Theresa Wright

Born on October 27, 1918 in New York, Muriel Teresa Wright spent her childhood in a small town in New Jersey. In high school she showed great talent in the performances of the theater group, so the teacher in charge of her suggested to her parents that they send her to the Wharf School, in Provincetown (Massachusetts). Immediately after graduating from her, she became a young promise on Broadway, and was signed for several stage performances. Producer Samuel Goldwyn saw her perform in a play called “Living With Daddy.” Dazzled by her talent, Goldwyn offered her the role of Alexandra Giddens, the daughter of Bette Davis in the film adaptation of Lilliam Hellman’s The Wolf , directed by William Wyler .

In the eight-year contract that Goldwyn proposed to her, Teresa Wright stipulated that she would not lend herself to gimmicks used by studios to promote their stars, such as appearing in provocative photos in bathing suits, or spreading rumors of alleged romances. La loba had such an impact that she Wright became known to the general public, and she received an Oscar nomination for best secondary. She won it the following year, in the same category, with Mrs. Miniver , again under Wyler’s command. In that edition, that of 1942, she also opted for the Oscar for best leading actress for The Pride of the Yankees . Only nine other actors have repeated nominations in the same year ( Fay Bainter , Barry Fitzgerald, Jessica Lange , Sigourney Weaver , Al Pacino , Emma Thompson , Holly Hunter , Julianne Moore , and Jamie Foxx ).

During his time with Goldwyn, Wright also starred in two other classics, Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives , and Alfred Hitchcock ‘s Shadow of a Doubt . In 1944, she married the screenwriter of The Postman Always Rings Twice , Niven Busch , who wanted her as the lead in Duel in the Sun , the adaptation of his own novel, but when filming was about to start, the actress became pregnant and it could not be.

Despite her impressive debut, Teresa Wright’s career declined in the 1950s. Her work in Hombres , which marked the debut of Marlon Brando , should be noted . She would end up spacing out her interventions in the cinema. After divorcing Busch and marrying playwright Robert Anderson ( Tea and Sympathy) in 1959 , she stopped acting for several years, until she starred in Marty on Broadway in 1962. Since then, she has combined her stage work with occasional appearances in films and productions. television Her last work was Legitimate Defense , which Francis Ford Coppola shot in 1997.