Barbara O'Neil was an American actress, best known for her role as Ellen O'Hara in the iconic film "Gone with the Wind" (1939). She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, O'Neil came from a prominent family. Her father, David O'Neil, was a businessman and poet, while her mother, Barbara Blackman O'Neil, was a suffrage leader. O'Neil's maternal grandmother was a portrait painter.
O'Neil spent most of her childhood in Europe, where her father had retired. She received her education at Sarah Lawrence College and later studied acting at Yale School of Drama, where she was mentored by George Pierce Baker.
O'Neil began her acting career on stage, making her theatrical debut in 1931 and her Broadway debut in 1932. She appeared in several plays, including one about Carrie Nation, a radical member of the temperance movement.
After gaining experience on stage, O'Neil transitioned to film, making her debut in the drama "Stella Dallas" (1937). She went on to appear in a string of films throughout the late 1930s, including "Love, Honor and Behave" (1938),"The Toy Wife" (1938),"I Am the Law" (1938),"The Sun Never Sets" (1939),and "When Tomorrow Comes" (1939).
O'Neil's most prominent role was as Ellen O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind" (1939),for which she received widespread acclaim. She played the historical figure Elizabeth Woodville in the period film "Tower of London" (1939) and murder victim Françoise, duchesse de Praslin in the period film "All This, and Heaven Too" (1940).
O'Neil received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "All This, and Heaven Too" (1940),but lost to Jane Darwell. She continued to appear in films throughout the 1940s and 1950s, including "Shining Victory" (1941),"Secret Beyond the Door" (1947),"I Remember Mama" (1948),"Whirlpool" (1950),"Angel Face" (1953),and "Flame of the Islands" (1956).
O'Neil's last prominent film role was as Mother Didyma in the convent-themed film "The Nun's Story" (1959). She largely retired from film at the age of 49 and briefly returned with a supporting role in "Lions of St. Petersburg" (1970),which was her final role in any form.
O'Neil continued living in retirement until her death in 1980, at the age of 70, due to a heart attack.
