1939 – Vivien Leigh
Gone With the Wind
Vivien Leigh had been working as an actress on the big screen for several years when she landed this role in an incredibly high-profiled movie. This is the one for which she will be forever remembered. This is what put her on the public’s radar. She was so good. It was as if the part were written for her.
This movie was an epic that took place over the course of twelve years, following Scarlett from the age of sixteen to twenty-eight. Leigh had to believably play the young Southern Belle, and the hardened adult. From the height of happiness and depths of despair, from the ridiculously naive to the weathered and devious. She sometimes had the physical appearance of frailty, but it was clear that there was an inner strength born of fire and passion.
Vivien Leigh had to embody all of these things and more in order to do the part justice, and I think she knocked it out of the park. But that being said, I didn’t really like the character of Scarlett O’Hara. She was a horrible person who treated everyone around her terribly. The way she treated the slaves, her family, and her friends just made her an unlikable character. But that’s why Leigh did such a great job. I don’t think we weren’t supposed to like her. We were supposed to hate her for her vanity and selfishness, and yet respect her for her inner strength and resourcefulness. And that’s exactly what Leigh gave us.
And by the end, despite all the terrible things she did, we were happy when she finally realized that she actually loved Rhett instead of Ashley. We were hopeful that after the credits began to roll, she would go out and win Rhett back. We wanted her to turn her life around and become the best version of herself she could be. The role of Scarlett put Leigh through the full spectrum of human emotions and she did it all while staying incredibly true to the character. Because of Leigh’s masterful performance, we rooted for her despite all the ghastly behavior. I think Leigh really deserved her Oscar for playing the complex and engaging character so beautifully, with a real understanding of the heroine’s emotional journey. Congratulations on the well-deserved win.