Bankhead, Tallulah

Actress.

Tallulah (Tallulah Brockman) Bankhead was born 1902 Jan. 31 to William B. and Ada Eugenia Sledge Bankhead in Huntsville, Madison Co., Ala. She attended primary school in Montomery, Ala., while living with her uncle and aunt, Dr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Owen. She later attended Convent of the Sacred Heart (N.Y.), 1912-1913; Mary Baldwin Seminary (Va.), 1913; Convent of the Visitation, 1913-1914; Convent of the Holy Cross, and Fairmont Seminary, the latter three near Washington, D.C.

She began her acting career in 1918 in silent films, then plays in the U.S. After surviving an appendectomy and a serious stage accident in 1919, she became a star in London, England, for several years, 1923-1930, and in 1928 was engaged to Count Anthony de Bosdari, though they never married. In 1930 she returned to the U.S. to launch her movie career. Most of her success occurred on the stage, however, with her biggest hits occurring after she survived a serious health threat in 1933.

She married John Emery on 1937 Aug. 31, but they divorced in 1941. She starred in many plays and several movies over her long career, as well as in radio and television. She was celebrated for her electric, throaty performances on stage, and her lusty life-style off-stage.

She reached the pinnacle of her Broadway career with her performance as Regina in The Little Foxes (1939). She received both the New York Drama Critics and New York Film Critics awards during her lifetime, the latter award for her performance in Lifeboat (1943).

She died 1968 Dec. 12, from pneumonia, complicated by emphysema.