Deborah Kerr (born September 30, 1921) is a Scottish film actress.

She was born Deborah Jane Kerr-Trimmer in Helensburgh, Scotland, and originally trained as a ballet dancer, first appearing on stage at Sadler's Wells in 1938. Having switched careers, she found immediate success as an actress. Her debut in the British film, Contraband, in 1940 was left on the cutting room floor. But that was followed by a series of other films and it was her role as a troubled nun in Michael Powell's Black Narcissus in 1947 which brought her to the attention of Hollywood producers.

Her "English" accent and manner led to a succession of roles, of which the only real departure from stereotype was in From Here to Eternity (1953). However, her most famous role was as the governess Anna Leonowens in the film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I. She was also well-known for her role opposite Cary Grant in An Affair to Remember.

An un-successful six-time nominee for an Academy Award, she was finally awarded an honorary Oscar in recognition of the "perfection, discipline and elegance" of her screen work.

Deborah Kerr's Academy Award-nominated performances (all for Best Actress):

• Edward, My Son
• From Here to Eternity
• The King and I
• Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison
• Separate Tables
• The Sundowners

Filmography

• Contraband (1940)
• Major Barbara (1941)
• Love on the Dole (1941)
• Penn of Pennsylvania (1942)
• Hatter's Castle (1942)
• The Day Will Dawn (1942)
• The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
• Perfect Strangers (1945)
• I See a Dark Stranger (1946)
• Black Narcissus (1947)
• The Hucksters (1947)
• If Winter Comes (1947)
• Edward, My Son (1949)
• Please Believe Me (1950)
• King Solomon's Mines (1950)
• Quo Vadis (1951)
• The Prisoner of Zenda (1952)
• Thunder in the East (1952)
• Young Bess (1953)
• Julius Caesar (1953)
• Dream Wife (1953)
• From Here to Eternity (1953)
• The End of the Affair (1955)
• The Proud and Profane (1956)
• The King and I (1956)
• Tea and Sympathy (1956)
• Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)
• An Affair to Remember (1957)
• Kiss Them for Me (1957) (dubbing voice for Suzy Parker in a few scenes)
• Bonjour tristesse (1958)
• Separate Tables (1958)
• The Journey (1959)
• Count Your Blessings (1959)
• Beloved Infidel (1959)
• The Sundowners (1960)
• The Grass Is Greener (1960)
• The Naked Edge (1961)
• The Innocents (1961)
• On the Trail of the Iguana (1964) (short subject)
• The Chalk Garden (1964)
• The Night of the Iguana (1964)
• Marriage on the Rocks (1965)
• Casino Royale (1967)
• Eye of the Devil (1967)
• Prudence and the Pill (1968)
• The Gypsy Moths (1969)
• The Arrangement (1969)
• The Assam Garden (1985)

External links