All through her professional life she tried to conceal her Indian origin by contriving a story of being born in Tasmania, Australia, however a year before her death she admitted falsification. [13] There, she was constantly taunted for her mixed ethnicity, eventually leading her to quit school and receive lessons at home. [17] Ingram liked Oberon's exotic appearance and quickly hired her to be an extra in a party scene in a film named The Three Passions.[18]. Source: Genealogy of Merle Oberon (focusing on her mother’s side) – https://www.geni.com. She suffered from cosmetic poisoning twice, the second of which left permanent scarring. Her most critically acclaimed performance--hailed by some critics as "masterful" -- was as Cathy Linton in Wuthering Heights (1939). var referer="";try{if(referer=document.referrer,"undefined"==typeof referer||""==referer)throw"undefined"}catch(exception){referer=document.location.href,(""==referer||"undefined"==typeof referer)&&(referer=document.URL)}referer=referer.substr(0,700); However, Merle's biological mother was Charlotte's 12-year-old daughter Constance. merle oberon parents. Korda, faced with a "time-consuming and expensive lawsuit", removed Oberon "virtually out of the book altogether".In 1985, Korda published a fictionalized biography of his aunt, "Queenie", which was made into a television miniseries, starring Mia Sara, Claire Bloom, Sarah Miles, Joss Ackland and Gary Cady. JUMP TO: Merle Oberon’s biography, facts, family, personal life, zodiac, videos and related celebs. Alexander Korda discovered the young beauty (then still known as Queenie Thompson) in the tea line at the movie studio. Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Although she made three films opposite Charles Korvin, she said in an interview in the February 1982 issue of "Films in Review" that he was not a good actor. Appeared in two Best Picture Oscar nominees: Without security, it is difficult for a woman to look or feel beautiful. Merle Oberon was born in Bombay, of mixed Welsh and Ceylonese (now Sri Lankan) parentage, as Estelle Merle Thompson, and was nicknamed "Queenie". [7] To avoid scandal, Charlotte raised Merle as Constance's half-sister[1][8]. According to sources Charlotte gave birth to a daughter called Constance in Ceylon, out of her relationship with Irish foreman Henry Alfred Selby, when she was 14-year-old. Most early biographies of her credited Service for Ladies (1927) as her first Alexander Korda film, but she was not in it nor Never Trouble Trouble (1931), another film in which is is often incorrectly included. [13] Oberon received a foundation scholarship to attend La Martiniere Calcutta for Girls, one of the best private schools in Calcutta. Oberon's birth certificate gave Merle's parents as Arthur Terrence O'Brien Thompson, a British mechanical engineer from Darlington, England, who worked in Indian Railways, and Charlotte Selby, a Eurasian from Ceylon with some Maori ancestry. Generation. - IMDb Mini Biography By: According to an interview with her in the February 1982 edition of "Films in Review", Samuel Goldwyn owed her over a million dollars for a series of pictures. Eventually she left school and studied at home. Constance eventually married Alexander Soares and had four other children: Edna, Douglas, Harry, and Stanislaus (Stan). She met with a potentially career-ending car accident during the making of ‘I, Claudius’ that damaged her face. WhatsApp. Screen Reader Users: To optimize your experience with your screen reading software, please use our Flixster.com website, which has the same tickets as our Fandango.com and MovieTickets.com websites. On June 3, 1939, she married Alexander Korda in Antibes and after Korda was knighted in 1942, she became Lady Korda. They talk about Merle Oberon’s ancestry here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXTCuqKHSFY (It starts at 6:28). The Lord Mayor of Hobart became aware shortly before the reception that there was no proof she had been born in Tasmania but, to save face, went ahead with the reception. rcds.appendChild(rcel); In 1949, Oberon commissioned paintings of Charlotte from an old photograph,[26] which hung in all her homes until Oberon's own death in 1979.[27]. On June 4, 1945, the couple divorced. He allegedly cried to her that he did not have the money. Star of classic Hollywood films of the 1930s who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in The Dark Angel. There Merle joined one of the prestigious schools of the city, ‘La Martiniere Calcutta’ for girls after receiving foundation scholarship. Charlotte had herself given birth to Constance at the age of 14, the result of a relationship with Henry Alfred Selby, the Anglo-Irish foreman of a tea plantation. She had two children, who were adopted, with her former husband, Italian-born industrialist Bruno Pagliai. Arthur Thompson began serving the ‘British army’ in 1914. Today, Asher Angel is certainly one of the most talented young and upcoming artistes in Hollywood. Posted at 01:56h in Nowości by Bring it on girl! All other biographies only mention her grandmother to be Indian/Eurasian. She was born Estelle Merle O'Brien Thompson on February 19, 1911, in Bombay (presently called Mumbai) in British India. They met while he was on a goodwill tour of the United States. Even when I was single, I owned homes and gardens. Charlotte had herself given birth to Constance at the age of 14, the result of rape by Henry Alfred Selby, the Anglo-Irish foreman of a tea plantation. [28] At the time, the couple were based at Hills House in Denham, England. Her first performance was with an amateur theater group ‘Calcutta Amateur Dramatic Society’. She got acquainted with Colonel Ben Finney, a former actor, at ‘Firpo’s Restaurant’ in 1929, where she won a contest, and soon started dating him. [16] After packing all their belongings and moving to France, Oberon and her mother found that their supposed benefactor avoided them, [17] although he had left a good word for Oberon with Ingram at the studios in Nice. The initials "G.I." However, Merle's biological mother was Charlotte's 12-year-old daughter Constance. Land is security to me. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/merle-oberon-7547.php However she relocated to France taking word of Finney to introduce her to Irish film director Rex Ingram. There were no films for her in 1955, only one in 1956 and then none until Of Love and Desire (1963). To avoid scandal, Charlotte raised Merle as Constance's sister, listing Charlotte's partner, Arthur Thompson, as the father on Merle's birth certificate, with the forename misspelled "Arther". Pinterest. Merle’s maternal half-brother Harry Selby never said anything about them being Māori either, only Indian. She is a celebrated movie actress. Collect bonus rewards from our many partners, including AMC, Stubs, Cinemark Connections, Regal Crown Club when you link accounts. Google+. On 26th June 1945, Merle married cinematographer Lucien Ballard. [citation needed], To avoid prejudice over her mixed background, Oberon created a "cover story" of being born and raised in Tasmania, Australia, and her birth records being destroyed in a fire. He succumbed to pneumonia during the ‘Battle of the Somme’, the largest battle of ‘First World War’ on the Western Front. Merle’s birth certificate lists Arthur Thompson as her father with the first name misspelt as ‘Arther’. Merle Oberon was a ravishing and classy Anglo-Indian actress, counted among the most dazzling performers during initial phase of talkies in the British film industry. Interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA, in the Garden of Remembrance. That was quickly followed by The Private Life of Henry VIII. Merle was raised in Calcutta. However such … The 1940s proved to be a very busy decade for her, as she appeared in no less than 15 films. merle oberon parents. var rcds = document.getElementById("rcjsload_b42b6d"); is military terminology referring to "Gove… The story eventually unravelled after her death. He attempted to visit her in Los Angeles, but she refused to see him. Estelle Merle Thompson was born in India on February 19, 1911 of Welsh and Ceylonese (now Sri Lankan) descent. Merle Oberon (born Estelle Merle O'Brien Thompson; 19 February 1911 – 23 November 1979) was a British actress who began her film career in British films as Anne Boleyn in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). Fandango helps you go back to the movies with confidence and peace of mind. 4" (1936), "Assignment: Foreign Legion" (1956/7 TV episodes), This page was last edited on 31 October 2020, at 02:31. Then, in 1917, they moved to better circumstances in Calcutta (present-day Kolkata). This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. With her nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress as Kitty Vane in The Dark Angel (1935), Oberon became a star in both the UK and the USA.Her work in that film resulted in offers for more quality pictures, and she appeared in several well received films, such as These Three (1936), Over the Moon (1939) and The Divorce of Lady X (1938). [20], Oberon's career benefited from her relationship with, and later marriage to, Korda. Oberon arrived in England for the first time in 1928, aged 17. [19] In view of the information discovered since this 1939 article (see preceding section) this[vague] should be seen as part of a myth perpetrated by Oberon. Merle Oberon was born in the Year of the Pig. This generation experienced much of their youth during the Great Depression and rapid technological innovation such as the radio and the telephone. Oberon became Lady Korda when her husband was knighted in 1942 by George VI for his contribution to the war effort. She was born outside of marriage, with her mother being twelve years old. She was educated in that country until the age of 17, when she left for London. Merle did have a tan (she wasn’t pale skinned) but that’s not conclusive proof that she was part Indian/Māori. She went on to do several films in Hollywood including those produced by Goldwyn like ‘Beloved Enemy’ and ‘These Three’ in 1936 and by others like ‘Folies Bergère de Paris’ (1935) and ‘The Dark Angel’ (1935) of which the latter fetched her the sole ‘Academy Award for Best Actress’ nomination of her career. Korda helped her take the next step forward by selling shares of her contract to Jewish Polish American film producer Samuel Goldwyn who on the other hand provided her with good opportunities in Hollywood. Discover what happened on this day. rcel.async = true; [30] Oberon is known to have been to Australia only twice. She was off the screen again for more than a year, returning in Désirée (1954).Unfortunately, Oberon began appearing in fewer and fewer films over the ensuing years. Generation also known as The Greatest Generation.
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