Gene Tierney (November 19, 1920 - November 6, 1991) was an American actress. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she was acclaimed as one of the beauties of her day. By 1939, she was on Broadway. Her wealthy father set up a corporation to help fund her pursuit of an acting career. Her first movie was in 1940 in Hudson's Bay, and later that year, she starred in The Return of Frank James. The following year she was extremely busy, making The Shanghai Gesture, Sundown, Tobacco Road and Belle Starr.
In 1944 Tierney was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Leave Her to Heaven. The same year she appeared in what became her most famous role, that of the murder victim and title character in Laura. In 1947 she starred in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.
By 1955, Tierney was in a hospital, being treated for depression. A failed marriage to fashion designer Oleg Cassini, the birth of a mentally retarded daughter (Tierney had contracted German measles while pregnant), and several love affairs had taken their toll. She returned to the screen in 1963 in Advise and Consent.
Gene Tierney is interred in the Glenwood Cemetery, Houston, Texas.
She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6125 Hollywood Blvd.
