Shelley Winters, a Hollywood star of the 50s of the last century, was awarded two Oscars, an Emmy and a Golden Globe, for her more than half a century career in Hollywood and on the stage of the theater. The best directors worked with her (Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski, Sidney Pollack), the partners on the set were the same stars as her - Bert Lancaster, Kurt Russell, Elizabeth Taylor, and the roommate in the acting studio - Merlin Monroe.
The actress herself compared her life with the long stony road from the Brooklyn ghetto to a luxurious apartment in New York, two most important cinematic awards, three houses in California, four successful plays, five paintings by the Impressionists, six mink coats and 99 films.
Shelley Winters: biography
The future actress was born on August 18, 1920 in the city of St. Louis (Missouri) in a creative family. Shelley's father was engaged in the design of men's clothing, and his mother worked as a singer. When the girl was three years old, the whole family moved to New York, and after another six years her father was sent to prison for arson. In her memoirs, the actress later said that it was during this period that she plunged headlong into the fantasy world, which helped her in the acting profession. She regularly skipped school to attend productions on Broadway.
When a nationwide audition was held in search of an actress for the role of Scarlett in Gone With the Wind, she was a teenager. She borrowed high-heeled shoes from her older sister and enlarged her chest with down liners, Shelley Winters went to the casting. It was then that director George Cukor advised her to go to acting school and become famous in New York.
After receiving secondary education, she began working at a garment factory and attended evening acting school, as well as Charles Lawton's courses and the legendary acting studio in Manhattan.
Actress career
The acting debut of Shelley Winters took place at the age of twenty-three years in the film "What a Woman!". However, fame came to her after the role of the victim in the film of the same George Cukor's "Double Life", which was released in 1943. This was followed by the films “Winchester 73” and the drama “The Great Gatsby”, which opened her way to Hollywood. Eight years later, in 1951 she starred in the film “Place in the Sun” and received her first Oscar nomination as Best Actress. The award went to another nominee, but she attracted the attention of directors to her person and firmly established herself in the American film industry.
The 50s of the last century revealed her talent to the full, the actress starred a lot, was in sight and in secular chronicles. In 1960, she received her first Oscar for her supporting role in the film Anne Frank Diary. In parallel with work in the cinema, Shelley Winters actively performed on Broadway. She received the second Oscar in 1966 and again for her supporting role in the film A Shred of Blue.
In the 70s, her most noteworthy work was the film “The Adventure of Poseidon” (another nomination for a golden figurine, a shot from the film in the photo above) and staging in the theater - the play “The Night of the Iguana”. The viewer of the next decade knows the actress mainly from television and autobiographical projects, as well as from her book. W. Winters has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Personal life
Charming, cheerful and never discouraged, this is how the actress remembers not only the viewer, but also her colleagues, numerous interviewers. She was loved by men. Articles about the novels of the actress with the most beautiful actors in Hollywood have appeared in the press: Clark Gable, Robert de Niro, Marlon Brando, Bert Lancaster. Shelley Winters was married (photo - text) four times. The first marriage was early and began during World War II, and ended in 1948. The military star - captain M.P. Mayer became the chosen one of the aspiring actress. He wanted a strong family and a "home" wife. The latter was absolutely impossible in the light of the successfully developing career of a Hollywood actress. C. Winters wore the engagement ring given to him until his death. The second husband was the famous Italian actor and director Vittorio Gassman (pictured below). In marriage, the couple had a baby. The girl was named Victoria, she received the profession of a doctor and has two children. Winters' third husband is an American actor, Anthony Francoza, who is familiar to viewers from the movie "A Hat Full of Rain."
With her fourth husband, Jerry Deford, the actress lived together for 19 years, and the marriage was officially registered a few hours before her death at the Beverly Hills Rehab Center. She died at the age of 85 from heart failure.
"A place under the sun"
The painting "Place in the Sun" brought the actress the first nomination for a prestigious award and popularity. The film was shot based on the novel by T. Dreiser “American Tragedy” and is included in the national registry. This is a story about love and cold calculation. A guy raised in a Puritan style comes to work in the city. His uncle helps him get a job, but sets the condition - no romance with the employees. However, relationships do happen, and the young man quickly cools down and finds a lady from high society. Fearing the publicity and threats of the former lover, he decides to kill her.
"Anne Frank Diary"
“Anne Frank's Diary” is a dramatic film based on the diary of a girl from a Jewish family that she kept during the fascist occupation of the Netherlands. The tragic story of a family and a whole nation through the eyes of a child. S. Winter for the supporting role received an Oscar. By promising to hand over the figurine to the Anne Frank Museum at the awards ceremony, she did so after 16 years.
"Shred of blue"
The complex characteristic role of Shelley Winters in Guy Green's drama “A Shred of Blue”, for which she was awarded the second Oscar, is also noteworthy. This is a dramatic story about a blind girl who suffers from domestic violence and her dark-skinned friend in the person of an adult man.
The three tapes discussed above are just a grain of creativity and heritage of Shelley Winters, films that have become key episodes of her career, but there are others, no less interesting. She played deep roles, avoiding the plane and primitive on the screen. The brilliant talent and bright personality of the actress forever remained in the history of world cinema.