Rare Photos of a Very Young Vivien Leigh in the 1920s and Early 1930s

Vivien Leigh was born Vivian Mary Hartley on November 5, 1913, in Darjeeling, British India. Her father was a British stockbroker and officer, and her mother instilled in her an early appreciation for literature and the arts.

Vivien spent her early childhood in India, surrounded by luxury and servants, an upbringing typical of British colonial families. At age six, she was sent to a convent school in England (the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Roehampton), the same school later attended by Maureen O’Sullivan. This move to England began her lifelong fascination with European culture and classical theatre.

As a teenager, Vivien was well-read, fluent in French and Italian, and took part in school plays. Her refined beauty and intelligence were already noticeable; she was known for her green eyes and delicate features even at a young age. Her first notable acting experience came when she appeared in a school play, and she reportedly told a friend, “Someday I’ll be famous.”

After finishing school, Vivien studied at several European institutions, including time in Italy, Germany, and France, perfecting her languages and cultural knowledge. In 1931, she returned to London and briefly attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). She also met Herbert Leigh Holman, a barrister 13 years her senior, and married him in December 1932, at the age of 19. She shortened her RADA studies, and used his middle name, Leigh, as part of her professional stage name, Vivien Leigh.

Despite her husband’s initial disapproval of “theatrical people,” Vivien was determined to act. She secured a film debut in the minor role of “The Girl Who Sticks Her Tongue Out” in the film Things Are Looking Up (1934), followed by other uncredited or bit parts in short-lived British “quota quickies.”

By the end of 1934, she was a married mother with a burning ambition and a few minor film appearances, poised for the “Fame in a Night” success she would achieve on the London stage in 1935 with the play The Mask of Virtue, which truly launched her career.