Tierney, Gene

Born November 19, 1920 in Brooklyn , New York . Her father was an insurance broker of Irish descent, and her mother was a physical education instructor. Her childhood and youth passed in Connecticut , where she graduated from high school. After that, she lived in Europe for two years, attending Brilantmont International School in Lausanne , Switzerland , where she learned to speak French fluently. When she decided to become an actress, her father gave her to a small theater studio in Greenwich Village , where her teacher was Broadway director Benno Schneider.

In 1938, Tierney debuted on Broadway , where she had a small role as a girl with a bucket. But even such an episodic appearance was noticed by one of the critics of Variety magazine, who, admiring her beauty, devoted a couple of lines to her in her column.

Considered one of the most beautiful Hollywood actresses, she became best known for her roles in the films “ Laura ” (1944) and “ God be her judge ” (1945), for the role in which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress . In addition, she starred in such films as “ Heaven Can Wait ” (1943), “ The Ghost and Mrs. Muir ” (1947), “The Marriage Season” (1951 “Egyptian” (1954), “The Left Hand of God ” (1955) and others Tierney continued to act until the mid-1960s, after which she retired and subsequently appeared only a few times in small roles on television.

In 1941-1952, the actress was married to designer Oleg Cassini , from whom two daughters were born: Antoinette Daria and Cristina. During pregnancy, Antoinette Jean had rubella , and her daughter was born prematurely, blind, deaf and mentally retarded. Agatha Christie wrote based on these events the novel " And, cracking, the mirror rings ... ".

Gene Tierney, an avid smoker, died of emphysema in 1991, not having lived a couple of weeks before her 71st birthday. For her contribution to the movie, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame .