Alicia Rhett (born February 1, 1915) is an American portrait painter and actress who is best remembered for her role as India Wilkes in the 1939 movie Gone with the Wind.

Rhett was born in Savannah, Georgia. Her mother was Isabelle Murdoch, an immigrant from Liverpool, England and her father was Edmund M. Rhett, an army officer and engineer based in Savannah. After her father's death during World War I, Alicia and her mother moved to Charleston, South Carolina. Rhett became a local theatre actress in Charleston.

Gone with the Wind

During a performance of "Lady Windermere's Fan", in 1936, Rhett was spotted by Hollywood director George Cukor, impressed by her charm and beauty. The director was scouting for talent to play the role of Scarlett O'Hara, after producer David Selznick had purchased the rights to the Margaret Mitchell novel. Previously Rhett had also been noted by talent scout Kay Brown as a possible Southern belle for that film. Rhett auditioned for the role of Melanie Hamilton, which eventually went to Olivia de Havilland. In March, 1937 Cukor offered Rhett the role of India Wilkes, daughter of John Wilkes, instead.

After the success of Gone with the Wind, Rhett left Hollywood to return to South Carolina and retired from making movies in 1941, citing a lack of suitable roles. Rhett later became an accent coach for aspiring actors and a radio announcer at station WTMA, in Charleston.

Portrait painter

Shortly before appearing in Gone with the Wind, Rhett had also developed as a sketch artist and portrait painter. During the filming of Gone with the Wind she would make sketches and drawings of fellow actors between takes. Some of her later subjects included Admiral Louis Emil Denfeld, and Estellene P. Walker, which is on display in the South Carolina State Library. Rhett also illustrated a number of books, including South Carolina Indians (1965) authored by Beth Causey and Leila Darby.

Filmography

• Gone with the Wind (1939) as India Wilkes.

External links

• New York Times biography

Alicia Rhett (born March 15, 1971) is also the name of another American actress, born in Los Angeles, California.