Tallulah Bankhead facts for kids

Tallulah Bankhead
Quick facts for kids Tallulah Bankhead
	Bankhead in 1941
Born	Tallulah Brockman Bankhead ; January 31, 1902; Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.
Died	December 12, 1968 (aged 66); New York City, U.S.
Cause of death	Pneumonia
Resting place	Saint Paul's Churchyard, Kent, Maryland
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1918–1968
Spouse(s)	John Emery; (m. 1937; div. 1941)
Parent(s)	William B. Bankhead
Relatives	John Hollis Bankhead; (paternal grandfather); John Hollis Bankhead II; (paternal uncle)

Tallulah with her father, Speaker of the House William B. Bankhead, in his office in Washington, D.C. (1937)

Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress.

Always known as just "Tallula", she was one of the most famous actresses of her time. She was born into a wealthy and influential Alabama family. Her father was a leading 'Southern Democrat', and in the 1930s became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. She was a childhood friend of Zelda Fitzgerald, the wife of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Tallula was an actress from the beginning to the end of her life. She acted in nearly 300 film, stage, television, and radio roles. Her personal life was wild. She struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction.

Tallulah was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1972, and the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1981.

In her 1932 movie Devil and the Deep there were three major co-stars, with Tallulah getting top billing over Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton, and Cary Grant. David O. Selznick, producer of Gone with the Wind (1939) called her the "first choice among established stars" to play Scarlett O'Hara. According to a memo from Selznick, November 11, 1936: Bankhead is first choice among established stars – and many votes coming in for her. Although her screen test for the role in black-and-white was superb, she photographed poorly in Technicolor. Selznick also thought that at age 36, she was too old to play Scarlett, who is 16 at the beginning of the film. The role eventually went to Vivien Leigh.

Also notable was her performance in the Alfred Hitchcock film Lifeboat (1943–1944). It was her best on film and won her the New York Film Critics Circle award.

Onstage, Tallula appeared in a revival of Noël Coward's Private Lives, taking it on tour and then to Broadway for the better part of two years. The play's run made her a fortune. On her death, she was worth $2 million, a vast sum in those days.

Year	Award	Nominated work	Result
1928	Ten Most Remarkable Women In London	–	Won
1939	Variety Award for Best Actress of the Year	The Little Foxes	Won
1942	New York Drama Critics Award for Best Actress in a Production	The Skin of Our Teeth	Won
1942	Variety Award for Best Actress of the Year	The Skin of Our Teeth	Won
1944	New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress	Lifeboat	Won
1950	Radio's Woman of the Year	The Big Show	Won
1960	Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6141 Hollywood Blvd	Motion pictures	Inducted
1961	Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play	Midgie Purvis	Nominated
1972	American Theater Hall of Fame	Lifetime achievement	Won

Images for kids

Tallulah Bankhead aged 15 (far right), with grandfather John H. Bankhead (far left), father William B. Bankhead (second from right), and elder sister Eugenia Bankhead (second from left) in 1917
Bankhead as a teenager, c. 1917
Welsh artist Augustus John with Bankhead and her portrait (1929)
Promotional poster for Faithless
Bankhead in 1934
Bankhead as Regina Giddens in The Little Foxes (1939)
Lobbycard from Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944)
230 East 62nd Street, New York, New York