Jean Simmons

Jean Simmons
Simmons in a 1955 studio publicity shot
Born
Jean Merilyn Simmons

(1929-01-31)31 January 1929
Islington, London, England
Died22 January 2010(2010-01-22) (aged 80)
Resting placeHighgate Cemetery
Citizenship
  • United Kingdom
  • United States (from 1956)
OccupationsActress, singer
Years active1944–2010
Spouses
(m. 1950; div. 1960)
(m. 1960; div. 1980)
Children2
FatherCharles Simmons

Jean Merilyn Simmons (31 January 1929 – 22 January 2010) was a British actress and singer. One of J. Arthur Rank's "well-spoken young starlets", she appeared predominantly in films, beginning with those made in Britain during and after the Second World War, followed mainly by Hollywood films from 1950 onwards.

Simmons was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Hamlet (1948), and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for Guys and Dolls (1955). Among her other films were Great Expectations (1946), Black Narcissus (1947), The Blue Lagoon (1949), So Long at the Fair (1950), Angel Face (1953), Young Bess (1953), The Robe (1953), The Big Country (1958), Elmer Gantry (1960), Spartacus (1960), and The Happy Ending (1969), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She also won an Emmy Award for the miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983).