Vivien Leigh: The Untold Story of a Scandalous Star

Vivien Leigh, the iconic English actress known for her roles in “Gone With the Wind” and “A Streetcar Named Desire,” is the subject of a new biography that reveals shocking details about her life.

The book, titled “Damn You, Scarlett O'Hara,” exposes Leigh as a serial bisexual adulteress who had a penchant for “rough trade” – male prostitutes.

Described by poet laureate John Betjeman as “the essence of English womanhood,” Leigh's romance with Laurence Olivier captivated 1930s Hollywood.

However, the newly uncovered memoirs and witness accounts tell a different story.

It seems that their marriage was a sham, with both partners cheating on each other shortly after they became lovers in 1937.

The biography, set to be published in the United States, reveals at least three of Leigh's lesbian conquests.

It also discloses her insatiable appetite for male prostitutes, whom she often picked up at a Los Angeles brothel disguised as a petrol station called Scotty's.

According to a publishing source, Leigh and her friend George Cukor, the initial director of “Gone With the Wind,” would visit Scotty's in the 1940s to select young men for the night.

These men were paid with gifts such as cigarette cases, jewels, and even stocks and bonds.

This arrangement relied on their discretion not to reveal their encounters with Scarlett O'Hara.

Leigh's scandalous behavior didn't stop there.

She was even expelled from an Italian hotel for bringing back too many “street boys.”

At a time when mental health awareness was lacking, the actress's erratic behavior would likely be diagnosed as bipolar disorder today.

Unfortunately, there were no drugs available then to help manage her condition, leading to moments where she would strip n^ked and run out of her house.

The memoir, written by Darwin Porter and Roy Moseley, sheds light on the tumultuous relationship between Leigh and Olivier.

The authors claim that she enjoyed tormenting Olivier with her affairs, especially as her mental health deteriorated.

Aside from her flings with British actress Isabel Jeans and two other women, Leigh also cheated on Olivier with co-stars Marlon Brando and Rex Harrison.

Born in Darjeeling, British India, in 1913, Leigh married barrister Leigh Holman at the age of nineteen while studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Despite having a daughter together, she returned to acting and fell for Olivier, who left his lesbian wife to be with her.

They tied the knot in 1940, a year after “Gone With the Wind” propelled Leigh to international stardom.

The film garnered ten Academy Awards, including a Best Actress win for Leigh.

She earned a second Oscar for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in “A Streetcar Named Desire” in 1951.

Leigh and Olivier divorced in 1960, and he went on to marry actress Joan Plowright.

In his autobiography, Olivier described Leigh's battle with manic depression and how she managed to conceal her condition from almost everyone but him.

Tragically, Leigh passed away in 1967 at the age of 53, leaving behind a legacy tainted by scandal and a talent that will forever be remembered.