Biography

Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson, CBE (September 29, 1904 – April 6, 1996) was a British and American actress. Very popular during World War II, she was listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top ten box office draws in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, and 1946. Known for playing dignified and graceful women, Garson established herself as among the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood and Britain and received seven Academy Award nominations, winning one for Mrs. Miniver (1942), which was also the highest grossing film of that year. Originally a stage actress in England, she signed a contract with MGM and moved to Hollywood in 1937. She achieved success immediately for her debut film Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939), for which she received her first Academy Award nomination. Following the romantic comedy Remember? (1939) and the period drama Pride and Prejudice (1940), Garson starred in a string of commercial and critical successes that earned her a record five consecutive Academy Award nominations for Blossoms in the Dust (1941), Mrs. Miniver (1942), Madame Curie (1943), Mrs. Parkington (1944), and The Valley of Decision (1945). With her popularity slowly dwindling in the 1950s as her contract with MGM expired, she moved to Broadway. She received her seventh and final Academy Award nomination for the biographical film Sunrise at Campobello (1960).