Wissenswertes

Her first daughter was born intellectually disabled because Gene had contracted rubella (aka German measles) during her only appearance at the Hollywood Canteen. This served as the uncredited inspiration for the plot of the 1962 Agatha Christie novel and later movie Mord im Spiegel (1980).

When she saw herself on screen for the first time, she was horrified by her voice ("I sounded like an angry Minnie Mouse"). She began smoking to lower her voice, but it came at a great price--she died of emphysema.

Was in the throes of suicidal depression and admitted to the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas on Christmas Day 1957 after police talked her down from a building ledge. She was released from Menninger's the following year.

Howard Hughes provided the funds for her daughter's medical care.

Darryl F. Zanuck, founder of 20th Century-Fox, said she was unquestionably the most beautiful woman in movie history.

She was a guest at the house of Tyrone Power on May 19, 1946, when Primula Niven, wife of David Niven, fell down the basement stairs during a game of hide and seek, sustaining injuries that would eventually result in her death.

Discovered she was expecting daughter Daria while filming Ein himmlischer Sünder (1943). Began filming Laura (1944), after returning from her maternity leave.

Received extensive shock treatment in the 1950s while battling her mental instability.

Was offered the role of Linda Nordley in Mogambo (1953), which she was forced to turn down due to pregnancy. Grace Kelly, who went on to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.

Following her death, she was interred at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston, Texas. She passed away thirteen days before her 71st birthday.

Despite her earlier romance with John F. Kennedy during the 1940s, she voted for Richard Nixon in 1960 instead. However, she did send JFK a congratulatory note when he was elected president.

Spoke French fluently.

During the mid-1930s and years before she became famous, she attended a boarding school in Lausanne, Switzerland, where her roommate was Maria Riva, daughter of Marlene Dietrich.

Had two daughters with her ex-husband Oleg Cassini: Antoinette Daria Cassini (October 15, 1943 - September 11, 2010) and Christina Cassini (November 19, 1948 - March 31, 2015). Both Daria and Christina have died at age 66.

Had her share of love affairs during her Hollywood reign, including a notorious one with John F. Kennedy, whom she met while filming Weißer Oleander (1946). Kennedy broke this up because of his political aspirations. She also had dalliances with Tyrone Power during production of Auf Messers Schneide (1946) and with Prince Aly Khan in the early 1950s.

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6125 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.

Second husband, William Howard Lee, was originally married to Hedy Lamarr before he married Tierney.

Russian Prima Ballerina Violetta Elvin was her double in Es begann in Moskau (1953) ballet scenes, that were shot from a distance.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer offered her the lead role in Kleines Mädchen, großes Herz (1944) but when the production was delayed, she instead signed with 20th Century-Fox.

Gave her name as "Gene Eliza Taylor Tierney" upon her marriage to Oleg Cassini in Las Vegas, Nevada.

20th Century-Fox offered her the lead role in Ferien für Verliebte (1959) following her rehabilitation therapy. However, the stress proved too great and she was forced to leave the production.

Was represented by the John Robert Powers Agency as a fashion model in the 1930s.

She appeared with Dana Andrews in five films: Tabakstraße (1941), Belle Starr (1941), Laura (1944), The Iron Curtain (1948) and Faustrecht der Großstadt (1950).

Related to Academy Award-winning producer Gordon Hollingshead; her mother was his cousin. She was "discovered" when Hollingshead was giving Tierney's family a tour of the Warner Brothers lot, and director Anatole Litvak spotted her, told her she should be in pictures and got her to take a screen test.

She appeared with Vincent Price in four films: Hudson's Bay (1940), Laura (1944), Todsünde (1945) and Weißer Oleander (1946).

Her mother, Belle Lavinia (Taylor), was a gymnastics teacher. Her father, Howard Sherwood Tierney, served in World War I. Her older brother was named Howard Junior and her younger sister is named Pat. She was of Irish, English, and Sephardi Jewish ancestry.

Although she played Tod Andrews's mother in Ein himmlischer Sünder (1943), she was six years his junior in real life.

She was a lifelong staunch Republican and a strong supporter of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan in particular.

No relation to actress Maura Tierney.

She has appeared in two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant": Laura (1944) and Todsünde (1945).

No relation to actor Lawrence Tierney.

Ex-sister-in-law of Igor Cassini.

In late December, 1957, Gene Tierney survived a failed suicide attempt, and her family had her hospitalized at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas. After being discharged in 1958, Tierney found work as a sales girl in a Topeka-based dress shop. She hoped that socializing with regular co-workers and customers would integrate her back into society after months of relative isolation.

In Italy, most of her films were dubbed by either Lydia Simoneschi and Rina Morelli (most notably Laura (1944) and Ein Gespenst auf Freiersfüßen (1947)). She was also dubbed by Miranda Bonansea in Rache für Jesse James (1940); Rosetta Calavetta in Waffenschmuggler von Kenya (1941) and Paola Barbara in Abenteuer in der Südsee (1942).

While filming "The Left Hand of God" (1955), Tierney had frequent lapses in concentration. Her co-star Humphrey Bogart fed her lines throughout the film's production, and gave her advice to seek medical treatment for her problem. Bogart reportedly recognized the memory lapses as a sign of mental illness because he was familiar with similar symptoms in his sister Frances.

Gene Tierney struggled for years with episodes of manic depression. While serving as a patient in the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut, Tierney went through some 27 shock treatments, which were intended to alleviate her severe depression. Tierney fled the facility, but was caught and returned. She later became an outspoken opponent of shock treatment therapy, claiming that it had failed to cure her depression and that it had instead destroyed significant portions of her memory.