Nearly 100 years after the birth of Vivien Leigh -- best known as Scarlett O'Hara in the 1939 version of "Gone With the Wind" and Blanche DuBouis in 1951's "A Streetcar Named Desire" -- archives of her life featuring never-before-seen items will go on display. The Victoria and Albert Muesum in London announced Wednesday that it has purchased the extensive archive fully in tact and will reveal its contents to the public in the future.
"We are thrilled to acquire her archive intact in this centenary year of her birth and to be able to make it available to the public for the first time," said Martin Roth, director of the V&A. "It not only represents Vivien Leigh's career, but is also a fascinating insight into the theater and social world that surrounded her."
Among the items in the collection are exclusive photos, diares and letters she kept. Her personal diary will also be available, which she wrote in from the time she was 16 to her death in 1967 at the age of 53. Letters include love letters written to former husband Laurence Olivier, who she was married to from 1940-61. There are also correspondence she sent to prominent figures, including Winston Churchill, Graham Greene and Noel Coward. Visitor books, an annotated film, theater scripts, press clippings and her collection of awards are also including in the collection.
The museum acquired the complete archives from Leigh's children. Museum representatives did not discuss the terms of the deal or how much it paid to own it. The showings of the collection will begin this fall and proceed as a "revolving" collection of all the items.
"Vivien Leigh is undoubtedly one of the UK's greatest luminaries of stage and screen and along with Laurence Olivier, remains a true star of her time," Roth said.
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