Jennifer Jones

Maternal granddaughter of George (May 6, 1855 - December 26, 1906) and Lulu (née Talbot) Suber (August 12, 1859 - November 20, 1904). Both died in Sacramento, California.

Daughter of Phillip Ross (November 26, 1892 - May 27, 1976) and Flora Mae (née Suber) Isley (March 26, 1886 - May 29, 1969). Her father was born in Kansas City, Missouri and her mother was born in Sacramento, California. Both died in Dallas, Texas.

One of the world's most underrated Academy Award-winning actresses, Jennifer Jones was born Phylis Lee Isley on 2 March 1919 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Flora Mae (Suber) and Phillip Ross Isley, who ran a travelling stage show. As a young aspiring actress, she met and fell for young, handsome, aspiring actor Robert Walker. They soon married, and moved to Chicago in order to fulfill their dreams of becoming film stars. Though their plans (initially) fell through, Phyllis began working as a model; sporting mainly hats, gloves and jewelry, and also occasionally found some work on local radio stations, where she provided the voice for various characters in radio programmes, along with her husband. In a last-ditch attempt to pursue her dream, Phyllis traveled to Selznick studios for a reading which would ultimately change her life. It was that day where she met David O. Selznick, and after that, her career began to take shape. Initially, Phyllis thought the audition went terribly and stormed out of the studios in tears, only to be chased by Selznick, who assured her she had been fine. Although she didn't get that particular part (which was for the iconic character, Scarlett O'Hara, which would ultimately go to Vivien Leigh, in one of the most famous castings in Hollywood's history), Phyllis was given a contract with Selznick studios.

Was represented by the John Robert Powers Agency, when she was a fashion model, in the 1930s.

Attended and graduated from Monte Cassino, a girls' school and junior college in Tulsa, Oklahoma (1936).

She was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She was initiated into the Tau chapter (Northwestern) (1937).

Alumna of the AADA (American Academy of Dramatic Arts), Class of 1939.

Jones continued to produce memorable performances throughout the 1940s , including Portrait of Jennie (1948).

Gave birth to her second child at age 22, a son Michael Ross Walker (aka Michael Walker) on March 13, 1941. Child's father was her first [later ex] husband, Robert Walker.

In short order, Phyllis was 'renamed' to the alliterative Jennifer Jones, and was cast over thousands of other hopefuls in the role of Bernadette Soubirous in The Song of Bernadette (1943).

For her moving portrayal of the sickly teenager who sees a vision of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes and devotes her life to her by becoming a nun, Jones won the Academy Award for best actress in a leading role on 2 March 1944 (coincidentally her 25th birthday) beating out stiff competition such as Ingrid Bergman (who later became a close friend of hers), Greer Garson, Joan Fontaine and Jean Arthur. Now, considered a 'true' star, Jones' career was marked out and moulded for her by Selznick, who would become the love of her life. They began an affair and eventually she left her husband and two sons for the producer, which ultimately led Walker to an untimely death, attributed to alcohol and drug abuse instigated due to their separation.

As for her career, Jones took on the supporting role of Jane Hilton, a headstrong teenage girl who grows up fast when her fiance is killed in action during WWII, in Since You Went Away (1944).

For her performance Jones received a best supporting actress Oscar nomination, but lost out to Ethel Barrymore for None But the Lonely Heart (1944).

Jennifer continued to deliver strong performances, receiving further best actress Oscar nominations for Love Letters (1945) (she lost to Joan Crawford for Mildred Pierce (1945)) and Duel in the Sun (1946), (she lost to Olivia de Havilland for To Each His Own (1946)) which saw her cast against type as the seductive biracial beauty Pearl Chavez.

She met her third husband Norton Simon when he tried to buy the portrait of Jones used in her film Portrait of Jennie (1948). Her romance with the multimillionaire philanthropist and art collector started at a party hosted by fellow collector Walter Annenberg.

In the 1950s she received her fifth and final Oscar nomination for Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), losing out to Anna Magnani for The Rose Tattoo (1955). Despite her success within the film industry, Jones was a very private person and managed to stay out of the spotlight that dominated so many other performers' lives.

While filming a scene in 1952's "Ruby Gentry," in which she had to slap co-star Charlton Heston, both Heston and director King Vidor urged to her not to fake the slap but to really let fly. She did, and ended up breaking her hand when it connected with Heston's jaw.

In Italy, almost all her films were dubbed by Lydia Simoneschi, except Beat the Devil (1953) where she was dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta.

She was considered for the lead role in The Country Girl (1954), but had to bow out when she became pregnant. The role eventually went Grace Kelly who won an Academy Award.

Returned to work seven months after giving birth to her daughter Mary to begin filming Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955).

In 1957, she appeared back-to back in two ill-advised remakes: The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957) and A Farewell to Arms (1957). (The latter was her husband David O. Selznick's last film.) It would be five years before Jones returned to the screen (Tender Is the Night (1962)).

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6249 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.

Served as matron of honor at the wedding of Lauren Bacall to Jason Robards in Mexico on July 4, 1961.

But a lack of publicity led to a lack of roles, a trend that amplified when Selznick died in 1965.

On November 9, 1967, she checked into a Malibu motel and took an overdose of sleeping pills. After hearing of the death of her close friend and co-star from The Song of Bernadette (1943), and Duel in the Sun (1946), Charles Bickford. She was found unconscious on a beach in Malibu, California. She was taken to the hospital, and remained in a coma for several days before waking and then recovering.

She appeared in fewer and fewer films, and after a moderately successful supporting performance in The Towering Inferno (1974) Jones decided to make that role her swan song, bowing out of the film industry.

Her daughter with David O. Selznick, Mary Jennifer Selznick, committed suicide on May 11, 1976, only two days after Mother's Day.

She donated $1 million to establish the Jennifer Jones Simon Foundation for Mental Health and Education (1980).

She bought the rights to Larry McMurtry's novel, "Terms of Endearment", with the intention of starring in the film but director James Brooks told her that she was too old for the lead role (1981). The role eventually went to Shirley MacLaine who won an Academy Award.

She did, however, try to revive her film career in later years by campaigning for the role of Aurora Greenway in Terms of Endearment (1983), but Shirley MacLaine was cast instead and as a result, won the Oscar for best actress.

She was a breast cancer survivor. The late actress Susan Strasberg, a fellow breast cancer victim who died of the disease in 1999, was married, at one time, to actor Christopher Jones and named their daughter Jennifer Robin Jones, in the actress's honor.

She resided in California where she contributed to various charities (mostly mental health organizations) and presides over the Norton Simon Museum's Board of Directors (her late husband's prestigious art museum in Pasadena). [October 2001]

Was named chairperson of the Norton Simon Museum when Simon became incapacitated by Guillain-Barre syndrome. She was given emeritus status (2003).

Jennifer Jones died 17 December, 2009, in Malibu, California.

She was honored as Turner Classic Movies Star of the Month in September 2017.