
Gene Eliza Tierney

Nickname
The Get Girl

Height
5' 7" (1.70 m)

Mini Biography
With prominent cheekbones and the most appealing overbite of her day, her striking good looks helped propel her to stardom. Her best known role is the enigmatic murder victim in Laura (1944). She was also Oscar-nominated for Leave Her to Heaven (1945). Her acting performances were few in the 1950s as she battled a troubled emotional life that included hospitalization and shock treatment for depression.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Ray Hamel

Mini Biography
Gene Tierney was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 19, 1920, to well-to-do parents. Her father was a very successful insurance broker and her mother was a former teacher. Her childhood was lavish indeed. She also lived, at times, with her equally successful grandparents in Connecticut and New York. She was educated in the finest schools on the East Coast and at a finishing school in Switzerland. After two years in Europe, Gene returned to the US where she completed her education. By 1938 she was performing on Broadway in What a Life! and understudied for The Primerose Path (1938) at the same time. Her wealthy father set up a corporation that was only to promote her theatrical pursuits. Her first role consisted of carrying a bucket of water across the stage, prompting one critic to announce that "Miss Tierney is, without a doubt, the most beautiful water carrier I have ever seen!" Her subsequent roles Mrs O'Brian Entertains (1939) and RingTwo (1939) were meatier and received praise from the tough New York critics. Critic Richard Watts wrote "I see no reason why Miss Tierney should not have a long and interesting theatrical career, that is if the cinema does not kidnap her away". After being spotted by the legendary Darryl F. Zanuck during a stage performance of the hit show The Male Animal (1940), Gene was signed to a contract with 20th Century-Fox. Her first role as Barbara Hall in Hudson's Bay (1941) would be the send-off vehicle for her career. Later that year she appeared in The Return of Frank James (1940). The next year would prove to be a very busy one for Gene, as she appeared in The Shanghai Gesture (1941), Sundown (1941), Tobacco Road (1941) and Belle Starr (1941). She tried her hand at screwball comedy in Rings on Her Fingers (1942), which was a great success. Her performances in each of these productions were masterful. In 1945 she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Ellen Brent in Leave Her to Heaven (1945). Though she didn't win, it solidified her position in Hollywood society. She followed up with another great performance as Isabel Bradley in the hit The Razor's Edge (1946). In 1944 she played what is probably her best-known role (and, most critics agree, her most outstanding performance) in Otto Preminger's Laura (1944), in which she played murder victim named Laura Hunt. In 1947 Gene played Lucy Muir in the acclaimed The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947). By this time Gene was the hottest player around, and the 1950s saw no letup as she appeared in a number of good films, among them Night and the City (1950), The Mating Season (1951), Close to My Heart (1951), Plymouth Adventure (1952), Personal Affair (1953) and The Left Hand of God (1955). The latter was to be her last performance for seven years. The pressures of a failed marriage to Oleg Cassini, the birth of a daughter who was mentally retarded in 1943, and several unhappy love affairs resulted in Gene being hospitalized for depression. When she returned to the the screen in Advise & Consent (1962), her acting was as good as ever but there was no longer a big demand for her services. Her last feature film was The Pleasure Seekers (1964), and her final appearance in the film industry was in a TV miniseries, "Scruples" (1980). Gene died of emphysema in Houston, Texas, on November 6, 1991, just two weeks shy of her 71st birthday.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson

Spouse
W. Howard Lee (11 July 1960 - 17 February 1981) (his death)
Oleg Cassini (1 June 1941 - 28 February 1952) (divorced) 2 children

Trivia
Her first daughter was born mentally retarded because Gene had contracted rubella (aka German measles) during her only appearance at the Hollywood Canteen. This served as the uncredited inspiration for the plot of the 1962 Agatha Christie novel and later movie The Mirror Crack'd (1980).

Interred at Glenwood Cemetery, Houston, Texas, USA.

Two daughters: Daria Cassini and Christina Cassini.

Measurements: 35B-25-36 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

Was represented by the John Robert Powers Agency as a fashion model in the 1930s.

Darryl F. Zanuck, founder of 20th Century Fox, said she was unquestionably the most beautiful woman in movie history.

Howard Hughes provided the funds for her retarded daughter's medical care.

Second husband, Howard Lee, was originally married to Hedy Lamarr before he married Tierney.

Had her share of love affairs during her Hollywood reign, including a notorious one with John F. Kennedy, whom she met while filming Dragonwyck (1946). Kennedy broke it up because of his political aspirations. She also had dalliances with Tyrone Power during production of The Razor's Edge (1946) and with Prince Aly Khan in the early 1950s.

MGM offered her the lead in National Velvet (1944) but when the production was delayed, she instead signed with Fox.

Received extensive shock treatment in the 1950s while battling her mental instability.

Tierney was in the throes of suicidal depression and was admitted to the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, on Christmas Day in 1957, after police talked her down from a building ledge. She was released from Menningers the following year.

Fox offered Gene a lead role in Holiday for Lovers (1959) following her rehabilitation therapy. However, the stress proved too great and she was forced to leave the production.

Spoke fluent French.

Discovered she was expecting daughter Daria while filming Heaven Can Wait (1943). Began filming Laura (1944), after returning from her maternity leave.

Younger daughter, Christina "Tina" Cassini, was born on her 28th birthday, 20th November 1948.

Gave her name as "Gene Eliza Taylor Tierney" upon her marriage to Oleg Cassini in Las Vegas.

Daughter, Antoinette Daria Cassini, was born in Washington, D.C., on 15th October 1943.

Ex-sister-in-law of Igor Cassini.

She appeared in five films with Dana Andrews: Tobacco Road (1941), Belle Starr (1941), Laura (1944), The Iron Curtain (1948) and Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950).

When Gene saw herself on screen for the first time, she was horrified by her voice ("I sounded like an angry Minnie Mouse"). She began smoking to lower her voice, but it came at a great price - she died of emphysema.

In Italy, most of her films were dubbed by either Lidia Simoneschi and Rina Morelli (most notably Laura (1944) and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)). She was also dubbed by Miranda Bonansea in The Return of Frank James (1940); Rosetta Calavetta in Sundown (1941) and Paola Barbara in Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake (1942).

Despite her earlier romance with John F. Kennedy during the Forties, she voted for Richard Nixon in 1960 instead. She did send JFK a congratulatory note when he was elected president, however.

Was offered the role of Linda Nordley in Mogambo (1953), but was forced to turn it down due to pregnancy. Grace Kelly, who went on to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.

No relation to actress Maura Tierney.

Her mother was Belle Taylor a gymnastics teacher. Her father was an Irishman named Howard Tierney who served in World War I. Her older brother is named Howard Junior and her younger sister is named Pat.


Personal Quotes
Jealousy is, I think, the worst of all faults because it makes a victim of both parties.

Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney

Movie Legends - Gene Tierney (Star)

GENE TIERNEY - Interview in HOUSTON 1985 1/2