Merle Oberon | |
---|---|
Born | Estelle Merle O'Brien Thompson 19 February 1911 |
Died | 23 November 1979 Malibu, California, U.S. | (aged 68)
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1928–1973 |
Spouses | Bruno Pagliai
(m. 1957; div. 1973) |
Children | 2 |
Merle Oberon (born Estelle Merle O'Brien Thompson; 19 February 1911 – 23 November 1979) was a British actress.[1] She gained recognition for portraying Anne Boleyn in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) and saw further success with her role in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934). She later traveled to the United States to make films for Samuel Goldwyn, including Folies Bergère de Paris (1935), The Dark Angel (1935), These Three (1936), The Cowboy and the Lady (1938), and Wuthering Heights (1939). Her performance as Kitty Vane in The Dark Angel earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Oberon's other notable roles included A Song to Remember (1945), Berlin Express (1948), and Désirée (1954). A traffic collision in 1937 caused facial injuries that nearly ended her career, but she recovered and remained active in film and television until 1973.