Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier’s Epic Love Story Unveiled

In a remarkable artifact soon to be auctioned by Sotheby's, Vivien Leigh's personal planner reveals the beginning of her iconic romance with Laurence Olivier.

Scribbled within its pages are two significant entries: “Told Leigh” on June 10 and “Left with Larry” on June 16.

This marked the start of one of Hollywood's most famous relationships, which endured for two decades before crumbling due to infidelity and mental illness.

Olivier first noticed Leigh during her performance in the play The Mask of Virtue.

Prior to this, the 23-year-old actress was primarily a mother and wife to Herbert Leigh Holman, an older husband who tolerated her interest in acting.

Leigh gained fame and began frequenting the Grill Room at Westminster's luxurious Savoy Hotel, where she eventually met Olivier, 29, and his wife, Jill Esmond.

Olivier had married Esmond, the daughter of renowned British actors, as he believed he wouldn't find a better match given his age and track record.

However, their marriage lacked physical intimacy due to Esmond's preference for women.

Nonetheless, they conceived a child, Tarquin, around the same time Olivier embarked on an affair with Leigh in early 1936.

Their son was born in August.

“I couldn't resist Vivien.

No man could,” Olivier confessed.

“I regretted betraying Jill, but this was different.

It wasn't just lust; it was love that I didn't seek but was pulled into.”

(Other biographers suggest Olivier had additional affairs during his relationship with Leigh.)

In 1937, Olivier took on the lead role in Hamlet at London's Old Vic theatre, and Leigh attended multiple performances.

The couple also starred together in Fire Over England and traveled to Denmark for a production of Hamlet, with Leigh playing Ophelia.

Upon their return to England, they ended their respective marriages and moved in together in Iver, Buckinghamshire.

They were briefly separated when Olivier went to Hollywood to film Wuthering Heights in 1938.

In an undated letter believed to be from 1938 or 1939, Olivier expressed his passionate longing for Leigh.

She later joined him in California, partly due to her love for Olivier and partly because of her desire to secure the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind.

The couple sought opportunities to work together professionally as well.

Disappointed when producer David O. Selznick only chose Olivier for Hitchcock's Rebecca, they agreed to keep their romance off-screen until their divorces were finalized.

By early 1940, their first marriages were dissolved, and they married on August 31 of that year in Santa Barbara.

During World War II, Olivier made propaganda films and received flight training in the U.S., accumulating nearly 250 hours of flight time.

The couple later returned to England, where Olivier served in the Royal Air Force.

However, their marriage showed signs of strain.

Leigh battled alcoholism, while Olivier grew tired of her suffocating affections.

In 1948, during a theatre tour of Australia, their relationship took a turn for the worse.

Olivier admitted to losing Vivien during this time.

They met Australian actor Peter Finch, with whom Leigh had a prolonged affair.

Unbeknownst to them, Olivier auditioned Finch and signed him to his production company, providing a reason for him to relocate to London.

Leigh's mental health deteriorated in the early 1950s, leading to episodes of inconsolable distress.

She was diagnosed with manic depression, a condition that deeply affected her.

Despite Leigh's admission of infidelity with Finch in 1953, the Oliviers didn't give up on their marriage.

However, tragedy struck when Leigh suffered a miscarriage after resigning from a play in 1956.

This triggered a long-lasting depression.

Around the same time, Olivier began an affair with actress Joan Plowright, who was 22 years younger and married.

By 1960, Leigh's emotional instability had escalated to the point where she contemplated suicide.

Olivier described her as being on the edge of a cliff, even in the safety of their home.

Divorce proceedings commenced in May 1960, with Leigh portraying herself as the victim due to Olivier's relationship with Plowright.

Their divorce was finalized that December, and Olivier married Plowright the following year.

They went on to have three children together.

Although no longer romantically involved, Olivier and Leigh maintained contact until her death from tuberculosis in 1967.

In a letter shortly after their divorce, Olivier expressed gratitude to Leigh for understanding their situation and enduring the pain.

In his final message, just five weeks before her passing, he signed off with “Sincerest love darling, your Larry.”