Born Deborah J. Kerr-Trimmer in Helensburgh, Scotland. Trained as a dancer at her aunt's drama school in Bristol, England, she won a scholarship to the Sadler's Wells ballet school and at 17 made her London debut in the corps de ballet of "Prometheus." However, she soon discovered that she was more interested in drama and began playing bits and walk-ons in various Shakespearean productions. In the early 40s she made her British film debut as a Salvation Army lass in MAJOR BARBARA. Other film roles followed in which she typically played cool and reserved well-bred ladies. In 1947, on the strength of her sensitive portrayal of a nun in BLACK NARCISSUS, she was brought to Hollywood by MGM to play the lead opposite Clark Gable in THE HUCKSTERS. She retained her serene, ladylike image on the American screen until 1953, when she was given the opportunity to play, on a loan-out to Columbia, a turbulent adulteress in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. She then started playing a wider variety of characters of a broader emotional range while maintaining a ladylike poise. She was nominated six times for Academy Awards as Best Actress. She remained a leading star throughout her screen career until her announced retirement in 1969. She returned occasionally to the stage, and appeared in two features and several TV movies until 1986. Among her other notable screen appearances are LOVE ON THE DOLE (1941), THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943), PERFECT STRANGERS (1945), IF WINTER COMES (1947), KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1950), QUO VADIS (1951), THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1952), YOUNG BESS, JULIUS CAESAR and DREAM WIFE (all 1953), THE END OF THE AFFAIR (1955), THE PROUD AND THE PROFANE, THE KING AND I and TEA AND SYMPATHY (all 1956), HEAVEN KNOWS, MR. ALLISON and AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER (both 1957), BONJOUR TRISTESSE and SEPARATE TABLES (both 1958), THE JOURNEY, COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS and BELOVED INFIDEL (all 1959), THE SUNDOWNERS and THE GRASS IS GREENER (both 1960), THE NAKED EDGE and THE INNOCENTS (both 1961), THE CHALK GARDEN and THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA (both 1964), MARRIAGE ON THE ROCKS (1965), EYE OF THE DEVIL (1966), CASINO ROYALE (1967), PRUDENCE AND THE PILL (1968), THE GYPSY MOTHS and THE ARRANGEMENT (both 1969), and THE ASSAM GARDEN (1985). She appeared on television in the 1980s in "BBC2 Playhouse: A Song at Twilight" and "Witness for the Prosecution" (both 1982), "A Woman of Substance" (1984, mini-series), "Reunion at Fairborough" (1985) and "Hold the Dream" (1986). In 1945 Kerr married Anthony Charles Bartley, whom she had met when he was a squadron leader in the Royal Air Force. They had two daughters and were divorced in 1959. A year later she married novelist-screenwriter Peter Viertel with whom she lived on a large estate in the Swiss Alpine resort of Klosters and in a villa in Marbella, Spain. Viertel died three weeks after Miss Kerr passed away in 2007.

Miss Kerr after the Ceremonies in 1994

Nominated for Actress 1949: EDWARD, MY SON  Nominated for Actress 1953: FROM HERE TO ETERNITY  Nominated for Actress 1956: THE KING AND I  Nominated for Actress 1957: HEAVEN KNOWS, MR. ALLISON  Nominated for Actress 1958: SEPARATE TABLES  Nominated for Actress 1960: THE SUNDOWNERS  Honorary Award 1993: "In appreciation for a full career's worth of elegant and beautifully crafted performances." Winned presented a Statuette. 6 nominations, 1 Award