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The Film Encyclopedia
______________________________
The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema
in a Single Volume
by Ephraim Katz

Kerr, Deborah.
Actress. Born Deborah Jane Kerr-Trimmer, on September 30th, 1921, in Helensburgh, Scotland. Trained as a dancer at her aunt's drama school in Bristol, England, she won a scholarship to the Sadler's Wells ballet school and at 17 made her London debut in the corps de ballet of 'Prometheus.' However, she soon discovered that she was more interested in drama and began playing bits and walk-ons in various Shakespearean productions. In the early 40s she made her British film debut as a Salvation Army lass in Major Barbara. Other film roles followed in which she typically played cool and reserved well-bred ladies. In 1947, on the strength of her sensitive portrayal of a nun in Black Narcissus, she was brought to Hollywood by MGM to play the lead opposite Clark Gable in The Hucksters. She retained her serene, ladylike image on the American screen until 1953, when she was given the opportunity to play, on a loan-out to Columbia, a turbulent adulteress in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. She has since played a wider variety of characters of a broader emotional range while maintaining a ladylike poise.
She was nominated for a best actress Oscar six times, for Edward My Son (1949), From Here to Eternity (1953), The King and I (1956), Heaven Knows Mr. Allison (1957), Separate Tables (1958), and The S u n d o w n e r s (1960). She remained a leading star throughout her screen career until her announced retirement in 1969. She has since returned occasionally to the stage, and appeared in a feature and several Tevee movies. Her second husband (since 1960) is novelist and screenwriter Peter VIERTEL. They make their home in Switzerland.
FILMS; In the UK ---
Major Barbara (as Jenny Hill), Love on the Dole, Penn of Pennsylvania/Courageous Mr. Penn, Hatter's Castle 1941; The Day Will Dawn/The Avengers 1942; The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp 1943; Perfect Strangers/Vacation From Marriage 1945; I See a Dark Stranger/The Adventuress 1946; Black Narcissus 1947.
In the US --- The Hucksters 1947; If Winter Comes 1948; Edward My Son 1949; Please Believe Me, King Solomon's Mines 1950; Quo Vadis (as Lygia) 1951; The Prisoner of Zenda (as Princess Flavia) 1952; Thunder in the East, Young Bess (as Catherine Parr), Julius Caesar (as Portia), Dream Wife, From Here to Eternity (as Karen Holmes) 1953; The End of the Affair (UK) 1954; The Proud and the Profane, The King and I (as Anna), Tea and Sympathy (as Laura Reynolds) 1956; Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, An Affair to Remember 1957; Bonjour Tristesse (UK), Separate Tables 1958; The Journey, Count Your Blessings, Beloved Infidel (as Sheila Graham) 1959; The Sundowners, The Grass Is Greener 1960; The Naked Edge (UK/US), The Innocents (UK/US) 1961; The Chalk Garden (UK) 1963; The Night of the Iguana 1964; Marriage on the Rocks 1965; Eye of the Devil (UK), Casino Royale (UK) 1967; Prudence and the Pill (UK) 1968; The Gypsy Moths, The Arrangement 1969 The Assam Garden (UK) 1985.

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