Jennifer Jones

Lore & Background

Jennifer Jones was born Phylis Lee Isley in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the only child of aspiring stage actors. She worked as a model in her youth before appearing in a western and serial in 1939 under her maiden name. After a failed screen test for Paramount Pictures, she returned to New York City, where she signed a seven-year contract with producer David O. Selznick. Renamed Jennifer Jones, her third screen role as Bernadette Soubirous in The Song of Bernadette (1943) won her the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe. She earned three more Oscar nominations in the mid-1940s for Since You Went Away (1944), Love Letters (1945), and Duel in the Sun (1946).

Jones married Selznick in 1949 and appeared in several films he produced, including Madame Bovary (1949) and Terminal Station (1953). She earned her fifth Academy Award nomination for Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955). After Selznick's death in 1965, she married industrialist Norton Simon and entered semi-retirement. Her final film appearance was in The Towering Inferno (1974), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Jones suffered from mental-health problems, and after her daughter Mary Jennifer Selznick died by suicide in 1976, she became deeply involved in mental health education, founding the Jennifer Jones Simon Foundation for Mental Health and Education in 1980.

Reader's Guide

Jennifer Jones's significance lies in her rapid rise to stardom and her enduring impact as an actress and advocate. Her portrayal of Bernadette Soubirous in The Song of Bernadette earned her an Academy Award at age 25, establishing her as a leading lady. She demonstrated range by moving from saintly roles to complex characters, such as a biracial woman in Duel in the Sun and a Eurasian doctor in Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing. Her career was closely tied to producer David O. Selznick, whom she later married. After her daughter's suicide, Jones shifted her focus to mental health, founding a foundation that continues her legacy. Her work in film and advocacy highlights her dual contributions to entertainment and public health.

Did You Know?

• Jennifer Jones was born Phylis Lee Isley and changed her name after signing with David O. Selznick.
• She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her third screen role, The Song of Bernadette (1943).
• After her daughter's suicide in 1976, she founded the Jennifer Jones Simon Foundation for Mental Health and Education in 1980.
• Her final film appearance was in The Towering Inferno (1974), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.