Jean Simmons

Jean Simmons, born on January 31, 1929 in London England was one of the finest actresses to come out of the British Isles. When she was only 14 she was chosen to play in Give Us the Moon in 1944. She went on to play in Caesar and Cleopatra in 1945, Great Expectations in 1946 and in Black Narcissus in 1947. Jean played in Hamlet in 1948 against Laurence Olivier and earned an Oscar nomination. She was in the Blue Lagoon in 1949 and So Long at the Fair in 1950.
In 1955 she starred in Guys and Dolls and married actor Stewart Granger. She sang her own songs and earned a Golden Globe Award. In 1960 Simmons and Granger divorced and she married Richard Brooks immediately. She played opposite Burt Lancaster in Elmer Gantry and starred with Kirk Douglas in Spartacus in 1960. She also played opposite Cary Grant in The Grass is Greener in 1960.
In the 1960s Jean was brilliant in All the Way Home, Life at the Top and Mister Buddwing. She was in Divorce American Style in 1967 and Rough Night in Jericho in 1967. The Happy Ending in 1969 gave her another Oscar nomination. She made films into the 1970s and in the 1980s appeared in North and South (1985 TV mini-series) and The Thorn Birds in 1983. In 1995 she made How to Make An American Quilt and played an elderly women in Howl's Moving Castle in 2004.
Jean usually played rebellious characters and was known for her demure demeanor and dark hair and green eyes. She divorced Richard Brooks in 1977 and had one child with him. Jean left behind a total of 2 children when she died of cancer on January 22, 2010.