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Hollywood’s most beautiful woman of the 1940s, Gene Tierney, had a tragic personal life hidden behind her famous smile. Born on November 19, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York, Tierney’s charm and striking eyes drew attention from an early age. She entered the film industry in the 1940s and quickly rose to stardom, especially after her breakout role in the 1944 film ‘Laura‘. Her beauty captivated audiences, and her subsequent roles in ‘Leave Her to Heaven‘ and ‘The Ghost and Mrs. Muir‘ cemented her status as a leading actress. However, Tierney’s simple nature led to unforeseen consequences. In 1943, while pregnant, she attended an event for soldiers where she met a fan infected with rubella, unknowingly contracting the disease herself. As a result, her daughter Daria was born with severe mental and physical disabilities. Doctors informed Tierney that Daria would never hear or speak normally, leaving the actress devastated. Despite the glamour of Hollywood, she struggled daily with her daughter’s condition, leading to a deep depression. Tierney’s mental health suffered greatly, requiring admissions to mental hospitals and enduring painful treatments like electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). She shared her heartbreaking story in her autobiography ‘Self Portrait‘ (1979). By the 1950s, she began to distance herself from the film industry, choosing to live a more private life away from Hollywood’s spotlight.
