Jean Simmons  (1929-present )

In 1944, Jean Simmons started her career in the film Give Us the Moon at the early age of fourteen.  Jean received her big start with Great Expectations as Young Estella.  From then on, the starlet glimmered in the cinema's heavens.

Born in 1929 in London, England, Jean starred in more than fifty feature films.  In 1948, she played Ophelia opposite Laurence Olivier's Hamlet.  This film brought her the first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

In 1950, Jean married actor Stewart Granger.  She was in several films opposite him, including Young Bess (1955).  A daughter, Tracy, was born to the couple in 1955.  Before resorting to alcohol, which would ruin her marriage in 1960, Jean starred in a series of films opposite Marlon Brando.  These included Desiree (1954)  with Brando as Napoleon, and Guys and Dolls (1955), where Jean used her own singing voice in this Frank Loesser musical.  She earned her first Golden Globe Award.

After her divorce, Jean was rediscovered by writer/director Richard Brooks and was used in his 1960 intense drama, Elmer Gantry.  Soon after, Jean was wed to Brooks.

With the help of her new husband, Jean continued making films well into the 70's.  She then quit the entertainment business and frequently appeared in 80's television epics, such as "North and South" and "The Thornbirds".

Jean recently made a comeback to films in 1995 in How to Make an American Quilt opposite Winona Ryder and Anne Bancroft.  She now resides in Santa Monica, California, and narrates A&E's weekly "Mysteries of the Bible".