An exhibition detailing the life of one of the most famous of 1940s Hollywood film stars Vivien Leigh opened at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) on Saturday.

The exhibition looks at the life of Leigh, who was born in Darjeeling, India, 100 years ago and who went on to fame as a double-Oscar winner.

For 20 years in the middle of the last century along with her husband Laurence Olivier, Leigh was part of the most celebrated, talented and glamorous film star couples and one of the most famous people on the planet.

Her most famous performance, as Scarlett O'Hara in 'Gone With the Wind', brought her the first of two Academy Awards. The second Oscar was for the 1951 film of Tennessee Williams' play 'A Streetcar Named Desire', starring opposite Marlon Brando.

Terence Pepper, the Head of Photographs Collection at the NPG, told Xinhua, "We have been acquiring pictures over the years of Leigh and we have quite a good collection of her."

The exhibition marks the centenary of Leigh's birth, and follows a successful show about American film star Marilyn Monroe.

Pepper said, "She was an extraordinary actress; she was so beautiful and she has an interesting story, as well as marital difficulties and mental illness."

Leigh's career and life were compelling, even for a modern audience who now come across her by chance.

He said, "She won two Oscars for two extraordinary roles -- Scarlett O'Hara in 'Gone With the Wind' and Blanche Dubois in 'A Streetcar Named Desire', two of the most successful films of all time."

The exhibition includes rare vintage photographs, magazine covers, vintage film stills and press books.

Many of the photographs in the display are brought together for the first time, and include works by leading photographers such as James Abbe Jr, Bassano, Cecil Beaton, Clarence Sinclair Bull, Howard Coster, Angus McBean, Norman Parkinson, Sasha, Laszlo Willinger and Madame Yevonde.

Photographs in this display span Leigh's career, beginning with a still of her first un-credited film performance in 'Things Are Looking Up' (1934) and photographer Parkinson's studio portrait taken at the time of her stage success in 'The Mask of Virtue' (1935), and ending with her last film role in Stanley Kramer's 'Ship of Fools' (1965).

Other theatrical and film roles represented in the display include her first appearance with her future husband Laurence Olivier in 'Fire Over England' (1937); Leigh with Rex Harrison in 'Storm in a Teacup' (1937); Leigh in two Hollywood films, with Robert Taylor in 'Waterloo Bridge' (1940) and as Nelson's mistress Lady Hamilton with Olivier in 'That Hamilton Woman' (1941); and her role in the most expensive British film, at the time, Gabriel Pascal's production of George Bernard Shaw's 'Caesar and Cleopatra' (1945).

The exhibition runs at the NPG until July, 2014. Endi

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