Vivien Leigh

4 4.2

An English actress famous for roles in Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire

proper noun
/ˈvɪviən liː/

: Vivien Leigh

Vivien Leigh won an Academy Award for her performance as Scarlett O'Hara in 'Gone with the Wind'.

Examples

Many film historians consider Vivien Leigh one of the greatest performers of the twentieth century.
Did you know that Vivien Leigh starred in 'Gone with the Wind'?
Vivien Leigh won an Academy Award for her performance as Scarlett O'Hara in 'Gone with the Wind'.
The stage play starred an actress who resembled Vivien Leigh in both looks and talent.
The talented Vivien Leigh won two Academy Awards.
Many film historians consider Vivien Leigh one of the greatest performers of the twentieth century.
Did you know that Vivien Leigh starred in 'Gone with the Wind'?

Surface Forms

Vivien Leigh main

Morphology

Vivien + Leigh

This is a personal name (proper noun) whose constituents are not meaningful lexical items that convey the biographical information. A B1 learner who 'knows' the names Vivien and Leigh would not be able to infer that the phrase refers to an English actress or her dates, so the meaning is unpredictable from the parts.

Etymology

Vivien Leigh was a famous English actress. The name Vivien comes from a word meaning 'alive' and Leigh was an old English word for a 'meadow', so you can picture a 'lively woman in a meadow' to help remember her name.