Jennifer Jones
From Oscar-winning star to mental-health advocate.
Jennifer Jones, born Phylis Lee Isley on March 2, 1919, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and later known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and advocate for mental health. Her career stretched over fifty years, earning her five Academy Award nominations—including one win for Best Actress—and a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.
Growing up as an only child in a Catholic household, Jones accompanied her parents, both aspiring stage actors, as they toured the Midwest with their own traveling tent show. She attended Edgemere Public School and Monte Cassino, a Catholic girls school in Tulsa, before studying drama at Northwestern University and later the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. There, she met fellow student Robert Walker, whom she married in 1939. After a brief stint in Hollywood under her birth name, Phylis Isley, appearing in a western and a serial for Republic Pictures in 1939, she returned to New York, disillusioned.
In 1941, after an audition for the lead in *Claudia*, David O. Selznick signed her to a seven-year contract. Renamed Jennifer Jones, she won the role of Bernadette Soubirous in *The Song of Bernadette* (1943)—only her third film—and took home both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actress. She soon began an affair with Selznick, separated from Walker in 1943, and divorced him in 1945. Her next films earned three more Oscar nominations: *Since You Went Away* (1944), *Love Letters* (1945), and *Duel in the Sun* (1946), the last a controversial role as a biracial woman.
Jones married Selznick in 1949 and starred as the title character in Vincente Minnelli’s *Madame Bovary* that same year. Throughout the 1950s, she appeared in *Ruby Gentry* (1952), John Huston’s *Beat the Devil* (1953), and Vittorio De Sica’s *Terminal Station* (1953). Her fifth Oscar nomination came for playing a Eurasian doctor in *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 role was in *The Towering Inferno* (1974), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Jones struggled with mental health issues throughout her life. Following the suicide of her 22-year-old daughter, Mary Jennifer Selznick, in 1976, she became deeply committed to mental health education. In 1980, she founded the Jennifer Jones Simon Foundation for Mental Health and Education. She spent her last six years in quiet retirement in Malibu, California, where she died of natural causes in 2009 at age 90.
- born
- March 2, 1919, Tulsa, Oklahoma
- died
- December 17, 2009, Malibu, California
- field
- Actress, mental-health advocate
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Academy Award-winning performance in The Song of Bernadette (1943); five Academy Award nominations; founding the Jennifer Jones Simon Foundation for Mental Health and Education
Lore & Background
A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Jones worked as a model in her youth before transitioning to acting, appearing in a western and serial in 1939. She remained off the screen until 1943. Her third role was a lead part as Bernadette Soubirous in The Song of Bernadette (1943), which earned her the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actress. She went on to star in several films that garnered her significant critical acclaim and a further three Academy Award nominations in the mid-1940s, including Since You Went Away (1944), Love Letters (1945) and Duel in the Sun (1946). In 1949, Jones married film producer David O. Selznick and appeared as the eponymous Madame Bovary in Vincente Minnelli's 1949 adaptation. She appeared in several films throughout the 1950s, including Ruby Gentry (1952), John Huston's adventure comedy Beat the Devil (1953) and Vittorio De Sica's drama Terminal Station (1953). Jones earned her fifth Academy Award nomination for her performance as a Eurasian doctor in Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955). After Selznick's death in 1965, Jones married industrialist Norton Simon and entered semi-retirement. She made her final film appearance in The Towering Inferno (1974), a performance which earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. Jones suffered from mental-health problems during her life. After her 22-year-old daughter, Mary Jennifer Selznick, took her own life in 1976, Jones became deeply involved in mental health education. In 1980, she founded the Jennifer Jones Simon Foundation for Mental Health and Education. Jones enjoyed a quiet retirement, living the last six years of her life in Malibu, California, where she died of natural causes in 2009 at the age of 90.
Reader's Guide
Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009) was an American actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Song of Bernadette (1943). She was nominated for four additional Oscars: Best Supporting Actress for Since You Went Away (1944), Best Actress for Love Letters (1945), Best Actress for Duel in the Sun (1946), and Best Actress for Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955). She also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for The Towering Inferno (1974). She was married to David O. Selznick from 1949 until his death in 1965, and later to Norton Simon. She founded the Jennifer Jones Simon Foundation for Mental Health and Education in 1980 after her daughter's suicide in 1976.
Did You Know?
- Jennifer Jones was born Phylis Lee Isley in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
- She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her third screen role, The Song of Bernadette (1943).
- Her daughter Mary Jennifer Selznick died by suicide in 1976 at age 22.
- She founded the Jennifer Jones Simon Foundation for Mental Health and Education in 1980.
- Her final film appearance was in The Towering Inferno (1974).
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