Deborah Kerr dies

October 18, 2007

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Scottish film star Deborah Kerr passed away on Tuesday at the age 86 after having struggled with Parkinson’s disease for several years.

Born in Helensburgh in 1921, Deborah Kerr took up ballet at an early age, which brought her her first experiences on the stage. She made her big screen debut in the British film Contraband (1940) and quickly became a rising star in British cinema. She attracted the attention of Hollywood producers in 1947 playing a neurotic nun in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s Black Narcissus. She will be best remembered for her roles in Quo Vadis (1951), The Prisoner of Zenda (1952), From Here to Eternity (1953), The King and I (1956), Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957), Separate Tables (1958), The Sundowners (1960), The Night of the Iguana (1964) and Casino Royale (1967).

The Hollywood icon was nominated for an Academy Award six times, yet never won one until she was presented with an honorary Oscar in 1994. In 1998, the British Queen appointed her Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

She leaves behind her husband, screenwriter Peter Viertel, and two daughters from her first marriage, Melanie Jane and Francesca Ann.