Jean Simmons

Jean Merilyn Simmons (31 January 1929 – 22 January 2010) was a British actress and singer. One of J. Arthur Rank's "well-spoken young starlets", she appeared predominantly in films, beginning with those made in Britain during and after the Second World War, followed mainly by Hollywood films from 1950 onwards. Simmons was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Hamlet (1948), and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for Guys and Dolls (1955). Among her other films were Great Expectations (1946), Black Narcissus (1947), The Blue Lagoon (1949), So Long at the Fair (1950), Angel Face (1953), Young Bess (1953), The Robe (1953), The Big Country (1958), Elmer Gantry (1960), Spartacus (1960), and The Happy Ending (1969), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She also won an Emmy Award for the miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983).

Infobox

Born

Jean Merilyn Simmons(1929-01-31)31 January 1929Islington, London, England

Died

22 January 2010(2010-01-22) (aged 80)Santa Monica, California, US

Resting place

Highgate Cemetery

Citizenship

mw- United KingdomUnited States (from 1956)

Occupation(s)

Actress, singer

Years active

1944–2010

Spouses

mw- Stewart Granger (m. 1950; div. 1960) Richard Brooks (m. 1960; div. 1980)

Children

Father

Charles Simmons

Occupations

Actress, singer

Tables

· Filmography

1944

Give Us the Moon

Role(s)

Heidi

Mr. Emmanuel

Role(s)

Sally Cooper

Notes

Billed as Jean Simmonds

Sports Day

Role(s)

Peggy

1945

Kiss the Bride Goodbye

Role(s)

Molly Dodd

Meet Sexton Blake!

Role(s)

Eva Watkins

The Way to the Stars

Role(s)

A singer

Caesar and Cleopatra

Role(s)

Harpist

Notes

Uncredited

1946

Great Expectations

Role(s)

Estella as a girl

1947

Hungry Hill

Role(s)

Jane Brodrick

Black Narcissus

Role(s)

Kanchi

Uncle Silas

Role(s)

Caroline Ruthyn

The Woman in the Hall

Role(s)

Jay Blake

1948

Hamlet

Role(s)

Ophelia

Notes

Volpi Cup for Best ActressNominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

1949

Adam and Evelyne

Role(s)

Evelyne Kirby

The Blue Lagoon

Role(s)

Emmeline Foster

1950

So Long at the Fair

Role(s)

Vicky Barton

Notes

Bambi Award for Best Actress – International (2nd place)

Trio

Role(s)

Evie Bishop

Notes

Segment "Sanatorium"Bambi Award for Best Actress – International (2nd place)

Cage of Gold

Role(s)

Judith Moray

The Clouded Yellow

Role(s)

Sophie Malraux

1952

Androcles and the Lion

Role(s)

Lavinia

1953

Angel Face

Role(s)

Diane Tremayne Jessup

Young Bess

Role(s)

Princess Elizabeth

Notes

National Board of Review Award for Best Actress (also for The Robe and The Actress)

Affair with a Stranger

Role(s)

Carolyn Parker

The Robe

Role(s)

Diana

Notes

National Board of Review Award for Best Actress (also for Young Bess and The Actress)

The Actress

Role(s)

Ruth Gordon Jones

Notes

National Board of Review Award for Best Actress (also for Young Bess and The Robe)

1954

She Couldn't Say No

Role(s)

Corby Lane

Notes

AKA Beautiful but Dangerous

The Egyptian

Role(s)

Meryt

A Bullet Is Waiting

Role(s)

Cally Canham

Désirée

Role(s)

Désirée Clary

Demetrius and the Gladiators

Role(s)

Diana

Notes

Appeared in a clip from The Robe

1955

Footsteps in the Fog

Role(s)

Lily Watkins

Guys and Dolls

Role(s)

Sergeant Sarah Brown

Notes

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated – BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress

1956

Hilda Crane

Role(s)

Hilda Crane Burns

1957

This Could Be the Night

Role(s)

Anne Leeds

Notes

Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Until They Sail

Role(s)

Barbara Leslie Forbes

1958

The Big Country

Role(s)

Julie Maragon

Home Before Dark

Role(s)

Charlotte Bronn

Notes

Laurel Award for Top Female Dramatic Performance (4th place)Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama

1959

This Earth Is Mine

Role(s)

Elizabeth Rambeau

1960

Elmer Gantry

Role(s)

Sharon Falconer

Notes

Laurel Award for Top Female Dramatic Performance (3rd place)Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Foreign ActressNominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama

Spartacus

Role(s)

Varinia

The Grass Is Greener

Role(s)

Hattie Durant

Notes

Laurel Award for Top Female Comedy Performance (5th place)

1963

All the Way Home

Role(s)

Mary Follett

1965

Life at the Top

Role(s)

Susan Lampton

1966

Mister Buddwing

Role(s)

The Blonde

1967

Divorce American Style

Role(s)

Nancy Downes

Rough Night in Jericho

Role(s)

Molly Lang

1968

Heidi

Role(s)

Fräulein Rottenmeier

Notes

1969

The Happy Ending

Role(s)

Mary Wilson

Notes

Nominated – Academy Award for Best ActressNominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama

1971

Say Hello to Yesterday

Role(s)

Woman

1972

The Odd Couple

Role(s)

Princess Lydia

Notes

Episode: "The Princess"

1975

Mr. Sycamore

Role(s)

Estelle Benbow

The Easter Promise

Role(s)

Constance Payne

Notes

1977

Hawaii Five-O

Role(s)

Terri O'Brien

Notes

TV; Episode "A Cop on the Cover"

1978

The Dain Curse

Role(s)

Aaronia Haldorn

Notes

Dominique

Role(s)

Dominique Ballard

1979

Beggarman, Thief

Role(s)

Gretchen Jordache Burke

Notes

1981

A Small Killing

Role(s)

Margaret Lawrence

Notes

Golden Gate

Role(s)

Jane Kingsley

Notes

Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls

Role(s)

Helen Lawson

Notes

1983

The Thorn Birds

Role(s)

Fee Cleary

Notes

TVPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a MovieNominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film

1984

December Flower

Role(s)

Etta Marsh

Notes

All for Love

Role(s)

Deidre Mackay

Notes

Episode: "Down at the Hydro"

1985

Midas Valley

Role(s)

Molly Hammond

Notes

North and South

Role(s)

Clarissa Gault Main

Notes

1986

North and South Book II

Role(s)

Clarissa Gault Main

Notes

1987

Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love

Role(s)

Laura Robertson

Notes

1988

Inherit the Wind

Role(s)

Lucy Brady

Notes

The Dawning

Role(s)

Aunt Mary

Going Undercover

Role(s)

Maxine de la Hunt

Notes

Released as Going Undercover in the US in 1988. Straight to video in the UK as Yellow Pages (completed 1985).

1989

Great Expectations

Role(s)

Miss Havisham

Notes

Murder, She Wrote

Role(s)

Eudora McVeigh Shipton

Notes

Episode: "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall"Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series

1991

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Role(s)

Rear Admiral Norah Satie

Notes

Episode: "The Drumhead"

Dark Shadows

Role(s)

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard Naomi Collins

They Do It with Mirrors

Role(s)

Carrie-Louise Serrocold

Notes

TV; Miss Marple (TV series)

1994

In the Heat of the Night

Role(s)

Miss Cordelia

Notes

TV; Episode: "Ches and the Grand Lady"

1994–1998

Role(s)

Mysteries of the Bible

Notes

Narrator

1995

How to Make an American Quilt

Role(s)

Em Reed

Notes

Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

Daisies in December

Role(s)

Katherine Palmer

2001

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Role(s)

Council Member 2

Notes

Voice

2003

Winter Solstice

Role(s)

Countess Lucinda Rhives

Notes

Released in Germany as Wintersonne

2004

Jean Simmons: Rose of England

Role(s)

Herself

Howl's Moving Castle

Role(s)

Old Sophie

Notes

Voice, English version

2005

Thru the Moebius Strip

Role(s)

Shepway

Notes

Voice

2009

Shadows in the Sun

Role(s)

Hannah

Notes

Final film role

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1944	Give Us the Moon	Heidi
	Mr. Emmanuel	Sally Cooper	Billed as Jean Simmonds
	Sports Day	Peggy
1945	Kiss the Bride Goodbye	Molly Dodd
	Meet Sexton Blake!	Eva Watkins
	The Way to the Stars	A singer
	Caesar and Cleopatra	Harpist	Uncredited
1946	Great Expectations	Estella as a girl
1947	Hungry Hill	Jane Brodrick
	Black Narcissus	Kanchi
	Uncle Silas	Caroline Ruthyn
	The Woman in the Hall	Jay Blake
1948	Hamlet	Ophelia	Volpi Cup for Best ActressNominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
1949	Adam and Evelyne	Evelyne Kirby
1949	The Blue Lagoon	Emmeline Foster
1950	So Long at the Fair	Vicky Barton	Bambi Award for Best Actress – International (2nd place)
	Trio	Evie Bishop	Segment "Sanatorium"Bambi Award for Best Actress – International (2nd place)
	Cage of Gold	Judith Moray
	The Clouded Yellow	Sophie Malraux
1952	Androcles and the Lion	Lavinia
1953	Angel Face	Diane Tremayne Jessup
	Young Bess	Princess Elizabeth	National Board of Review Award for Best Actress (also for The Robe and The Actress)
	Affair with a Stranger	Carolyn Parker
	The Robe	Diana	National Board of Review Award for Best Actress (also for Young Bess and The Actress)
	The Actress	Ruth Gordon Jones	National Board of Review Award for Best Actress (also for Young Bess and The Robe)
1954	She Couldn't Say No	Corby Lane	AKA Beautiful but Dangerous
	The Egyptian	Meryt
	A Bullet Is Waiting	Cally Canham
	Désirée	Désirée Clary
	Demetrius and the Gladiators	Diana	Appeared in a clip from The Robe
1955	Footsteps in the Fog	Lily Watkins
1955	Guys and Dolls	Sergeant Sarah Brown	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated – BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress
1956	Hilda Crane	Hilda Crane Burns
1957	This Could Be the Night	Anne Leeds	Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1957	Until They Sail	Barbara Leslie Forbes
1958	The Big Country	Julie Maragon
1958	Home Before Dark	Charlotte Bronn	Laurel Award for Top Female Dramatic Performance (4th place)Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1959	This Earth Is Mine	Elizabeth Rambeau
1960	Elmer Gantry	Sharon Falconer	Laurel Award for Top Female Dramatic Performance (3rd place)Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Foreign ActressNominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
	Spartacus	Varinia
	The Grass Is Greener	Hattie Durant	Laurel Award for Top Female Comedy Performance (5th place)
1963	All the Way Home	Mary Follett
1965	Life at the Top	Susan Lampton
1966	Mister Buddwing	The Blonde
1967	Divorce American Style	Nancy Downes
1967	Rough Night in Jericho	Molly Lang
1968	Heidi	Fräulein Rottenmeier	TV
1969	The Happy Ending	Mary Wilson	Nominated – Academy Award for Best ActressNominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1971	Say Hello to Yesterday	Woman

· Awards and nominations

1949

Academy Awards

Role(s)

Best Supporting Actress

Notes

Hamlet

1950

Daily Mail National Film Awards

Role(s)

Most Outstanding British Actress of the Year

1953

National Board of Review

Role(s)

Best Actress

Notes

The Actress / The Robe / Young Bess

1956

Golden Globe Awards

Role(s)

Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Notes

Guys and Dolls

1957

BAFTA Awards

Role(s)

Best Foreign Actress

Notes

Nominated

1958

Golden Globe Awards

Role(s)

Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Notes

This Could Be the Night

1959

Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama

Role(s)

Home Before Dark

Notes

Nominated

1961

BAFTA Awards

Role(s)

Best Foreign Actress

Notes

Elmer Gantry

Golden Globe Awards

Role(s)

Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama

Notes

Nominated

1970

Academy Awards

Role(s)

Best Actress

Notes

The Happy Ending

Golden Globe Awards

Role(s)

Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama

Notes

Nominated

1983

Primetime Emmy Awards

Role(s)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special

Notes

The Thorn Birds

1984

Golden Globe Awards

Role(s)

Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television

Notes

Nominated

1989

Primetime Emmy Awards

Role(s)

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series

Notes

Murder, She Wrote

1996

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Role(s)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

Notes

How to Make an American Quilt

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1949	Academy Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Hamlet	Nominated
1950	Daily Mail National Film Awards	Most Outstanding British Actress of the Year		Won
1953	National Board of Review	Best Actress	The Actress / The Robe / Young Bess	Won
1956	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy	Guys and Dolls	Won
1957	BAFTA Awards	Best Foreign Actress	Guys and Dolls	Nominated
1958	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy	This Could Be the Night	Nominated
1959	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama	Home Before Dark	Nominated
1961	BAFTA Awards	Best Foreign Actress	Elmer Gantry	Nominated
1961	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama	Elmer Gantry	Nominated
1970	Academy Awards	Best Actress	The Happy Ending	Nominated
1970	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama	The Happy Ending	Nominated
1983	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special	The Thorn Birds	Won
1984	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television	The Thorn Birds	Nominated
1989	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Murder, She Wrote	Nominated
1996	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	How to Make an American Quilt	Nominated

References

Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-jean-simmons23-2010jan23-story.html
The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jean-simmons-actress-who-dazzled-opposite-the-likes-of-marlon-brando-kirk-douglas-and-laurence-olivier-1878829.html
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/movies/24simmons.html
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Jean Simmons, (Brian McFarlane) [1]
http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-103243?rskey=Ex2fdt&result=2
Per Gloria Hunniford in Sunday, Sunday television interview LWT, autumn 1985
The Salina Journal
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1985589/jean_simmons_age/
"Are They Being Fair to Jean Simmons?", Picturegoer, 2 August 1947.
TV Times, 22–28 March 1975, p. 4
So You Want to be in Pictures?
The Sydney Morning Herald
https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27893195
Woman's Weekly, Christmas 1989
Biography, reelclassics.com; accessed 24 April 2014.
https://www.reelclassics.com/Actresses/Simmons/simmons-bio.htm
The Observer
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/jan/23/the-unforgettable-jean-simmons
The Mail
https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55886550
The British working class in postwar film
https://archive.org/details/britishworkingcl0000gill
Townsville Daily Bulletin
https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63371662
The Sydney Morning Herald
https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18193224
Howard Hughes, The Untold Story
https://books.google.com/books?id=WnbDirjSyHUC&q=simmons
The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/friday_review/story/0,,254808,00.html
aenigma
https://www.aenigma-images.com/tag/stewart-granger/
The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jan/24/jean-simmons-obituary
The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/22/AR2010012205323.html
Chicago Daily Tribune
Los Angeles Times
https://latimes.newspapers.com/search/#query=Jean+Simmons+Suit+Settled+by+Hughes%3A+British+Actress+Wins+on+Points%3B+Producer+to+Pay+All+Costs+of+Trial
Variety
https://archive.org/details/variety205-1957-01
The Observer
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/apr/06/1
"A Little Night Music: 1974 Touring Production; 1975 London Production"
https://www.sondheimguide.com/night.html
Tucson Daily Citizen
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2000315/english_stars_married_here/
The Milwaukee Journal
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19560608&id=Zx8aAAAAIBAJ&pg=1136,4989103
The Blade
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19600708&id=a75OAAAAIBAJ&pg=7294,4472816
The Odessa American
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2114492/actress_weds_film_director/
Daniel 2011, p. 210.
BFI
https://web.archive.org/web/20200707144213/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b795f0c10
Going Undercover
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-20-ca-3471-story.html
British Board of Film Classification
https://web.archive.org/web/20200708204318/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/yellow-pages-1985
Picture Show and TV Mirror, 2 July 1960, p. 7. Simmons said in an interview that Tracy was named after Spencer Tracy, bu
The London Gazette
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/56797/supplement/24
The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/stinyg-leads-campaign-against-blairs-plan-to-reclassify-cannabis-519959.html
"British-born Hollywood actress Jean Simmons dies at 80"
https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8476400.stm
"Obituary: Jean Simmons"
https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3516771.stm
The Daily Telegraph
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/film-obituaries/7061131/Jean-Simmons.html
Kiss the Bride Goodbye
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036985/
Meet Sexton Blake
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037061/fullcredits#cast
Contemporary British and Irish Film Directors
https://books.google.com/books?id=OJAcf31BweQC&pg=PA60
Canberra Times
https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2759831
The Courier-Mail
https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49700937
The Mercury
https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26748158
Townsville Daily Bulletin
https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63397098