Gene Tierney: The tragedy of Hollywood's fairest face

"Unquestionably the most beautiful woman in movie history" - that's what 20th Century Fox head Darryl Zanuck said about Gene Tierney. She was not only beautiful but also talented. Her roles in Hollywood hits brought her fame and recognition. Meanwhile, her relationship with a fashion designer drove the actress to the brink of suicide.

In the 1940s, Gene Tierney became popular. At that time, beauty icons such as Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, and Hedy Lamarr were considered the epitome of glamour. However, it was Gene who was considered the most beautiful among them. Her symmetrical face, blue eyes, and carefully painted red lips caught everyone's attention.

Tierney came from a middle-class background. Her father was a successful insurance broker, so she had no shortage of money in her childhood. As she grew up, she began performing on Broadway, where Hollywood mogul Zanuck quickly noticed her. Thanks to him, Gene signed a contract with 20th Century Fox.

At 20 years old, she received her first important role in Fritz Lang's film "The Return of Frank James" (1940). Three years later, she appeared alongside Don Ameche in "Heaven Can Wait" by Ernest Lubitsch.

However, her role in Otto Preminger's production of Laura brought her the most fame. Tierney played a young career woman who suddenly returns to life after everyone thinks she has been murdered.

The year 1945 resulted in an Oscar nomination for her participation in the film "Leave Her to Heaven," in which she played the role of an obsessive socialite with murderous tendencies. She had the world at her feet. What happened next that made Gene want to take her own life?

Tierney, while pregnant with her first child, contracted rubella from one of her fans. The virus resulted in the actress giving birth to a daughter, Daria Cassini, in 1943, who was deaf and suffered from severe mental impairment.

The second child, also a daughter, was born five years later. Christina was born healthy.

Gene loved Oleg more than anything. When they separated, she was devastated that another actress took over her role in the movie Mogambo. In 1955, when she played in The Left Hand of God alongside Humphrey Bogart, she was so emotionally unstable that she couldn't remember her lines. The director supported her on set and privately counselled her to seek help.

Back then, there was no talk of seeking help from a psychologist or psychiatrist, as there is today. As part of her therapy, Gene underwent a series of electroshock treatments, which significantly weakened her memory. In 1957, she was in such bad condition that she was barely dissuaded from jumping off the roof of a 46-story building. She was admitted to the Menninger Clinic in Kansas.

The help in the centre turned out to be effective. In the early 1960s, Tierney married oil magnate W. Howard Lee. The couple moved to Texas. The actress died in 1991 from emphysema.