Jill Esmond

They write that Esmond's feelings of betrayal were genuine despite the unconventional nature of the marriage. She died in 1984 and was interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. The biographies describe the marriage as a relatively happy one, based on mutual respect and affection and their shared love of theatre. Soon after, she left film for almost twenty years, returning one last time in 1957 in Bernardine. Since the deaths of Esmond and Olivier, biographers have written that Olivier was bisexual for his entire life, and that his marriage with Esmond was convenient for both of them, as she was also bisexual. In 1937, she was again nominated for an Academy Award, this time for her role in A Star Is Born. She did not remarry, and died in Wimbledon, London. Gaynor was one of only a handful of leading ladies who made a successful transition to sound movies over the next decade.

In her later years, Esmond discussed the bitterness she still felt towards Olivier and her feeling that she had sacrificed her career so that he could further his own, only to find herself cruelly discarded. The award was given on the basis of the actor's total work over the year, and not just for one particular performance. Her acting appearances grew more sporadic with the passage of time and she made her final film appearance in 1955. It was the only time in Oscar history that this prestigious award was given for multiple roles. She starred in the Broadway production of The Morning Star in 1942, a production noted for the acting debut of Gregory Peck. Her performances in Seventh Heaven (the first of twelve movies she would make with Charles Farrell) and both Sunrise and Street Angel (in 1927, also with Charles Farrell) earned her the first Academy Award for Best Actress in 1928. She returned briefly to acting and appeared in such popular films as Journey for Margaret, The Pied Piper and Random Harvest (all 1942) and The White Cliffs of Dover (1944). Within one year, Gaynor was one of Hollywood's leading ladies.

Pressed by Olivier, who was anxious to marry Leigh, she eventually agreed and they were divorced in 1940. Her outstanding performance won her the attention of producers, who cast her in a series of films. Esmond withstood the publicity of Olivier's affair with Vivien Leigh and did not seek a divorce. Finally, in 1926, she was cast in the lead role in a silent film called The Johnstown Flood, the same year she was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars. Her career continued to ascend while Olivier's own career languished, but when his career began to show promise after a couple of years, she began to refuse roles. For two years, she supported herself with odd jobs in Los Angeles while taking minor roles in films. She also appeared in two Broadway productions with Olivier - Private Lives in 1931 with Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence, and The Green Bay Tree in 1933. Upon graduating from high school, Gaynor decided to pursue a career in acting.

Returning to the United Kingdom she made her film debut with a starring role in an early Alfred Hitchcock film The Skin Game (1931), and over the next few years appeared in several British and Hollywood films, including Thirteen Women (1932). Born Laura Gainor in Philadelphia, her family moved west to San Francisco when she was a child. Olivier continued to follow Esmond, and after proposing to her several times, she agreed and the couple were married in 1930. Janet Gaynor (October 6, 1906 - September 14, 1984) was an actress who in 1928 was the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress. Esmond won rave reviews for her performance. 1957 Bernardine. Determined to be near Esmond he travelled to New York where he found work as an actor. 1938 The Young in Heart.

When Bird in the Hand was being staged on Broadway, Esmond was chosen to join the American production - but Olivier was not. 1938 Three Loves Has Nancy. In his autobiography Olivier later wrote that he was smitten with Esmond, and that her cool indifference to him did nothing but further his ardour. 1937 A Star Is Born. In 1928 she appeared in the production of Bird in the Hand where she met fellow cast member Laurence Olivier for the first time. 1936 Small Town Girl/One Horse Town. In 1925, she starred with her mother in a play Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, and after a few more successful roles, won critical praise for her part as a young suicide in Outward Bound. 1936 Ladies in Love.

After reassessing her future and coming to terms with her father's death she studied with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and returned to the West End stage in 1924. 1935 One More Spring. When her father died suddenly in 1922 Esmond returned to school and at the time considered abandoning her ambition to act. 1935 The Farmer Takes a Wife. She made her stage debut playing Wendy to Gladys Cooper's Peter Pan but her success was shortlived. 1934 Servant's Entrance. While her parents toured with theatre companies, Esmond spent her childhood in boarding schools until she decided at the age of fourteen to become an actress. 1934 La Ciudad de Carton.

Esmond and Eva Moore. 1934 Change of Heart. Esmond was born in London, England, the daughter of stage actors Henry V. 1934 Carolina. Jill Esmond (January 26, 1908 – July 28, 1990) was a British actress. 1933 State Fair. 1933 Paddy the Next Best Thing.

1933 Adorable. 1932 Tess of the Storm Country. 1932 The First Year. 1931 Merely Mary Ann.

1931 The Man Who Came Back. 1931 Delicious. 1931 Daddy Long Legs. 1930 High Society Blues.

1929 Sunny Side Up. 1929 Lucky Star. 1929 Happy Days. 1929 Christina.

1928 Street Angel. 1928 Four Devils. 1927 Two Girls Wanted. 1927 Sunrise (Academy Award for Best Actress).

1927 Seventh Heaven (Academy Award for Best Actress). 1926 The Shamrock Handicap. 1926 The Return of Peter Grimm. 1926 The Midnight Kiss.

1926 The Johnstown Flood. 1926 The Blue Eagle.