Gene Tierney was raised in a world of wealth and privilege. Her dark eyes and remarkable beauty thrilled and enchanted theater-goers, but she was also a deeply troubled woman who suffered from mental illness for many years.
Gene Tierney’s Early Years
Gene Eliza Tierney was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 19, 1920 to Howard Sherwood Tierney and Belle Lavina Taylor. She had an older brother, Howard Jr., and a younger sister, Patricia. Her father was a successful insurance broker and her mother, a teacher. Tierney was educated at St. Margaret’s, a private school in Waterbury, and the Unquowa School in Fairfield, Connecticut. She spent two years in Europe then finished her education at the Brillantmont International School in Lausanne, Switzerland. As a student, she enjoyed writing poetry and learned to speak fluent French.
Gene Tierney Studies Acting
In 1938, Tierney attended Miss Porter’s School, a college preparatory school in Connecticut. On vacation, she visited the Warner Bros. Studios and was offered a contract, but she was only seventeen and her parent’s turned it down because of the low salary. She decided to study acting at a Greenwich Village acting studio in New York. She appeared on Broadway and received favorable reviews from Variety and The New York Times. Her father started a corporation—Belle-Tier-- solely to support her acting career.
Gene Tierney is Offered Contracts from Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox
In 1939, Columbia Pictures offered Tierney a six month contract, but failed to assign her a project, so she returned to Broadway. In 1940, she was cast as Patricia Stanley in The Male Animal and was an instant hit. She was featured in Life Magazine, photographed by Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, and Collier's Weekly, and caught the eye of Darryl F. Zanuck who offered her a contract with 20th Century Fox, and she wisely accepted. Shortly after signing she was cast as Eleanor Stone in The Return of Frank James with Henry Fonda. The following year she appeared as Barbara Hall in Hudson's Bay; as Ellie Mae Lester in John Ford's Tobacco Road; as Belle Starr in Belle Starr; as Zia in Sundown and as Victoria Charteris in The Shanghai Gesture.
Gene Tierney Becomes a Hollywood Star
In 1943, Tierney was cast as Martha Strable, the lead in the comedy Heaven Can Wait. The film was nominated for three Oscars, and increased her popularity considerably. The following year, Tierney appeared in one of her most famous roles as Laura Hunt, co-starring with Dana Andrews in Otto Preminger’s mystery Laura. Laura was nominated for five Oscars. Gene Tierney’s intense performance deserved an Academy Award, but was sadly neglected. However, in 1945 she starred as Ellen Berent Harland in the mystery drama Leave Her to Heaven and she was finally nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. In 1946 she thrilled the critics with her performance as Isabel Bradley in The Razor's Edge. She co-starred in this film with Tyrone Power and it was believed that Tierney and Power had a brief affair. In 1947, Tierney played Lucy Muir in the comedy drama The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and this was also believed to be one of her greatest performances.
Gene Tierney’s Personal Life
Tierney was engaged to actor Robert Sterling, but her parents objected to the union, so they split up. She then became engaged to fashion designer Oleg Cassini and when her parents objected, the two eloped on June 1, 1941. They had two daughters, Antoinette Daria Cassini, born on October 15, 1943, and Christina Cassini, born on November 19, 1948. While she was pregnant with Daria, Tierney contracted rubella during an appearance at the Hollywood Canteen. Because of Tierney’s illness, Daria was born premature and required a complete blood transfusion. She was also deaf, partially blind and had severe mental retardation. Tierney’s close friend, Howard Hughes, paid her medical expenses. Years later, Tierney was approached by a fan who told her she was the woman who snuck out of quarantine years earlier when she had rubella to see Tierney at the Hollywood Canteen. Stunned, Tierney stared at the woman then walked away. Agatha Christie later used the incident in her Jane Marple mystery The Mirror Crack’d. Tierney suffered from years of depression due to grief over her daughter. She was hospitalized in 1955 and received 27 shock treatments, which she believed destroyed her memory. In 1957, she was again hospitalized when she tried to jump off the ledge of a building. She separated from Cassini for a short time and dated John F. Kennedy. She reconciled briefly with Cassini, but they divorced in 1952. She met W. Howard Lee, a Texas oil baron, while he was married to Hedy Lamarr, in 1958. Tierney and Lee were married in 1960. He died in 1981.
Death and Legacy of Gene Tierney
When Gene Tierney first heard her voice on film she thought it was too high-pitched and started smoking to make it sound deeper. Ironically, she died of emphysema in Houston, Texas in 1991. Her autobiography, titled Self-Portrait, was published in 1979. From 1940 to 1980, Tierney appeared in 41 films. She was honored with the first Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival Spain. She was also honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California.
Resources:
Biography. The Official Website of Gene Tierney.
Gene Eliza Tierney. The Biography Channel.
Gene Tierney. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved Nov. 3, 2009.
Severo, Richard. “Gene Tierney, 70, Star of ‘Laura’ and ‘Leave Her to Heaven’ Dies.” The New York Times. Pub. Nov. 8, 1991. Retrieved Nov. 3, 2009.
The Mirror Crack’d. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved Nov. 3, 2009.
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