Scarlett Temptress: Vivien Leigh’s Secret Life as a Bisexual Adulterer

Vivien Leigh, known for her iconic role as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind, was hailed as the epitome of English womanhood and captivated 1930s Hollywood with her fairytale romance with Laurence Olivier.

However, a new biography unveils the truth behind her seemingly perfect facade.

According to unpublished memoirs and witness accounts, Leigh's marriage to Olivier was a charade, with both engaging in extramarital affairs shortly after they became lovers in 1937.

The upcoming book, titled ‘Damn You, Scarlett O'Hara,' reveals at least three lesbian relationships the Oscar winner had.

But that's not all.

Reports suggest that the biography also exposes Leigh's insatiable appetite for “rough trade” – male prostitutes found at an LA brothel disguised as a petrol station called Scotty's.

The book claims that she would visit the establishment with her friend George Cukor, the initial director of ‘Gone With the Wind,' to choose men for the night.

These men were compensated with gifts like cigarette cases, jewelry, and even stocks and bonds, relying on their discretion not to reveal their encounters with Scarlett O'Hara.

Leigh's s**ual escapades didn't end there.

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

Today, she might have been diagnosed as bipolar, but during her time, there was little understanding of how to handle a star who would strip n^ked and run out of her house due to her mental health struggles.

The memoir, written by Darwin Porter, who knew Leigh in the 1960s, and Roy Moseley, Olivier's former assistant, describes the tumultuous relationship between the two stars.

They reveal that Leigh took pleasure in tormenting Olivier with her infidelities, particularly as her mental state deteriorated.

Aside from her affairs with British actress Isabel Jeans and two other women, Leigh also engaged in relationships with co-stars Marlon Brando and Rex Harrison, the authors disclose.

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

However, she soon returned to acting and fell in love with Olivier, who left his lesbian wife for her.

The couple tied the knot in 1940, a year after Leigh skyrocketed to international fame with ‘Gone With the Wind,' earning her a Best Actress Oscar.

She later won another Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire' in 1951.

The marriage between Leigh and Olivier ended in 1960, with Olivier going on to marry actress Joan Plowright.

In his autobiography, he described Leigh's battle with manic depression, acknowledging her ability to conceal her true mental condition from most people.

Vivien Leigh passed away in 1967 at the age of 53, leaving behind a legacy that includes both her remarkable talent onscreen and her turbulent personal life.