Born in Norfolk, Virginia. The daughter of a well-to-do family, she studied dance and drama from childhood and at 17 made her professional stage debut with the famed University Players along with other young aspirants, including Henry Fonda and James Stewart. In 1931 she made it to Broadway and in 1933 she signed a lucrative film contract with Universal. Her magnetic, winning personality made her a successful movie star right from the start, but her quick temper and disdainful attitude toward Hollywood soon led to frequent clashes with the studio and occasional flights back to Broadway. A versatile and subtle actress, she excelled at both drama and sophisticated comedy but was most typically used by Hollywood in tearful melodramas. She won the New York film critics best actress award for her role as Robert Taylor's tubercular wife in THREE COMRADES (1938) and the Drama Critics Award for her performance on Broadway in The Voice of the Turtle in 1943. She retired from the screen that same year and returned only once, in 1950. From the late 40s she suffered from increasing deafness but continued her stage work with great success until her death. Her brief filmography includes ONLY YESTERDAY (1933), LITTLE MAN, WHAT NOW? (1934), THE GOOD FAIRY and SO RED THE ROSE (both 1935), NEXT TIME WE LOVE, THE MOON'S OUR HOME and I LOVED A SOLDIER (all 1936), THREE COMRADES, THE SHOPWORN ANGEL and THE SHINING HOUR (all 1938), THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER and THE MORTAL STORM (both 1940), BACK STREET, SO ENDS OUR NIGHT and APPOINTMENT FOR LOVE (all 1941), CRY "HAVOC" (1943) and NO SAD SONGS FOR ME (1950). The first three of her four husbands were actor Henry Fonda, director William Wyler, and producer-agent Leland Hayward. She died on New Year's Day, 1960, at 49 of an overdose of barbiturates. Her death was ruled a suicide. Her daughter by Hayward is Brooke Hayward, author of Haywire, a tragic memoir of the family and the events that led to Sullavan's death.    Nominated for Actress 1938: THREE COMRADES 1 nomination