(stage name of Vivian Mary Hartley). Born Nov. 5, 1913, in Darjeeling, India; died July 8, 1967, in London. English stage and motion-picture actress.

Leigh was educated at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She began her screen career in 1934 and in 1935 made her stage debut in London’s “Q” Theater. She also performed in other London theaters, including the Old Vic.

Leigh’s best roles included Titania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare), Jennifer Dubedat (The Doctor’s Dilemma by Shaw), Sabina (The Skin of Our Teeth by Wilder), Antigone (Antigone by Anouilh), Blanche (A Streetcar Named Desire by Williams; she also played Blanche in the film version, 1951), and Paola (Duel of Angels by Fry). In 1955 at Stratfordupon-Avon she played Viola, Lady Macbeth, and Lavinia in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Macbeth, and Titus Andronicus.

Leigh’s most important film roles were Scarlett O’Hara (Gone With the Wind, 1939), Myra (Waterloo Bridge, 1940), Lady Hamilton (Lady Hamilton, 1941), Anna (Anna Karenina, 1948), and Mary Treadwell (Ship of Fools, 1964). She played complex, contradictory characters, who revealed themselves in dramatic clashes with harsh reality.