Alicia Rhett
| Alicia Rhett | |
|---|---|
Rhett in Gone with the Wind (1939)
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| Born |
February 1, 1915 Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | January 3, 2014 (aged 98) Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress, portrait painter |
| Years active | 1937–1941 |
| Parent(s) | Edmund M. Rhett Isobel Murdoch |
Mary Alicia Rhett (February 1, 1915 – January 3, 2014) was an American actress and portrait painter who is best remembered for her role as India Wilkes in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.
At the time of her death, Rhett was one of the oldest surviving credited cast members of the movie, the only others being Olivia de Havilland (born July 1, 1916), who played India's sister-in-law Melanie Wilkes, Mary Anderson (born April 3, 1918; died April 6, 2014), who played Maybelle Merriweather, and Mickey Kuhn (born September 21, 1932) who played Beau Wilkes.
Rhett was born Mary Alicia Rhett in 1915 at Savannah, Georgia to Isobel Murdoch, an immigrant from Liverpool, England, and Edmund M. Rhett, an American army officer and engineer based in Savannah. After her father's death during World War I, Alicia and her mother moved to Charleston, South Carolina. Rhett became a theatre actress in Charleston. A newspaper article in 1939 quoted a Selznick International Pictures news release as saying that Rhett Butler's first name was chosen by Margaret Mitchell because "Since earliest Colonial days, the Rhett family has occupied a prominent position in the South generally, and, more particularly, in and around Charleston, S.C."
Alicia Rhett graduated from Memminger High School in Charleston.
During a performance of The Recruiting Officer in 1936, Rhett was spotted by Hollywood director George Cukor, who was impressed by her charm and beauty. The director was scouting for an actress to play the role of Scarlett O'Hara after producer David Selznick purchased the film rights to the Margaret Mitchell novel. Previously, she had been suggested by talent scout Kay Brown as a possible Southern belle for the film.
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