Constance Smith

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For the English reinvigorator of Mothering Sunday, see Constance Adelaide Smith.

Constance Smith
Born(1929-02-07)7 February 1929
Limerick, Ireland
Died30 June 2003(2003-06-30) (aged 74)
Islington, London, England
OccupationActress
Years active1947–1959
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1951; div. 1955)​
Araldo de Crollalanza
​
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(m. 1956, annulled)​
​
​
(m. 1974; div. 1978)​

Constance Smith (7 February 1929 – 30 June 2003) was an Irish film actress, and contract player of

20th Century Fox
in the 1950s.

Early life

Smith was born into a family as the first of 11 children.

beauty contest at age 16 to find the girl who looked most like Hedy Lamarr, Smith's mother sent the photo to a film studio.[1] As a result, Smith won a screen test, and although reluctant to seize the opportunity, she was pushed into the film industry by her mother, according to the actress.[1]

Career

Smith moved to

20th Century Fox offered her a contract.[1] Upon her arrival in Hollywood, producer Darryl F. Zanuck cast her opposite Tyrone Power in I'll Never Forget You (1951). However, he soon decided Smith was not experienced enough and replaced her with Ann Blyth.[2]

She was most active in the 1950s, appearing in Hollywood features such as Man in the Attic and Treasure of the Golden Condor (1953) and Impulse (1954). Smith was a presenter at the Academy Awards ceremony in 1952.[3]

By the time her contract expired in 1953, Smith had undergone an abortion and the first of her three marriages was on the ropes. As the years went on and Smith failed to get the parts she felt were commensurate with her abilities, she began an embittered descent into a life of drugs and alcohol. Constance last acted in a run of minor films made in Italy between 1955 and 1959, including a role as

La congiura dei Borgia
(1959). None of these did anything to resuscitate her failing career. During her time in Rome, she first attempted suicide by overdosing on barbiturates.

She made her last film appearance in 1959.

Personal life

Smith married English film director Bryan Forbes in 1951; they divorced in 1955. In 1962 she was sentenced to three months in prison for stabbing her boyfriend, the documentary maker and film historian Paul Rotha. On 4 February 1968, she stabbed Rotha for the second time and was charged with attempted murder. She and Rotha married in 1974, and broke up in 1978. Smith tried several times again to kill herself.[4] Her last decades were spent, dissipated, in and out of hospitals. During intermittent periods of recovery, she worked as a cleaner.[4]

Death

Smith died on 30 June 2003 in Islington, London. She was 74.[4]

Partial filmography

Radio appearances

Year Program Episode/source
1953 Radio Theater Taxi[5]

References

  1. ^
    The Oakland Tribune
    , 18 March 1962, Oakland, California. p.25: Do You Remember Constance Smith?
  2. ^ "Notes for I'll Never Forget You (1951)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
  3. ISBN 9780752493657
    .
  4. ^ a b c "Constance Smith the beautiful but troubled Irish Actress". Limerick's Life. 8 January 2013.
  5. Newspapers.com. Open access icon

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Constance_Smith&oldid=1175489934"