Gene Tierney, whose striking looks helped her win roles in nearly three dozen feature films, including "Laura" and "Leave Her To Heaven," has died at age 70.
Tierney, who had emphysema, died Wednesday at her home.The actress' striking, high-cheekboned good looks helped propel her to stardom before the age of 20. But she later weathered a series of tragedies, including the birth of a daughter who was mentally retarded because Tierney had measles while pregnant, and a bout of mental illness during the 1950s.
"Laura," directed by Otto Preminger and released in 1944, is perhaps her best-known role. Tierney played a socialite who is apparently a murder victim and Dana Andrews played a detective who falls in love with her through her portraits.
"Leave Her to Heaven," 1945, was about an selfish woman who causes unhappiness for those around her and eventually commits suicide. Tierney received her only Oscar nomination for that role.
Among Tierney's other films were "Belle Starr," 1941; "Heaven Can Wait," 1943; "A Bell for Adano," 1945; "Dragonwyck," 1946; "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," 1947; and "Night and the City," 1950.