Jean Simmons Portrait Treatment 2011

1. Jean Simmons was born in Lower Holloway, London, England, to Charles Simmons and his wife, Winifred (Loveland) Simmons and was the youngest of four children with siblings Edna, Harold and Lorna. She began acting at the age of 14.

2. Prior to moving to Hollywood, she played the young Estella in David Lean's version of Great Expectations (1946) and Ophelia in Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (1948), for which she received her first Oscar nomination. It was the experience of working on Great Expectations that caused her to pursue an acting career more seriously.

3. Playing Ophelia in Olivier's Hamlet made her a star, although she was already well-known for her work in other British films, including her first starring role in the film adaptation of Uncle Silas, and Black Narcissus (both 1947). Olivier offered her the chance to work and study at the Bristol Old Vic, advising her to play anything they threw at her to get experience; she was under contract to the Rank Organisation who vetoed the idea. In 1950 Rank sold her contract to Howard Hughes, who then owned the RKO studio in Hollywood.

4. Jean Simmons was married and divorced twice. She married Stewart Granger in Tucson, Arizona, on December 20, 1950. In 1956 she and Granger became U.S. citizens; they divorced in 1960. On November 1, 1960, she married director, Richard Brooks; they divorced in 1977. Although both men were significantly older than Simmons, she denied she was looking for a father figure. Her father had died when she was just 16 but she said: "They were really nothing like my father at all. My father was a gentle, soft-spoken man. My husbands were much noisier and much more opinionated ... it's really nothing to do with age ... it's to do with what's there – the twinkle and sense of humour."

5. Throughout her life Simmons spoke out publically about her own struggle with addiction, and in 2003 became the patron of the UK drugs and human rights charity Release. She was an active supporter of their campaigns for just, humane and effective drug policies, recognising that many of those with drug problems cannot afford the luxurious facilities available to celebrities. In 2005 Simmons signed a petition to the British Prime Minister Tony Blair asking him not to upgrade cannabis from a class C drug to a class B. Being legal in California, Simmons was able to use Medical cannabis to ease her pain and suffering during the last months of her life.