Trivia

Her first daughter was born intellectually disabled because Gene had contracted rubella (aka German measles) during her only appearance at the Hollywood Canteen. This served as the uncredited inspiration for the plot of the 1962 Agatha Christie novel and later movie The Mirror Crack'd (1980).

When she saw herself on screen for the first time, she was horrified by her voice ("I sounded like an angry Minnie Mouse"). She began smoking to lower her voice, but it came at a great price--she died of emphysema.

Was in the throes of suicidal depression and admitted to the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas on Christmas Day 1957 after police talked her down from a building ledge. She was released from Menninger's the following year.

She was a guest at the house of Tyrone Power on May 19, 1946, when Primula Niven, wife of David Niven, fell down the basement stairs during a game of hide and seek, sustaining injuries that would eventually result in her death.

Howard Hughes provided the funds for her daughter's medical care.

Darryl F. Zanuck, founder of 20th Century-Fox, said she was unquestionably the most beautiful woman in movie history.

Discovered she was expecting daughter Daria while filming Heaven Can Wait (1943). Began filming Laura (1944), after returning from her maternity leave.

Despite her earlier romance with John F. Kennedy during the 1940s, she voted for Richard Nixon in 1960 instead. However, she did send JFK a congratulatory note when he was elected president.

Received extensive shock treatment in the 1950s while battling her mental instability.

Was offered the role of Linda Nordley in Mogambo (1953), which she was forced to turn down due to pregnancy. Grace Kelly, who went on to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.

Following her death, she was interred at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston, Texas. She passed away thirteen days before her 71st birthday.

Spoke French fluently.

Had two daughters with her ex-husband Oleg Cassini: Antoinette Daria Cassini (October 15, 1943 - September 11, 2010) and Christina Cassini (November 19, 1948 - March 31, 2015). Both Daria and Christina have died at age 66.

During the mid-1930s and years before she became famous, she attended a boarding school in Lausanne, Switzerland, where her roommate was Maria Riva, daughter of Marlene Dietrich.

Had her share of love affairs during her Hollywood reign, including a notorious one with John F. Kennedy, whom she met while filming Dragonwyck (1946). Kennedy broke this up because of his political aspirations. She also had dalliances with Tyrone Power during production of The Razor's Edge (1946) and with Prince Aly Khan in the early 1950s.

Gave her name as "Gene Eliza Taylor Tierney" upon her marriage to Oleg Cassini in Las Vegas, Nevada.

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6125 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.

Second husband, William Howard Lee, was originally married to Hedy Lamarr before he married Tierney.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer offered her the lead role in National Velvet (1944) but when the production was delayed, she instead signed with 20th Century-Fox.

Russian Prima Ballerina Violetta Elvin was her double in Never Let Me Go (1953) ballet scenes, that were shot from a distance.

20th Century-Fox offered her the lead role in Holiday for Lovers (1959) following her rehabilitation therapy. However, the stress proved too great and she was forced to leave the production.

Was represented by the John Robert Powers Agency as a fashion model in the 1930s.

Related to Academy Award-winning producer Gordon Hollingshead; her mother was his cousin. She was "discovered" when Hollingshead was giving Tierney's family a tour of the Warner Brothers lot, and director Anatole Litvak spotted her, told her she should be in pictures and got her to take a screen test.

She appeared with Dana Andrews in five films: Tobacco Road (1941), Belle Starr (1941), Laura (1944), The Iron Curtain (1948) and Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950).

She appeared with Vincent Price in four films: Hudson's Bay (1940), Laura (1944), Leave Her to Heaven (1945) and Dragonwyck (1946).

Although she played Tod Andrews's mother in Heaven Can Wait (1943), she was six years his junior in real life.

Her mother, Belle Lavinia (Taylor), was a gymnastics teacher. Her father, Howard Sherwood Tierney, served in World War I. Her older brother was named Howard Junior and her younger sister is named Pat. She was of Irish, English, and Sephardi Jewish ancestry.

She was a lifelong staunch Republican and a strong supporter of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan in particular.

No relation to actress Maura Tierney.

She has appeared in two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant": Laura (1944) and Leave Her to Heaven (1945).

No relation to actor Lawrence Tierney.

Ex-sister-in-law of Igor Cassini.

In Italy, most of her films were dubbed by either Lydia Simoneschi and Rina Morelli (most notably Laura (1944) and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)). She was also dubbed by Miranda Bonansea in The Return of Frank James (1940); Rosetta Calavetta in Sundown (1941) and Paola Barbara in Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake (1942).