Early Life and Acting Debut
Leigh was born Vivian Mary Hartley in the campus of St. Paul's School, Darjeeling, Bengal, India (British India), to Ernest Hartley, an English officer in the Indian Cavalry, and Gertrude Mary Robinson Yackjee (1888–1972), a devout Roman Catholic, the daughter of Mary I. Robinson and John G. Yackjee, who wed in 1872. Ernest and Gertrude married in Kensington, London in 1912.
In 1917, Ernest Hartley was transferred to Bangalore, while Gertrude and Vivian stayed in Ootacamund. Young Vivian made her first stage appearance at the age of three, reciting "Little Bo Peep" for her mother's amateur theatre group. Gertrude Hartley tried to instill in her daughter an appreciation of literature and introduced her to the works of Hans Christian Andersen, Lewis Carroll and Rudyard Kipling, as well as stories of Greek mythology and Indian folklore. An only child, Vivian Hartley was sent to the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Roehampton (now Woldingham School) in 1920, from Loreto Convent, Darjeeling by her devoutly Catholic mother. One of her friends there was future actress Maureen O'Sullivan, two years her senior, to whom Vivian expressed her desire to become "a great actress". She was removed from the school by her father, who took her travelling in Europe; with schooling provided by schools in the areas they travelled, returning to Britain in 1931. She attended one of O'Sullivan's films playing in London's West End and told her parents of her ambitions to become an actress. Her father enrolled her at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.
Read more about this topic: Vivien Leigh
Famous quotes containing the words early, life, acting and/or debut:
“[In early adolescence] she becomes acutely aware of herself as a being perceived by others, judged by others, though she herself is the harshest judge, quick to list her physical flaws, quick to undervalue and under-rate herself not only in terms of physical appearance but across a wide range of talents, capacities and even social status, whereas boys of the same age will cite their abilities, their talents and their social status pretty accurately.”
—Terri Apter (20th century)
“All I know is that first, youve got to get mad. Youve got to say, Im a human being, goddamn it, my life has value. So I want you to get up now, I want all of you to get up out of your
chairs. I want you to get up right now, and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out, and yell, Im as mad as hell, and Im not going to take it anymore.”
—Paddy Chayefsky (19231981)
“Often, when there is a conflict between parent and child, at its very hub is an expectation that the child should be acting differently. Sometimes these expectations run counter what is known about childrens growth. They stem from remembering oneself, but usually at a slightly older age.”
—Ellen Galinsky (20th century)
“Had I been less resolved to work, I would perhaps had made an effort to begin immediately. But since my resolution was formal and before twenty four hours, in the empty slots of the next day where everything fit so nicely because I was not yet there, it was better not to choose a night at which I was not well-disposed for a debut to which the following days proved, alas, no more propitious.... Unfortunately, the following day was not the exterior and vast day which I had feverishly awaited.”
—Marcel Proust (18711922)