20 Gorgeous Vintage Photos of a Young and Beautiful Vivien Leigh in the 1930s

Vivien Leigh (November 5, 1913 – July 8, 1967) was known throughout the 1930s and 1940s as an amazing actress and one of the most beautiful women in the world. Playing such iconic roles as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind as well as Blanche DuBouis in the film A Streetcar Named Desire, Vivien Leigh was a remarkable actress mentored by and married to Laurence Olivier. 

Leigh was also a model. The career of modeling did not exist at this time and most “models” were Hollywood actresses. As a style icon, Vivien Leigh went along with the fashion trends, sporting bold looks in the 1930s and more simple shapes and fashions in the 1940s. 

Her beauty came with a price however. Leigh is quoted as saying, “People think that if you look fairly reasonable, you can’t possibly act, and as I only care about acting, I think beauty can be a great handicap, if you really want to look like the part you’re playing, which isn’t necessarily like you.”

Although her career had periods of inactivity, in 1999 the American Film Institute ranked Leigh as the 16th-greatest female movie star of classic Hollywood cinema.