Actress. Born Deborah Jane Kerr-Trimmer in Helensburgh, Scotland. Trained as a ballet dancer, she began acting on stage as a teenager and performed in stage productions at the Open Air Theatre in London and the Cambridge Theatre. She also performed with the Oxford Repertory Company. Appeared in her first film, the 1941 production of George Bernard Shaw's "Major Barbara". She eventually caught the eye of MGM's Louis B. Mayer and in late 1946 joined the studio. Won the New York Film Critics' Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of a nun in "Black Narcissus" (1947). Kerr received six Acadamy Award nominations for Best Actress for her work in "Edward, My Son" (1949), "From Here To Eternity" (1953), "The King and I" (1956), "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison" (1957), "Separate Tables" (1958) and "The Sundowners" (1960). Though she never won, in 1994 she was awarded an honorary Academy Award for her lifetime achievement in films. Returned to the stage in the 1970's in plays including "The Day After The Fair" and "Candida". In the 1980's she was well received on the television screen in, among other films, "A Woman Of Substance" (1983) and "Reunion at Fairborough" (1985) which reunited her with longtime friend and costar of several films, Robert Mitchum. Her final feature film was "The Assam Garden", also in 1985. Though a much beloved stage and film actress for many years, younger generations will recognize her from "An Affair To Remember" (1957) with Cary Grant, which has been referenced to in several modern films such as "Sleepless In Seattle" (1993). Married Peter Viertel, a novelist and screenwriter, in 1960 and they lived in Klosters, Switzerland for many years. She had recently returned to England to be near her family and died there of complications from Parkinson's Disease.
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