Deborah Kerr - ©Theda Bara

The name I want to highlight in this post is that of actress Deborah Kerr, nominated for an Oscar six times but never a winner, although the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded her an honorary Oscar in 1994 for her film career.

Deborah Kerr was honored by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (1926-2022), being appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1998. She also won two Golden Globe Awards: Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical in 1957 for “The King and I” (1956), for her role as “Anna Leonowens”; and the Henrietta Award in 1959. In addition, she received a BAFTA Special Award in 1991.

There is a book by biographer Michelangelo Capua (1966-), “Deborah Kerr: A Biography”, a biographical work about the life and career of the British actress, published in 2010. The book addresses Kerr’s rise to fame in British and Hollywood cinema and her most notable roles. Capua has degrees in Law and Political Science and lives and works in London, where he is a correspondent for an Italian film magazine. The biographer is also a collector and dealer of rare books.

Actress Deborah Kerr has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1709 Vine Street, in the Film category.

Deborah Jane Kerr-Trimmer was born on September 30, 1921, in Scotland, United Kingdom, and died on October 16, 2007, in Botesdale, United Kingdom, at the age of 86.

Deborah Kerr was married twice. Her first marriage was to Anthony Charles Bartley (1919-2001), a British film and television executive and fighter pilot. As a Spitfire pilot in the Royal Air Force, Bartley received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions during the Battle of Britain, in which he became an ace pilot. The couple remained together from 1945 to 1959 and had two daughters: Professor Emerita Melanie Jane Bartley (1947-), of University College London, and homemaker Francesca Shrapnel (1951-). Her second marriage was to the German screenwriter and writer Peter Viertel (1920-2007), from 1960 to 2007, who left the actress a widow and, after her, also died.