Jean Simmons

Jean Merilyn Simmons (born January 31, 1929 in Crouch Hill, London, England, United Kingdom) is a British actress.

Related Topics:
January 31 - 1929 - Crouch Hill - London - England - United Kingdom - Actress

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Simmons began acting while still in her teens. Her first major film was Great Expectations, in which she played the young Estella. In 1948, she was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Ophelia in Hamlet, opposite Laurence Olivier.

Related Topics:
Great Expectations - 1948 - Academy Award - Hamlet - Laurence Olivier

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In 1950, she married the British actor, Stewart Granger, with whom she appeared in several films, successfully making the transition to Hollywood. Among her best-known leading roles are Guys and Dolls (1955), Elmer Gantry (directed by her second husband, Richard Brooks) and Spartacus, and The Happy Ending, again directed by Brooks and for which she received her second Oscar nomination.

Related Topics:
1950 - Stewart Granger - Hollywood - Guys and Dolls - 1955 - Elmer Gantry - Richard Brooks - Spartacus - The Happy Ending

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By the 70s, her screen career had tapered off. The screen's loss was the stage and television's gain. To glowing reviews, Simmons toured the U.S. in A Little Night Music, then took the show to London. For her appearance in the mini-series, The Thorn Birds, she won an Emmy Award. In 1989, she again starred in a miniseries version of Great Expectations, where she performed the role of Miss Havisham, Estella's adopted mother, as well as in 1985 and 1986 in North & South.

Related Topics:
70s - U.S. - A Little Night Music - The Thorn Birds - Emmy Award - 1989 - Miniseries - Great Expectations - 1985 - 1986 - North & South

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She was married twice:

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• 1) Stewart Granger (1950-1960); (one child)
• 2) Richard Brooks (1960-1977); (one daughter Kate Brooks)
 
Jean Simmons: Filmography ►