Shelley Winters A Lifetime of Heartbreak

THE TWO-TIME OSCAR WINNER ENJOYED A SUCCESSFUL CAREER THAT LEFT LITTLE ROOM FOR LOVE AND MARRIAGE

- LOUISE A. BARILE

Like so many children born to an immigrant parent, Shelley Winters was taught that in America any thing is possible. “My father firmly believed the streets of America were paved with gold,” she wrote in Shelley: Also Known as Shirley, one of her three memoirs. “They hadn’t been for him, but in a way they had been for his daughter.”

Born Shirley Schrift, the actress would rename herself Shelley Winters and become a two-time Oscar winner. Her fame and success would earn her many luxuries — including “three California homes, five Impressionist paintings and six mink coats” — but Shelley’s three marriages would not last, and her relationship with her only child was difficult. Devoted, unconditional love, despite her many affairs, remained elusive until the twilight of her life.

A bold, fearless personality since childhood, Shelley, the daughter of a haberdasher and an opera singer, set her sights on acting early. The conviction of her father for arson when Shelley was 9 uprooted her life. Her mother, Rose, successfully lobbied for a new trial, and Shelley’s father was exonerated and released from prison a year later, but the child’s sense of security had been shattered.

Teenage Shelley boldly auditioned for the role of Gone With the Wind’s Scarlett O’Hara. She didn’t get the part, of course, but director George Cukor kindly bought her a Coke and told her she should take drama classes.