Deborah Kerr
Highest Rated: 100% The Grass Is Greener (1960)
Lowest Rated: 11% The Arrangement (1969)
Birthday: Sep 30, 1921
Birthplace: Helensburgh, Scotland, UK
A cultured actress renowned for her elegance and dignity, Deborah Kerr was one of the leading ladies of Hollywood's Golden Age. Born Deborah Kerr-Trimmer in Helensburgh, Scotland, on September 30, 1921, she was first trained as a dancer at her aunt's drama school in Bristol, England. After winning a scholarship to the Sadlers Wells Ballet School, Kerr made her London stage debut at age 17 in Prometheus. Meanwhile, she developed an interest in acting and began getting bit parts and walk-ons in Shakespeare productions. While continuing to appear in various London stage plays, Kerr debuted onscreen in 1940 and went on to roles in a number of British films over the next seven years, often playing cool, reserved, well-bred young ladies. Her portrayal of a nun in Black Narcissus (1947) earned a New York Film Critics Best Actress award and led to an invitation from Hollywood to co-star opposite Clark Gable in The Hucksters. She remained in Hollywood, playing long-suffering, prim, proper, ladylike types until 1953, when she broke her typecast mold by portraying a passionate adulteress in From Here to Eternity, a part for which she had fought. Kerr's range of roles broadened further after that, and she began to appear in British films again. In 1953, Kerr debuted on Broadway to great acclaim in Tea and Sympathy, later reprising her role in the play's 1956 screen version. That same year, she starred as an English governess sent to tutor the children of the King of Siam in one of the most popular films of her career, The King and I. Kerr retired from the screen in 1969, having received six Best Actress Oscar nominations without an award, although she did receive an honorary Oscar in 1994. She had been honored with a special BAFTA award three years earlier in Britain, and, in 1998, she was further honored in her native land with a Companion of the Order of the British Empire. Kerr, who graced the screen one last time in the The Assam Garden (1985), died of complications related to Parkinson's Disease in October 2007. She was 86.

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Highest Rated Movies

Filmography

MOVIES

CREDIT
No Score Yet The Chalk Garden Ms. Madrigal — 1998
No Score Yet Hold the Dream Emma Harte — 1986
No Score Yet The Assam Garden Helen — 1985
No Score Yet Reunion at Fairborough Sally Wells — 1985
No Score Yet A Woman of Substance Emma Harte — 1984
No Score Yet America at the Movies Actor — 1976
11% The Arrangement Florence Anderson — 1969
No Score Yet The Gypsy Moths Elizabeth Brandon — 1969
No Score Yet Prudence and the Pill Prudence Hardcastle — 1968
26% Casino Royale Agent Mimi, Lady Fiona McTarry — 1967
No Score Yet Eye of the Devil Catherine de Montfaucon — 1966
No Score Yet Marriage on the Rocks Valerie Edwards — 1965
71% The Night of the Iguana Hannah Jelkes — 1964
96% The Innocents Miss Giddens — 1961
No Score Yet The Naked Edge Martha Radcliffe — 1961
80% The Sundowners Ida — 1960
100% The Grass Is Greener Lady Hilary Rhyall — 1960
No Score Yet Beloved Infidel Sheilah Graham — 1959
No Score Yet The Journey Diana Ashmore — 1959
71% Separate Tables Sibyl Railton-Bell — 1958
86% Bonjour Tristesse Anne Larson — 1958
No Score Yet Kiss Them for Me Gwinneth Livingston — 1957
62% An Affair to Remember Terry McKay — 1957
80% Tea and Sympathy Laura Reynolds — 1957
88% Heaven Knows Mr. Allison Sister Angela — 1957
96% The King and I Anna Leonowens — 1956
No Score Yet The End of the Affair Sarah Miles — 1954
92% From Here to Eternity Karen Holmes — 1953
95% Julius Caesar Portia — 1953
No Score Yet Young Bess Catherine Parr — 1953
No Score Yet Dream Wife Effie — 1953
No Score Yet The Prisoner of Zenda Princess Flavia — 1952
88% Quo Vadis? Lygia — 1951
92% King Solomon's Mines Elizabeth Curtis — 1950
No Score Yet Please Believe Me Alison Kirbe — 1950
No Score Yet Edward, My Son Evelyn Boult — 1949
100% Black Narcissus Sister Clodagh — 1947
80% I See a Dark Stranger (The Adventuress) Birdie Quilty — 1947
No Score Yet The Hucksters Kay Dorrance — 1947
No Score Yet If Winter Comes Nona Tybar — 1947
No Score Yet Vacation from Marriage Catherine Wilson — 1945
96% The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp Barbara Wynne/Edith Hunter/Johnny Cannon — 1943
No Score Yet The Day Will Dawn Kari Alstad — 1942
No Score Yet Hatter's Castle (A.J. Cronin's Hatter's Castle) Mary Brodie — 1942
No Score Yet Love on the Dole Sally — 1941
93% Major Barbara Jenny Hill — 1941
No Score Yet Courageous Mr. Penn Guglielma Springelt — 1941
100% Contraband Bit Part (uncredited) — 1940

QUOTES FROM Deborah Kerr CHARACTERS