Actress Jean Simmons died 22 January 2010 of lung cancer at her home in Santa Monica, California. Born 31 January 1929 in London, England, she received an OBE for services to acting in 2003 on the New Years Honours List.
Simmons won an Emmy in 1983 for Supporting Actress in a Miniseries (for The Thorn Birds), a Golden Globe for Best Actress in 1956 (Guys and Dolls), and a special Golden Globe for Most Versatile Actress in 1958. She was nominated for Oscars in 1949 (Supporting Actress, for Hamlet) and 1970 (Leading Actress for The Happy Ending); BAFTA Awards for Foreign Actress in 1957 (for Guys and Dolls) and 1961 (for Elmer Gantry); an Emmy for Guest Actress in 1989 (for Murder, She Wrote); Golden Globes for Best Actress in 1958 (for This Could be the Night), 1959 (for Home Before Dark), 1961 (for Elmer Gantry), 1970 (for The Happy Ending), and for Supporting Actress in a Miniseries in 1984 (for The Thorn Birds).
She was discovered in a dance class at the age of 14, and her first film role was in Sports Day (1944). She appeared in three classic movies before she turned 20: Great Expectations (1946), Black Narcissus (1947), and Hamlet (1948, she was Ophelia to Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet). She moved to Hollywood in the early 1950s. She also co-starred opposite Marlon Brando in Guys and Dolls (1955) and Kirk Douglas in Spartacus (1960). Her last film role was in Shadows in the Sun (2009).
Her genre roles include: Thru the Moebius Strip (2005), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), Star Trek: The Next Generation (1991), Dark Shadows (1990), Dominique (1978), and Uncle Silas (1947).
Twice married and divorced—to actor Stewart Granger (1950-60) and director Richard Brooks (1960-77)—she is survived by one daughter from each marriage and one grandson.
The New York Times has a full obituary on this page.