A wig which was worn by actress Vivien Leigh to ‘de-glamorise’ herself for the production of A Streetcar Named Desire is to go on display for the first time.
Requesting a ‘thin and poor’ wig to help her get into character, Leigh starred in the film as Blanche DuBois alongside Marlon Brando, and the hairpiece has now been acquired by the V&A.
Though she was often described as one of the most beautiful women in the world, Leigh was keen to bring herself down to her character’s level for the 1951 film, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Remarkably, the same woman who styled the wig for Leigh’s use in 1950 has visited the London museum again this year to bring the hairpiece back up to scratch with rollers and hairspray.
Vivien Leigh, pictured in her role as Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire, in which she starred alongside Marlon Brando (right)
Gwen Franklin, 89, helped to restore the exhibit, which will go on display in the New Year alongside Leigh’s appointment diary from 1953 and a cartoon of her from 1957.
Also on display will be the Oscar statuette which Leigh earned for her Streetcar Named Desire performance, at the Academy Awards in 1952.
Keith Lodwick, the V&A’s curator of theatre and screen arts, said: ‘Leigh was very committed to de-glamorising herself for this role and the wig demonstrates her endless enthusiasm for creating a character.
‘She wanted to really challenge any critics who focused on her beauty, to say ‘I want to be known as an actress not a movie star.’
The V&A bought the memorabilia at an auction at Sotheby’s in September, when jewellery, paintings and furniture belonging to the Gone With The Wind star, who died in 1967, went on sale.
Among the lots was a wrist watch given to her by her husband Sir Laurence Olivier, engraved with their names and the words ‘only darling’.
The sale total for the auction was more than £2.2million, according to Sotheby’s.
Vivien Leigh (right), pictured with Karl Malden, sought to ‘de-glamorise’ herself for the film because she wanted critics to focus on her acting rather than her beauty