Suzanne Farrington

Suzanne Farrington
Farrington (centre) with stepfather Laurence Olivier and mother Vivien Leigh in California in 1950
Born	Suzanne Holman (1933-10-10)10 October 1933 London, England, UK
Died	1 March 2015(2015-03-01) (aged 81) Lower Zeals, Warminster, Wiltshire, England, UK
Nationality	British
Occupation	Actress
Spouse(s)	Robin Neville Farrington (m. 1957; d. 2002)
Children	3
Parent(s)	Vivien Leigh Herbert Leigh Holman

Suzanne Farrington (née Holman; 10 October 1933 – 1 March 2015) was a British actress, the only child of Vivien Leigh and her first husband, Herbert Leigh Holman. Upon her mother's death, Farrington was bequeathed her mother's papers, including her letters, photographs, contracts and diaries.

On 10 October 1933, Suzanne Holman was born at a nursing home at 8 Bulstrode Street, London. Her mother, then still known as Vivian, was only 19, and had been married to the barrister Herbert Leigh Holman for less than a year. Still using her birth name, Vivian, her diary entry on this day simply read: "Had a baby- a girl." The birth was difficult. "Suzanne was born a month prematurely and the delivery was not an easy one. It was several weeks before mother and daughter came home, but once there it did not take Vivian long to become bored, as the household was being run quite adequately by the staff, and the baby was well tended by the nurse nanny." The Holman household consisted of a maid, cook and Nanny Oake who had been hired to care for the new baby.

Although Vivien concentrated on her acting career, soon receiving good notices in the play, The Mask of Virtue, she did occasionally appear in the role of the new mother, being photographed holding her baby. With the professional name of Vivien Leigh, her mother became more involved and more successful with her acting career, while her husband and raising her daughter became less important.

Although Leigh initially had great concern for her daughter's well-being, her career was paramount and Suzanne's care became the responsibility of her father and maternal grandmother, Gertrude Hartley. During the Second World War, Suzanne travelled to Canada with her grandmother, to stay with her aunt, Florence Thompson. She continued her education during the war years, first at a convent school in Vancouver.

Only once in November 1940, did Leigh visit her daughter in Canada. The visit turned out to be traumatic for all involved as the media soon discovered that "Scarlett" was in Vancouver, and that her daughter was enrolled in a convent school, spurring not only unwanted publicity for Suzanne but spurious claims that she would be the subject of a kidnapping. The Reverend Mother also feared for the safety of other children in her care, resulting in Suzanne being transferred by her grandmother to a day school. Gertrude Hartley altered her plans and remained with her granddaughter throughout the war years.

In 1940 Leigh and Holman divorced, with her father gaining custody over Suzanne. After her marriage to Laurence Olivier, Leigh had little contact with her daughter until 1950, although Suzanne became close with Simon Tarquin Olivier, her stepfather's son from his marriage to Jill Esmond. Her "coming out" party was held at the Olivier's flat in Lowndes Square, London.