William Wyler said, I still think of Audrey Hepburn as the princess but Deborah Kerr as the queen.
6
When she appeared in "The Corn Is Green" in 1985, Kerr suffered from a case of stage fright and consequently received some of her most disappointing reviews.
7
Kerr's Aunt, Phyllis Smale taught drama and elocution and was the primary influence in the actress's life in introducing her to the theatrical arts.
8
Kerr has said that three of her films posed a "special challenges for her. Included are "From Here to Eternity," "Edward, My Son," and "The Innocents.".
9
Kerr wanted to play in "The African Queen" very badly, but MGM boss refused to loan her because she had just appeared in "King Solomon's Mines," which also has an African locale.
10
Is one of four Scottish actors to have received an Academy Award nomination. The others in chronological order are Mary Ure, Tom Conti and Sean Connery. As of 2011 Sean Connery is the only one to have won an Academy Award (for his performance in The Untouchables (1987)).
Received one of the longest standing ovations of all Honorary Oscar-recipients when she was awarded with an Honorary Oscar for her body of work in 1994.
13
Deborah Kerr, her husband Peter Viertel and her biographer Eric Braun all died within the space of five weeks in the fall of 2007. All were aged 86.
14
She was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of her outstanding contribution to film culture.
15
Born to Arthur Charles Kerr-Trimmer, a World War I veteran pilot who became a naval architect and civil engineer, and his wife Kathleen Rose Smale, she was originally trained to be a ballet dancer.
16
Her aunt Phyllis Smale, running the Hicks-Smale Drama School in Bristol, became her first acting coach.
17
Patron of the National Society of Clean Air and Enviromental Protection in Britain from 1992 until her death in 2007.
18
Her signature in cement for Graumans Chinese Theater in Hollywood was actually cast on the set of The King and I (1956) and not at the theater.
19
Her surname is pronounced "car", not "care".
20
Lived in Switzerland and Spain after retiring from acting, but returned to England to be with her family when her Parkinson's disease worsened.
21
Originally when filming began on Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957), her co-star Robert Mitchum worried that Kerr would be like the prim characters she frequently played. However, after she swore at director John Huston during one take, Mitchum, who was in the water, almost drowned laughing. The two stars went on to have an enduring friendship which lasted until Mitchum's death in 1997.
When she was a young girl, she had a strict "Victorian" grandmother who made her lie on her back, on the floor, for long periods of time, in order to "straighten her back" and ensure good posture.
26
Her brother Ted Trimmer was killed in a road-rage incident at the age of 78 (August 2004).
Joan Crawford was originally meant to play her role in From Here to Eternity (1953), but when she insisted on shooting the film with her own cameraman, the studio balked. They decided to take a chance and cast Ms. Kerr, who then was struggling with her ladylike stereotype, to play the adulterous military wife who has an affair with Burt Lancaster. The casting worked and Ms. Kerr's career thereafter enjoyed a new, sexier versatility.
Has two daughters from her marriage to Anthony C. Bartley: Melanie Jane Bartley (born December 27, 1947) and Francesca Anne Bartley (born December 18, 1951). Bartley was a WWII Royal Air Force squadron leader.
33
Awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1997/8 New Years Honours List.
34
Her last public appearance was in 1994 when she was awarded an honorary Oscar after six failed nominations over the years. Miss Kerr, along with Thelma Ritter, is one of the few actresses to have received six nominations and not to have won an Oscar. On Oscar evening, Glenn Close presented a special tribute to her work, and the Oscar audience watched clips of her films to music. Miss Kerr then appeared from behind the screen, obviously frail, in a blue pastel trouser suit and received a standing ovation from her peers. A life-long shy woman, Miss Kerr said, "I have never been so terrified in my life, but I feel better now because I know that I am among friends. Thank you for giving me a happy life." Following this, there was another standing ovation and Miss Kerr left the stage, her exit becoming her last official goodbye to Hollywood. Ironically, Close herself has since equaled Kerr and Ritter's record, receiving six nominations with - so far - no wins.
35
Similar to her losing streak at the Oscars, Deborah was finally awarded a BAFTA "Special Award" in 1991 after being nominated four times. She did, however, win the New York Film Critics Award three times and the Golden Globe Award for The King and I (1956).
