JEAN SIMMONS BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
 
Jean Simmons was born on January 31st, 1929 in Crouch Hill, London in the United Kingdom with the birth name Jean Merilyn Simmons.  Her parents were, Charles Simmons and Winifred and she was born the youngest of four siblings.  As a child she developed an interest in acting and by the age of fourteen she began acting.
 
Her first real introduction to performing on stage was when she would perform locally with her sister on the village stage singing such song as, "Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me a Bow Wow".  Soon she chose to continue her pursuit of a career in the entertainment industry by enrolling at Aida foster School of Dance. 
 
While performing in a school production a director by the name of Val Guest took notice of her and cast her in, "Give Us the Moon" and then she worked on the film, "Great Expectations" (1946), "Caesar and Cleopatra" (1945), "Black Narcissus" (1947) and "Hamlet" (1948), for which she was honored with her first Oscar nomination.
 
Simmons then decided to relocate to Hollywood and see if she could get more involved in acting.  Some of her other film roles included, "The Blue Lagoon" (1949), "So Long at the Fair" (1950), "The Robe" (1953), "Desiree" (1954), "The Egyptian" (1954), "Guys and Dolls" (1955) alongside Frank Sinatra which earned her a Golden Globe Award.
 
As her career in Hollywood progressed she was seen on the big screen in such films as, "Elmer Gantry" (1960), "Spartacus" (1960) starring opposite Kirk Douglas, "The Grass is Greener" (1960) and "All the Way Home" (1963).
 
However, as her career in the acting industry continued, Simmons was finding it harder to get decent film roles.  She did still work but the films were no where near the level of caliber she was used to.  She was seen in, "Life at the Top" (1965), "Mister Buddwing" (1966), "Divorce American Style" (1967), "Rough Night in Jerico" (1967) and "The Happy Ending" (1969).
 
Simmons was having difficulty getting film roles as she entered into the 1970's so she then began pursuing a career as a television actress.  She was seen on such series as, "North and South" (1985) and "The Thorn Birds" (1983) for which she won an Emmy for her role.
 
She did return to make a couple more films such as, "How to Make an American Quilt" (1995) and "Howl's Moving Castle" (2004).  Simmons also did voice over work for, "Howl's Moving Castle" (2004).
 
Jean married twice first to and English actor, Stewart Granger in 1950 and they had one child before divorcing ten years later.  She then married Richard Brooks in 1960 and they too, had one child before ending the marriage in 1970.  She raised her two daughters, Tracy Granger and Kate Brooks and for a while relocated with her family to New Milford, Connecticut.
 
She then returned to California and continued to live in Santa Monica, until she passed away on January 22nd, 2010 after suffering from lung cancer.  She was cremated in Santa Monica and her ashes were buried in North London Highgate Cemetery.    

Filmography

2009 Shadows in the Sun
2005 Thru the Moebius Strip
2004 Howl's Moving Castle 
2003 Winter Solstice
2001 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within 
2000 American Masters
1998 Her Own Rules
1998 Mysteries of the Bible III 
1995 Daisies in December 
1995 How to Make an American Quilt 
1994 One More Mountain 
1994 In the Heat of the Night 
1993 Angel Falls
1991 They Do It with Mirrors 
1991 Great Expectations 
1991 Star Trek: The Next Generation
1991 Dark Shadows
1990 People Like Us 
1990 Laker Girls 
1990 American Playhouse 
1990 Dark Shadows 
1989 Murder, She Wrote 
1988 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 
1988 The Dawning 
1988 A Friendship in Vienna
1988 Going Undercover 
1988 Inherit the Wind
1987 Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love
1987 December Flower
1986 North and South, Book II
1985 North and South
1983-1985 Hotel
1985 Midas Valley
1983 All for Love
1983 The Thorn Birds
1981 A Small Killing
1981 Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls
1981 Golden Gate
1980 Dominique
1979 Beggarman, Thief
1978 The Dain Curse
1977 Hawaii Five-O
1975 Mr. Sycamore 
1975 The Easter Promise 
1972 The Odd Couple 
1972 Decisions! Decisions!
1971 Say Hello to Yesterday
1969 The Happy Ending
1968 Heidi
1967 Rough Night in Jericho
1967 Divorce American Style
1967 Hallmark Hall of Fame
1966-1967 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1966 Mister Buddwing
1965 Life at the Top
1963 All the Way Home
1960 The Grass Is Greener 
1960 Spartacus
1960 Elmer Gantry
1959 This Earth Is Mine
1958 Home Before Dark
1958 The Big Country 
1957 Until They Sail 
1957 This Could Be the Night 
1956 Hilda Crane 
1955 Guys and Dolls 
1955 Footsteps in the Fog
1954 Desirée
1954 A Bullet Is Waiting 
1954 The Egyptian
1954 She Couldn't Say No 
1953 The Actress 
1953 The Robe
1953 Affair with a Stranger 
1953 Young Bess 
1952 Androcles and the Lion 
1952 Angel Face 
1950 The Clouded Yellow
1950 Cage of Gold
1950 Trio
1950 So Long at the Fair
1949 Adam and Evalyn
1949 The Blue Lagoon
1948 Hamlet 
1947 The Woman in the Hall 
1947 The Inheritance
1947 Black Narcissus 
1947 Hungry Hill
1946 Great Expectations
1945 Caesar and Cleopatra 
1945 Johnny in the Clouds
1945 Meet Sexton Blake 
1945 Kiss the Bride Goodbye 
1944 Mr. Emmanuel 
1944 Give Us the Moon 
1944 Sports Day